Milk n Cereal has finally returned :)

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#31 Post by **Milk n Cereal** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:35 pm

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to read the updates! (even to the lurkers out there

)

Karen: It sucks indeed! The salt water rinses have been doing wonders.

cwatt1: Thanks! I think they only look discreet right now because there is no wire on the top.

Sometimes I like to press a piece of floss on them and through the brackets to see how crooked the wire will look.

Quite crooked, if you ask me. Thank you for the tip about OraBase. Is it available over-the-counter or do I have to ask my ortho about it?

grilz: That is pretty much what I thought when he told me that I needed it. I do have a bit of an overbite so I think he is trying to give my lower jaw some time to sort of "catch up" to the upper.

Lisa: No need to feel guilty! There are quite a number of journeys and blogs to go through; no one is expected to reply to them all! Right now I'm able to deal with the headgear. Last night I slept with a cotton ball in between the wire and my cheek! It was much more comfortable but my, did it turn me into a drool monster!

Good to know about the molar tipping. It seems that some slight tipping would actual bring them in line with my 2nd molars? I'll just keep an eye on it and ask about it at my next appointment.

pinkpatrol: Thank you for the compliment on my writing! I guess that because this is mainly a forum for adults, I type more maturely. I find that the audience I am addressing affects how I type. For example if I am instant messaging and the other person is not using capitalization or punctuation, I tend to do the same.

Monkey see monkey do? That was some nice thinking about the archwire! I hope it isn't a problem for me again.

Does anyone know what the affects of wearing your headgear upside down are? Sometimes I don't pay quite enough attention when putting it in and notice an hour later that it is upside down.

It is actually much more comfortable this way and doesn't angle upwards quite as much. I won't make it a habit, since this probably isn't how it was intended to go, but I was just looking for some input?

#32 Post by **cwatt1** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:28 pm

Thank you for the tip about OraBase. Is it available over-the-counter or do I have to ask my ortho about it?

Milk, it should be available over the counter; look near the dental products and/or analgesics at any good drug store (e.g., Walgreens). It's a little on the expensive side -- $6 -$7 for a small tube -- but you just need to use a very small dab of it. My ortho gave me a small (and I mean SMALL

) sample of it on my b-day and I thought it worked pretty well.

Chillin, I agree with you about it feeling a little weird -- but it does help the discomfort!

#33 Post by **Laurie** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:24 pm

AHA! Another person in Texas! Is your part of the state as drowned as mine seems to be?

Your teeth look so nice and white! I'm jealous!

#34 Post by **Meloho** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 11:31 pm

Hey Milk - yes, your braces do look great! You're so lucky to have ceramics...but I have to say this, I do NOT envy your headgear. Whenever I feel down about my treatment, I'll think of you or anyone else w/ the headgear and think "phew!"

I'm sorry, I had to kid - I hope it's not too bad for you...at least you can avoid wearing it in public. Good luck with your treatment!

#35 Post by **SDFD TSchott** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:28 am

Well I've read alot of stories again and I still have to agree with what Meloho had to say... I'm glad I don't have to have headgear. I'm not sure I would be able to cope with it at all!

Just keep us posted and let us know more about your journey!
~Tim~

#36 Post by **Milk n Cereal** » Sun Aug 05, 2007 11:23 am

Thank you for the info cwatt1 and Meryaten! I'm sure it'll come in handy.

Laurie: HOWDY! How are y'all doing on your ranch? My horses and cows just won't keep away from all of those oil rigs everywhere! My boots are getting worn down chasin' after em! See you at the rodeo, partner? YEEHAWWW!

...okay enough of that! I've always loved exaggerating Texan stereotypes.

Drowned indeed! I'm in a little city just south of a very LARGE city.

However we *did* make it to the list of top 100 cities to live in in America!

Thank you for the compliments on my teeth. I'm sure the flash is giving me a little boost of white-ness.

I was a big fan of whitening toothpaste before I got braces - but now I stay far, far away. No one wants to see white teeth with dark spots where the brackets were when they're nakie!

Ken: Thanks for the comments! I hope that is true about everything. I should be getting my upper wire two days before school starts, so I won't be quite used to them when I go to class - especially when not many people in my grade still have braces.

That is a good point about the headgear. I sure hope it straightens out quickly! I don't know how many hours I'm supposed to wear it yet, so I just do as much as I can. That is one thing I'll make sure to ask at my next appointment. Thanks for everything Ken!

Meloho: I'm glad my headgear can make someone feel better about their situation

I'm learning how to deal with it, although I'm pretty sure I'll never like it.

Tim: Thanks for stopping by! There are so many stories here on AW it's hard to keep up, isn't it?

Sun Aug 05, 2007 10:29 pm

Maybe Head gear will reverse if its on backwords!

#38 Post by **Milk n Cereal** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:00 pm

Thank you for the kind words, seriously! I feel like such a sponge, I'm not used to drinking so much water everyday!

The headgear is getting a little better, although I tend to have the urge to crack/pop my neck a lot more now. Also, each morning when I wake up I have lines on the inside of my cheeks where they were pressed against the metal of the headgear.

Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:17 pm

That not good to crack anything:( I am trying to break the habit of cracking my knuckles

#40 Post by **Milk n Cereal** » Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:27 pm

Actually, cracking your knuckles does no damage to your joints. You are not putting enough strain on the ligaments to cause arthritis or cause joint weakness.

The popping noise is just a result of the carbon dioxide in your sinovial(sp?) fluid coming out and forming bubbles. It takes time to dissolve back into the solution, hence why you can't crack your knuckles for a few minute afterwards.

My boyfriend taught me this a few days ago on the phone.

What a coincidence!

Mon Aug 06, 2007 5:38 pm

when u pop your knuckles fluid builds up

#42 Post by **Milk n Cereal** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:51 am

A quick update for everyone, yesterday I stopped by the store and picked up some new goodies for myself! I got some superfloss (which I LOVE), some interdental brushes, and a travel size tooth brush.

I'm all prepared for school now!

#43 Post by **Lisa65** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 8:58 am

School days.......do I envy you? NO!

When do you start back? Glad you are getting used to the HG. Are you able to sleep OK with it in?
Regarding knuckle cracking - I used to do it a lot in my teens and was always warned against it. It hurts if I do it now though, so maybe all those people who told me I'd damage my joints were right. Or maybe I'm just old.

#44 Post by **Milk n Cereal** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:28 am

Oh yes, braces in highschool (especially all while being an upperclassman) should be just .. spectacular.

School starts on the 27th, I haven't even started my summer reading! I'm such a procrastinator.

Too busy chatting on here!

Sleeping with the headgear is no longer a problem, I can even sleep on my side!

Drooling is still a problem however

#45 Post by **Laurie** » Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:54 am

I too live in a small town south of a large(ish) city. Although there's no way in hades this place will ever make the top 100 best places to live. Maybe the to 100 Redneck towns buy hey.... it's all good!