7th adjustment

I had my 7th adjustment this past Tuesday, Jul 11, bright and early at 8am. This time the only thing that I had to do was to take molds of my teeth. I can tell that the nurse assistant is new and inexperienced because it seems like she didn't know what she's doing. And of course I was right because I ended up doing 3 molds for my upper teeth!! She screwed up once already and when the ortho examined the 2nd mold, he told her to do it again, for the 3rd time!! The tray filled with gunk stuck all the way inside my throat made me hurl. I basically barfed, but because I didn't eat anything before I came, I had nothing to throw up. So I guess it was a good thing that I went with an empty stomach! I was very annoyed and frustrated. She could see it in my face. She kept apologizing, but I didn't acknowledge my forgiveness. I felt that the whole situation would have been prevented had she been more experienced.

After the molds, I had the same wires put back on. I chose to put silver ligs on my upper brackets this time since I am so sick and tired of the clear ones staining yellow. Power chains again. No change from last time. So a few hours after I left the office, I felt discomfort on my lower right wall of my mouth. I checked it out and it was the end of the wire poking at me. Dang! That stupid nurse didn't clip the wire off! I don't have time to go back to the office! I'll see if I can toughen it up and just bear with it, then I can save myself another trip back to the ortho's. Next time, if I get her again, I will request that someone else help me.

Ortho said after he analyzes the molds, he can tell me whether I am ready for surgery yet . I hope the answer comes back as YES!!! I will be so damn disappointed if he tells me that I need more time. :(

Next appointment: August 1, 2006

6th adjustment

Went to the ortho yesterday and had new wires put in. According to the nurse assistant, this is the thickest wire. She seems very excited and happy when she said that, so I guess I should be happy too. She also mentioned that my teeth are pretty straight now. So good news there. I have power chains put on this time, which I think is used to close up any gaps between my teeth. And there is one gap on my left upper side that I really wanted closed! Food constantly get stuck there and it's so difficult to get them out! So I'm glad that it is being closed. Ortho told me that the next time I go in, he will take molds of my teeth. Since my 2 jaws are so far out, he can not foresee how my teeth are going to fit without doing a model. Then, only after that, will he determine whether I am ready for surgery or not. I cross my fingers that the answer comes back as Yes! But I won't know that until next time or a week or so thereafter.

It's been a long while since I felt soreness in my teeth after an adjustment. Like I mentioned before, I feel so little after previous adjustments that I begin to wonder if there is something wrong with me. I guess this new wire and power chain are both kicking in. My teeth are actually quite sore and I had trouble eating yesterday night and today. I resorted to eating softer foods today just to make sure I don't worsen the situation. I think by tomorrow or the day after, I should be fine. I also have a nasty sore on the corner of my upper right lip which is hurting everytime I talk or eat. There's this white dot, most likely infected with bacteria, that hurts when I rub on it. Haven't posted a picture for a while, so here is my most recent status (May 23, 2006):


Next adjustment: July 11, 2006

Awkwardness

I bumped into a friend that I haven't seen in ages, at least not since I got my braces. It was a weird feeling because I've had the braces for so long already and actually forgot that there are actually some people I know that haven't seen me with braces yet. I was natural until I noticed her noticing my braces. Then it dawned on me that she hadn't seen me in braces before. She didn't make any comments so I didn't bring anything up either. It would have been better if I had seen her after my whole surgery deal, then I wouldn't look so weird. Remember that my jaw is protruding more than before, so it's awkward. Plus I have braces on. Yuck.

5th adjustment

I think I lost track of how many adjustments I did already. The last one I went to was on April18, 2006. I just came back from a business trip and it was the practically one of the first things I did. It was disgusting that my ligs were all yellow (too much coffee). Not much went on during this visit. The ortho said that the wire I current have on hasn't "expressed itself fully" yet. In other words, the wire hasn't straightened out completely yet. Dang it. So I have to use the same wire, and just had the ligs replaced to add more tension. I told him why don't I feel any pressure anymore, not that I like to feel pain but at least it gives me the impression that the braces are actually doing something. The othro said that I don't feel anything because I'm used to it already... he used some kind of analogy like exercising. The first few things you exercise, you will feel sore but after you do it enough times, you don't feel the pain anymore. I get it, but it just feels better when you know that the braces are "at work."

