opera^gal's story

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#46 Post by **Tommm** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:33 pm

Congrats on the 2 months! I've never heard of freedent before. Going to try it out asap

#47 Post by **opera^gal** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:54 pm

The 'baseball to the face' pain so many have talked about.....I know totally understand...OMG!!!

Had my second adjustment on Monday and it was one big ol' bucket of ouch from the word 'open a lil wider'. First off, my tiny orthodontist had trouble removing the top arch wire from it's tubular spot on the band..shovepullshovepullshovegetonastoolpullshove...and it finally released. She then commented that it was time to begin 'advancing' my front teeth, and asked for said advancing wire in the same 18 gauge, with lollipop loops next to the bands. Putting that in place pierced my cheek as it was extra extra long before clipping, and then I was treated to my first wire ties on the two front teeth...round and round and round by hand, and then....with pliers!!!! I actually thought the brackets were not even engaged with the wire, but the tighter the tie got, they touched and then had regular ligatures put over the wire ties. When checking the bottom arch wire, she was going to leave it be, until I commented that it felt loose where it spanned a non-bracketed tooth. After re-checking it, she removed the original 14 gauge wire and replaced it with an 18 gauge, and added a 4 piece powerchain, to close the gaps between my lower incisors. Here I thought I was done, but noooooooooo......she then added regular ligatures over the ends of the powerchain, but only on HALF the bracket.

Got home, with a throbbing mouth, took some Aleve and waited for it to ease things. I'm still waiting as of writing this entry 36hrs later and another couple doses. I can report that the space between the lower incisors closed up mere hours after the powerchain went on, and a space OPENED between the front incisors in the same timespan. So other than feeling a bit like Bugs Bunny with Elmer Fudd trying to split my skull open from the nose downward..it's been a grand couple of days.

I know it will get better with time, that I'll be able to smile, talk, and chew again normally..but egads!!

#48 Post by **sdawdy** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:01 pm

Ok I am laughing so hard after reading this....not at you but the whole situation on not getting the wire out....
....shovepullshovepullshovegetonastoolpullshove.....

I have had that happen a few times. At one point I remember thinking are my teeth still in my head!!!!!

Aren't powerchains wonderful...they work in such good ways....but boy can you feel them when they are new! I am currently on a 3 week schedule to have my powerchains replaced as my teeth just wont move....argh...

#49 Post by **opera^gal** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:20 am

"baseball to the face" pain update:
Things are looking up..the constant throbbing has stopped, only to be replaced with the throbbing if anything up front gets touched either from behind the teeth <tongue pressure> or outside the mouth <blowing my nose>. It might be TINY progress, but it gives me hope!

Woke to SNOW today...light flurries but still white stuff floating down from the heavens...makes me wonder what is next...locusts? frogs? moon turning to blood? Lunacy!!

#50 Post by **Andromeda** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 11:47 am

Hey I think I have the same loop archwire you talked about! I got it in March and there are pics in my braces story. Its to move my top front teeth outward and I developed the space between the two front teeth as well. It went away for a bit but came back. Sorry to hear about all the pain but Im right there with ya! Just had an adjustment yesterday and still feel baseball-to-face. Hope we both feel beter soon, haha. But it does mean progress

#51 Post by **opera^gal** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 7:32 pm

Hey Andromeda...I looked at your pics of your loops and yours are much further forward than mine...mine are all the way back just in front of my banded molars...but acheiving the same thing in advancing the front teeth forward and creating <for now at least> a gap.
Having the loops put in so soon in my treatment, makes me wonder if it might be a tad shorter than expected..I suppose I just will have to wait to hear those dreaded/excited words "elastics" before I'll know the end is in sight.
Thanks for your shared pain and support...always helps!

#52 Post by **opera^gal** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:50 am

Yay! the throbbing factor has decreased dramatically and I've been able to chew once again <way way back on only one side, but heck, it IS chewing>!!!

My left upper incisor, aka Fleetfoot, has taken to the forward advancement program like a real champ..right up there where he should be, with the rest of the lefty crowd. His not so accommodating pal on the right, aka Slowpoke, is fighting this progress with everything he has <thought about saying 'tooth and nail' but even I couldn't go THAT far with the puns>..he is lagging behind and I believe having clandestine meetings with the other righties about some sort of mutiny. "Arrrgh and avast matey's..we're gonna keelhawl the rest of ya iffin ya don't get in line"....well that's just terrific, now I am imagining tiny lil eye-patches and clashing of cutlass's...someone call Disney...quick!!!

