Braces Off!

Here is a picture of me from when I got my braces on in August of 2011.  I intended to do posts along the way, but well, I didn't .  Sorry.

So, today is the day.  I"m getting them off.  I'm experiencing a mixture of extreme excitement and nervousness.  I have not been a great flosser, and I'm pretty sure I've got some decay. Hopefully nothing too bad, but it's too late now.  I'll find out about that next week when I see the dentist.

Ready for the removal

There were moments when I thought today would never come.  It's been a hard journey.  Wearing braces isn't such a big deal, but daily pain for over a year is kind of stinky.  Major jaw surgery is rather uncomfortable. A process that has lasted over 3 years is a little bit tiring.

  I'm so glad it's done!  I know the retainer won't be my favorite thing to wear, but I'll be stuck like glue to my retainers. Actually, I will be stuck with glue to the bottom retainer.  And I'll wear the top one religiously. I don't EVER want my teeth to move again!

Right now I'm planning on a sparkly, rainbow, glow in the dark retainer.  I might change my mind when I see the options, but whatever I pick, it will be fantastically juvenile. Hey!  I'm a grown up. I can do that if I want to!

Well, I'm off!  The wait will be very short for you, since I'll just keep writing when I get back.  But for me. . . the nerves are killing me!

Two and a half hours later.

 Wow! Didn't that go fast for you?

After some gentle teasing about how I was not going to get my braces off today. . .the orthodontist said. "Take 'em off!'

Bands of Death

No more bands of death!  My hand looks really creepy in this photo. It does not look that creepy in real life.

wire clippers

No more sleeping with wire clippers by my nightstand!

Did you know it only takes a few minutes to take braces off?  Impressive.  It didn't hurt too much.  Okay, it did hurt, but I've had much worse. It was fleeting.  My teeth all appear to be intact.  My back two top molars do have some serious receded gums and extreme sensitivity- so maybe they are toast and maybe I need gum grafts/root canals/crowns.  I'm just not even going to think about that right now.  That will be a discussion with the dentist next week.

I got a permanent retainer glued on the bottom.  It feels creepy but I'm sure I'll get used to it, and I can always switch to a removable one if it bothers me.  Maybe after my teeth have settled down and I'm just sleeping in my retainer at night I will get a removable one for the bottom.  Anyway, it was someone torturous to have that retainer put in.  My mouth was help open with some plastic contraption and I was stuffed full of cotton for about 20 minutes while she glued and glued and glued.  The really bad part is how you cannot close your mouth and your tongue is getting pushed back so you feel like you are being gagged.  I only had one moment where I considered panicking and ripping the thing out, but I made it through.

After the retainer got glued in I had impressions made- 2 on top and one on bottom and one bite plate.  I had pina colada goo.  It was a pretty pleasant flavor.  The stuff sets up in about 45 seconds, so it isn't too awful to have your tongue pushed back choking you for that part.

So, here are the pictures you've been waiting for.


August 2011

September 2013

Obviously, the lighting is different. My teeth and skin are actually the same color, they just look different due to the light.   The differences are pretty subtle since I had braces for a bite issue and not due to having really crooked teeth.  My teeth fit together better now.  That is all that matters to me.

Happy Becky!

And I got presents too!

This water bottle contains all kinds of stuff I wasn't supposed to eat during the last two years, but when I felt good enough to eat it, let me tell you, I ate whatever I felt like, including all of the forbidden foods. The only thing I cannot eat anymore is really hard food like raw carrots.  I may never be able to eat them again, but I'm going to give it a try again in a few weeks. 

I get my retainer on Thursday. It will be rainbow sparkly.  We decided not to do glow in the dark because it messes up the sparkly. 

So, I'm done.  It happened. Tonight I will sleep without the bands holding my teeth in a tight clench, my companion for over a year.  

Time for a new family photo!