The ortho still has not given me any "prompts" on when I should contact Kaiser for my surgery date. This is driving me insane because it means that I'm not ready. If there is any delays on my surgery because of scheduling issues (hospital too full, or no more appointment times), I will go ballistic on my ortho. I don't want any more delays of any sort. My ortho did mention that on my next visit (May 23) I will put on my surgerical wires, wires that I will wear to the surgery with... so we'll see. He also mentioned that I will not be wearing any rubberbands until after surgery because he needs to see how the surgery affects the overall bite and then he can come up with the treatment. Ok, so everything's under control!

The 6th month mark

I've reached by 6th month mark. I am getting mighty anxious and impatient with the whole process. I've been feeling worse lately, partially because I'm going on a 2-week long business trip, meeting with these unknown strangers, trying to have meetings with top senior executives without being too embarrassed with my braces. Everyone will be staring at me, and probably making internal comments to themselves as to why a 30-yr old would have braces so late?! I guess it's OK in the office because everyone around me are generally nice people and they know me. They know who I am and can see pass the braces. But for complete strangers, it is a little unforgiving. They will simply judge me on how I look and how ridiculous I look.

Another friend of mine announced she has a baby on the way. This is the 7th announcement of the same sort within the past couple of months. Now what does babies have to do with anything to my teeth and braces? Well, one of the biggest sacrifices for me when I first decided to get braces was to delay having a baby. My husband and I agreed that if I were to get braces and go through surgery, that we would wait until everything is over before starting a family. Because we know what having braces would entail, and most importantly, what surgery would entail. I would be kept "under" during the 5-hour operation and rely on liquid foods thereafter. Obvious indications that being pregnant during this time is not a very good idea at all. So we made the choice. But these recent baby announcements among my friends make me feel like I am missing out. I should be getting a baby by now... I am afterall turning 31 this year. I'm not young anymore. I am just depressed as to why my braces and surgery can't be done quicker?! My next adjustment is not until April 20. It seems such a long time away since my previous adjustment was in February. I am getting antsy. I wonder when should I set up my surgery date. WHEN?!

My profile has gone from bad to worse. My lower lips are sticking out so much they don't touch with my upper lip anymore. I have to forcibly make them touch and remind myself to close my mouth. It is not a pleasant sight. I am damn ugly! When will this end?! Why do I have to be born with such big jaws!?!

4th adjustment

Sorry I haven't been writing as often. It's just because there isn't a whole lot to write about. Nothing has really changed between then and now. I went for my 4th adjustment today. My ortho wasn't in the office due to an elective surgery he had to do -- he did have another ortho to substitute. The new ortho didn't talk to me at all -- just checked my teeth and that was about it.
I got another new wire in today. I don't feel much difference. It's of course a little tighter, but nothing unbearable. The nurse assistant told me that I have to get my teeth aligned and then undergo "major bite correction." in her exact words. I think my teeth is already pretty much aligned but then again, I don't really know for sure. I do notice that recently my lower teeth is really protruding out. They used to curl inwards but now they are 90 degrees to my jaw (where they should be). I guess this is what the ortho told me before... I will actually look "worse" than how I started off. You don't notice it unless you see my profile. I have to use a little energy and be mentally aware to make my upper and lower lips meet.

I wonder when they will start correcting my bite. I am thinking the use of the rubber bands? Anyways, I took another picture of my teeth today to share with you. No next adjustment date yet, since my ortho is not there. They'll call me to schedule.

February 17, 2006

3rd adjustment

Just did my 3rd adjustment today. My archwire didn't get changed. I just got my ligs changed so they can re-apply pressure to force my wire to work more efficiently. The old ones have been sretched and no longer work as good. Besides, they are yellow and gross. In the process of getting my ligs changed, they found out that the bracket on my upper left canine was loose. I didn't even notice before.. so they had to repair it. They took the bracket out of my tooth. While I waited for the ortho to reapply, I stared at that one tooth. It looked naked but smooth. My tongue ran over the tooth and it was a nice feeling not having a bracket over it. But that was short-lived. The ortho came and glued the bracket back on.