#53 Post by **Andromeda** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 12:13 pm

Bahahah! Im sitting in my cubicle at work and had to stifle my laugh several times at that last post! Pure genius - I especially love the names Fleetfoot and Slowpoke

I am also experiencing better movement of front teeth on one side (my left). Im pretty sure its because my ortho just started me on a new elastics regimine which involves wearing them diferent on both sides. The right side wil catch up eventually tho Im sure.

Well here's to less throbbing and being able to (however minimally) chew! Its the little things in life....

#54 Post by **opera^gal** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:18 pm

My tongue can now touch behind my front teeth without sending me through the roof...Yay! Still have to progress from regular soft toothbrushing back to the SoniCare...all in good time.

I was brushing after a late lunch today, when I looked out the window and saw a little bunny rabbit...mocking me!!..he was sitting there, eating grass and flashing his gapped-buck-toothed smile at me...as if he was saying in rabbit-ese 'hey you...ya you there in the window...you're beginning to look like me...soon you'll be craving carrots..which you won't be able to chew!!!' Let's just say, there is one lil hassenpfeffer hippity hopping with a large easter egg shoved under his fluffy cottontail tonight!

#55 Post by **opera^gal** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:35 pm

Hey Ken: Thanks for the compliment about my particular style of blogging...I figured, this whole being braced as an adult deal has an air of hilarity most times for me, so why not express it? It stops me from prying the blasted little bits of sharp metal off with some pliers, or snipping the offending wires in half for causes such agony...but I keep remembering the very VERY old saying "pain is weakness leaving the body"...so weakness schmeakness, I continue onwards towards a corrected bite and better shaped arches.

Oh, and the bunny is back....and he brought friends. I fear they will be making me an offer I shouldn't refuse...OR..they are leaving some 'special raisins' in the chocolate eggs for the morning.

#56 Post by **opera^gal** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:58 pm

A week since my last adjustment and I seem to already have some 'pokey wire' stuff going on..trying to stick it out and see if it is just my inner cheeks needed to toughen up some more, or if I really need a clip-job this soon...wax wax and more wax when I really can't stand it..hope no one has a wick handy expecting me to 'light their way'!

#57 Post by **opera^gal** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:18 am

Pokey wire problem solved...won't say exactly how it was accomplished but to comment that it is wonderful to have a friend who is a long time jeweler who has lots of teeny tiny tools that ...well....forget I said that...move along...nothing to read here!

Slowpoke top incisor is STILL procrastinating about getting with the 'advancing forward program'. I know if Fleetfoot had an arm, he'd place it behind his buddy and bring him along. But sadly, teeth do not have arms <bet some of you reading this will dream about it later...bwahahahah...my evil plan at work!>. I realize I need to be patient about movement, it is ONLY the 3rd month in dental-bondage...but I'm telling ya...where is the deliverer...where is Chuck Heston, Dds??? Instead of a staff to part the Red Sea, he'd have a fist full of speedy archwires and powerchains to get things rolling!!! "Let my incisors GO!"
<wow, a few too many religious movies this past week...my bad>

#58 Post by **opera^gal** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 7:14 pm

Return of the GapMonster

I have had what I thought was no real progress for about a week now, no pain either. Yet, when I woke up this morning, a few NEW gaps had appeared out of nowhere...just...poof!...gap-age!!! On the good side, makes flossing a snap....on the bad side, I fear this means many more powerchains in my future and I really REALLY detested the first mini chain this past adjustment.

2 more weeks until the next adjustment...wonder what is in store for me in the meantime?

#59 Post by **macgirl4ever** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 8:23 pm

You have the best humor about subjects that I find mildly irritating at best! I love reading your blog-it really gives me a different sense of perspective.

Question: Is your ortho using powerchains to close very large gaps or just small ones? I seem to remember spending 75% of my txt time in powerchains as a teenager. My new ortho has not mentioned anything.

#60 Post by **opera^gal** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:03 pm

Thanks for your kind compliment about my blog.

Right now, it's closing irritating small gaps, as she hasn't begun dealing with larger ones..........yet