Catfish's Journey - updated with pics 11-7-08 (page 5)

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#76 Post by **catfish** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:30 pm

Jenn S - Thanks for thinking about me! I'm convinced the good vibes are helpful. They give me a positive attitude, and that has to help with healing. Good luck with your extractions. Which teeth are they pulling? I can say that losing this incisor was not painful at all, even with the graft and the stitches. I hope your extractions are similarly painless!

brika - Thanks for checking in and for the well wishes! This was a critical step to keep my braces journey moving, so I'm feeling really good about my progress.

kittenmaisey - Our dental histories have an unfortunate parallel, don't they? They need to fix the dental schools to teach these guys to look for early stages of periodontal disease! And they need to emphasize that the dentists shouldn't try to deal with it themselves. They need to send us to periodontists early SPAM SPAM SPAMMING! I wonder why you got such different advice from me on the braces? I was warned that braces could be iffy for me, and that I could lose the weak teeth in the process. But my dentist, periodontist and orthodontist all thought it was worth pursuing since it could possibly help me keep my teeth for longer. My ortho moves things along very slowly to minimize the possibility of causing me to lose a tooth. It was worth the risk to me, since I know that doing nothing meant I would lose the teeth anyway. As my dentist said, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. Good luck on your journey, and I hope you find a dental team who can help you!

#77 Post by **kittenmaisey** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 2:59 pm

Thank you for your encouragement Catfish. Seeing my general dentist this week. So will see what he has to say.

Good luck.

#78 Post by **Jenn S** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:54 pm

Happy to learn you did not have too much pain. I will be getting the two back lower teeth removed. I had hardly any pain when I had my Wisdom teeth pulled so I remain optimistic. When I had my wisdom teeth pulled, I actually say a play later that night. I had already purchased tickets to see my friend perform so I loaded up on pain meds and off I went. I ended up falling asleep half way through the show and spitted some blood on my sweater. I did not notice till I went in to use the ladies room at intermission and saw the look of horror on all the nicely dresses ladies. It was hilarious!

#79 Post by **catfish** » Thu Mar 12, 2009 8:31 pm

Jenn S - Too funny!!! The darnest things happen to us on our journeys. Glad to see you have a sense of humor about it. One time at lunch I saw something out of the corner of my eye, and it turned out to be drool falling off my lip and onto the table! I was sooooo glad I was eating alone that day!

#80 Post by **catfish** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:30 pm

Well today was my first visit back to my ortho after my surgery and extraction. I was wondering what the next step would be now that I have this enormous gap in front. He said he's going to move my three lower incisors horizontally so they're more evenly spaced, then he will start the process of moving them to be more upright. I'm glad I asked, because I thought he'd start pulling them in right away with a new wire. Instead, I got my first ever powerchain. I wasn't expecting it, so when I had a chance to pick a color I picked gray so it wouldn't show. But now that I've had time to think about it, I think I might pick a color next time. But I don't know which color to pick! On one hand, I want to pick a bright color that's fun. On the other hand, I'm a 48 year old supervisor and feel like I should pick something less playful. (Do I really want to draw attention to this horrid gap?) What should I do?!?!?! I'd love to hear your suggestions.

So here's a pic of my powerchain.

This thing has already moved my teeth. It was very noticeable when I was flossing tonight. It's just starting to smart a little, too. It actually feels itchy around my roots - is that weird? And the teeth are tender when I chomp down on them. I know that's not weird. So far it's manageable though.

So I go back in 4 weeks. That's a pretty short turnaround time for me. I've been going back every 7-8 weeks. I'm assuming it's because he's changing powerchains instead of wires.

#81 Post by **catfish** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:17 pm

Hey Ken, it's great to hear from you! Bummer that you had to get a new username, but it's close enough to your original name that you're still easy to find.

Yeah, my teeth are already sliding along the wire. I'd heard that powerchains can be painful, and I was suprised that they didn't hurt much yesterday (when I got them). They hurt more tonight, though. As so many AW-ers have said before, it's a good pain because it means movement!

#82 Post by **LongInTheT** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 2:59 pm

hi, catfish

You must be pleased all the surgery and extractions are over, but really glad you'll now be able to get your teeth upright as you want them. What a lot you have been through!! I do feel for you...

The grey power chain looks nice. My ortho just puts clear on (not so good when I had a take-away curry..) so it is nice you get a choice. I'd go for bright colours if I were you - its sort of fun to draw attention to braces, I think.. The power chains work fast, don't they? My ortho did IPR on my front teeth and an hour later the IPR gap had closed!

kittenmaisey:
I'm sure you can find an ortho who will put braces on your teeth and think it is safe. I had perio problems, and my ortho is just very careful about changes to wires, just going gradually, particularly on the bottom arch. My ortho has treated a number of adults who have seen my perio so perhaps it wld be worth looking for an ortho who has experience of putting braces on adults who've had gum probs.

Good luck!

#83 Post by **catfish** » Sat Mar 21, 2009 3:33 pm

Thanks LITT. It has been a long road, and I just keep plodding along! And yes, I was amazed at how quickly the powerchains made a difference. I had them put on in the morning, and by that evening I had new little gaps and it was very noticeable when flossing. Yay!

I'm leaning towards going for a bright color next time after all. I'm thinking pink or turquoise. We'll see, I might change my mind by then. But I've been thinking pink or turquoise ever since I got the gray ones.

#84 Post by **catfish** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:37 pm

Today is my 49th birthday. I'm still clinging to the hope that I'll be out of braces before my 50th birthday.

Wish me luck!!

#85 Post by **ripchord** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:43 pm

Happy birthday! ..And here's to this being your last birthday with braces on!

#86 Post by **kittenmaisey** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:23 am

Go Catfish!

#87 Post by **kayleighkelley** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:20 am

Happy Birthday!!!

#88 Post by **Jenn S** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:55 am

Happy 49th Catfish and fellow Aries!!
I turned 48 last Thursday... and my goal is the same as yours, braces free by the time I turn 50, the new 30!

#89 Post by **catfish** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:53 pm

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! One more reason to like AW - everyone is so friendly and supportive here.

#90 Post by **lara** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:22 pm

Happy B-Day slick (the good kind of b-day).