opera^gal's story

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#136 Post by **HeyBuckey!** » Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:20 am

Dang it! I turned a tootsie roll down two weeks ago! The HORROR, the ANGUISH!

#137 Post by **opera^gal** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:10 am

2 wks until my next adjustment...time seems to be passing very slowly in the orthodontic world. No real pressure nor movement happening at the moment..kinda like the wacky weather...it's Nov but somehow 60-70 degrees outside...wth?? I'm anxous for the cog to turn over, and it be winter...as well as the cog to turn over and get some action with these tinsel teeth!!!

#138 Post by **opera^gal** » Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:11 pm

One more week until my next adjustment and I'm back to being a Wax Queen...arrrrgh! For some still unknown reason, my lower front lip interior is all jacked up, so I'm waxed across all lower incisors. Soooooo attractive too! The appearance of a lower fat lip <from wax beneath> and the tell-tale 'is that bread dough caught on your braces' look of the wax...MmmMmmm...kiss me honey!! Bah!

#139 Post by **karencoutts** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 5:38 pm

HI Opera Gal. You dropped in on my blog. I haven't commented much on other people's blogs. I noticed that you were first braced around the time I was first braced (February 20 for me). So I am particularly interested in your journey. I want to know how this will end.

My treatment has been very boring. I had Carriere Distalizers for 6 months, to move my upper back teeth back 1 mm on one side and 3 mm on the other. Damon braces in February 2009, followed by 5 adjustments, the latest on November 17. Nothing really interesting happened at all. No powerchains, elastics, metal ties. The most interesting thing to happen to me happened on the most recent appointment, with my front upper four incisors tied together with elastic, and my 7s finally bracketed.

For you, I can't understand why they don't bend the hooks shut until they need them.

I wonder what happens from here to the end. How much longer in your sentence, and do you know what will be done next for you? I should really get around to asking my ortho what comes next.

#140 Post by **opera^gal** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 7:28 pm

Thanks for stopping by karencoutts. Nice to know someone else out there in adult bracesland, is on a similar time path as myself. The original sentence was 12-18 months, and with December careening towards us like a freight train, I'm guessing I will not be free at the 1 yr mark

. Rumour has it, if the most recently banded molars are behaving, I'll go into elastics next week,going from top molar to bottom canine on both sides

. No idea what strength. I'm already in a stainless steel square archwire on top but have had the same gauge NiTi on the bottom for endless months.
Hope you get some answers from your ortho next visit and your treatment continues going well.

#141 Post by **opera^gal** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:21 am

Well well well, what an interesting adjustment today! Off went the old silver ligs, thought about holiday colours but the tech said every kid in the joint was doing them, so I went back to jelly teal. Doc came in, pulls my lips all ocean-eyed, this way and that, left the bottom wire the same for the umpteenth month in a row BUT added some handy dandy hooks via wire ties onto the bicuspids, then wire-tied the bottom incisors nice and tightly together. Chatting away with the tech, and mentioning all sorts of technical doo dads, she removes the stainless steel wire on top, replaces it with the same gauge in NiTi <which I had 2 months ago..is this backtracking for a reason??>..adds some nifty bicuspid hooks on top as well and proclaims 'time for elastics!'. I was prepared for it, but the original *plan* of lower canine to upper molar was somehow, for some unknown reason, swapped for a box configuration from canine to canine to newly hooked bicuspid to newly hooked bicuspid. Holy Moly!!! Showed me in the mirror HOW to put the blasted torture devices in place and then drop the best little tidbit of the day...'you'll be wearing them 24/7'..OMG!! I thought these came with training wheels, or at least, a break in period of ..say...12hrs??? Nope, nada, niente, zilche, nulla, ain't gonna happen no how no way. 24/7 of basically having my mouth bungee'd shut, except to brush and eat. AAARRRRGGGGGGGGGG! Someone sedate me and set the snooze alarm to the debanding date please!

#142 Post by **opera^gal** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:25 am

P.S. the top four incisors were also wire-tied to match the bottom...and "ocean"-eyed.. was a forum censor of a certain barnyard bird that wakes up REALLY early in the morning and lets everyone know it by crowing 'Ocean-a-doodle doo!'. <wink wink nudge nudge see what I mean>

#143 Post by **yj207** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 10:51 pm

How do you remember what order to put them in? That's one of my biggest worries!

#144 Post by **opera^gal** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 1:48 pm

Hey yj207..it's one single elastic on each side, connected at 4 diff hooks..thus making the 'box' configuration. I'm using a hemostat <needle nose plier> to manuveur the elastic into place and make all the connections. So far, haven't snapped myself, but I know that is coming soon enough. They HURT in all sorts of new and not so wonderful ways: neck tension, jaw tension, headache, and basic tooth pain. I keep telling myself, it is one more step towards the end of the journey.

#145 Post by **opera^gal** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:23 am

The Pain Parade continues down main street orthodontia today, and I seem to be the lead float..again! I had NO IDEA what this whole elastics-dance would be like, with all the added non-dental places I'd have pain. It HAS to get better down the road, it just HAS to!!! I know it's only day 3 with the tiny bits of latex torture in there, but they have amped up the 'why did I do this?' quota up several notches. I assure the reader, I *will* wear them as prescribed, I *will not* disreguard the doc's knowledge on why they are being used in the auto-da-fey manner of a box configuration, and I absolutely *will* see the other side of the medicine cabinet before this dog and pony show is over!
Now back to your reguarly scheduled programming:

#146 Post by **sdawdy** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 6:17 pm

You have me laughing like mad over here....

Aren't elastics fun....I never had the privilege of getting the box or any weird configuration. I have had some pretty basic elastics in my journey...

Don't worry, they will get better. Believe it or not, I asked my ortho what to do cause it didn't feel like my elastic was tight enough....she looked at me funny and said her change it to your very back molar and that will give the elastic more pull...

#147 Post by **opera^gal** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:21 am

A note to all those beginning elastics: If one of the little buggers appears to be a tad thicker than the others, try pulling it apart to see if it just might be 2 stuck together....OMG...no wonder I was in such agony! So much for quality control over at the elastics factory..I dumped the baggie of elastics after realizing what occured and sure enough, more than HALF were non-separated!!! Lesson learned by golly by gosh. Needless to say, I am feeling better now with the correctly prescribed tension on the combined 8 little hooks...so no 'extraction flare' will be fired into the night sky tonight!

#148 Post by **opera^gal** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:10 pm

The evil that IS elastics! Bwahahahahaha!

#149 Post by **opera^gal** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:53 pm

Ok ok ok...My bad..."The evil that ARE elastics"...there, I fixed it...lol

#150 Post by **opera^gal** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 11:57 am

SNAP!!!
[/b]What a way to start the day, with the shocking of latex being catapulted into my cheek. The first of many, I'm sure, but still a surprise.
"Dear Santa; I've been very compliant with my elastics and would like to ask for a special gift this holiday season. Please put coal in the stockings of all the elastic makers on the planet as they are the minions of evil incarnate. Extra milk and cookies on the 24th! love~ o^gal"

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