The ortho told me that my teeth are progressing nicely -- especially the bottom teeth. That was good to hear. He also told me that I am on schedule to be ready for surgery in September of this year. Of course, September is not the firm date just because it all depends on the surgeon's schedule. I hope it will be in the November timeframe just so I can combine my leave of absence with holidays. Then it wouldn't be that noticeable that I'm taking so many weeks off. The best is around December when everyone is away, offices close, and there is nothing to do. Oh well, that's still so far away...

Next Adjustment: February 17, 2006

Anxious and Paranoid

I can't wait until my next adjustment, which is scheduled to be this Friday. It's not like I can't wait to get sores or numb teeth again... it's just I can't wait until I see more progress with my teeth. I am getting so impatient. I wish the ortho can fast-track me and just give me the maximum treatment my teeth can possibly take. I think I can handle it.

One thing I came into realization lately is that my braces are not so temporary. It's not like bad lipstick you put on. You can wipe it out if you don't like the color. With braces, you can't take it out. You can't say -- oh, I need to take a picture, so I will take out the braces temporarily so I can get a better smile. It just doesn't work that way.

I am also getting paranoid of my braces lately -- more so now than when I first got them. I feel like people are noticing them more. Maybe because my ligs are so yellow now with coffee stains that all my teeth appear yellow. I'm conscious of that. And that may be why I am so anxious for the next adjustment. I am wondering if I should go bold and try a different lig color? A color that is still subtle but stain-proof. The bone color ligs I got were a little better than the other one when it comes to staining, but they still stain with coffee.

braces off

The barista at one of the smaller coffee chain stores I patronize each morning has braces. Or should I said "had" braces? Just so you know, I usually notice when I see adults with braces because it seems like we have a common bond. So I noticed that this particular barista has braces. She has all metal too. But today, when I saw her, I noticed her pearly whites. No more braces. Just straight teeth. Wow. So envious of her. She must be so happy that her braces are finally off. I can only imagine when mine will be off. No, I can't imagine, because it's so far away. I'm still so early in my progress. I don't even have rubber bands on yet and it's not even 4 months yet. I still have a very long way to go. *sigh*

Happy New Year! Happy 2006!

Having posted for a while, so just thought it would be great to start off the year with a new entry. Since my last visit to the ortho's office, I didn't notice any major changes to my teeth or its alignment. I am almost thinking that the archwire I currently have on is not doing its job. Maybe the ortho should switch me to a even thicker wire so I can speed up the process. I think my teeth can take it. I'll feel a little pain here and there, but I'd rather have that than to prolong the braces period. According to the ticker, I've already been braced for 3-1/2 months already. According to my oral surgeon, I should be setting up my surgery date 6 months prior to the actual surgery. And since my ortho said I would need about 1 year of braces before surgery, that would mean that I should start planning out the surgery date in 3 months or so. If all goes well and according to plan, I think my surgery would be sometime in the Fall of 2006. Can't wait until everything is over!!

Addicted to the Mirror

Once you get braces, you always stare at your teeth in the mirror. It's like you're addicted to the mirror. Not to being vain, but just curious to see if your teeth moved at all. I haven't seen any drastic movements since the last time I looked. Maybe it's because I look every single second of my free time. My brackets are a lot better now, by the way. Eating is still a little bit of painful because more food get trapped in the insides of my mouth. Other than that, the scraping stopped and now my gums are no longer inflamed. Life has returned back to normal, somewhat.

Another piece of good news is that the nurse was right. My o-rings are did not stain and are not yellow despite the fact that I drank a cup of coffee today. There was no staining whatever. It's interesting. I will surely remember to get the same color o-rings next time. It's called Bone.

Bad week

It has been a bad week for me since my 2nd adjustment. My mouth wall tissues are inflammed, so whenever I bite or chew or even talk, my teeth trap the tissues in-between. It feels almost like biting on your tongue, but 10x worse because the area is already inflammed. Talk about adding salt to the wound. The rear brackets are not only scraping the walls of my mouth, they are really painful on the gums. My gums where the rear brackets are so sensitive. They are all red and inflammed as well. I think the nurse might have pushed the brackets too far into my gums. I'm going to wait 1 more week and go back to the ortho if the swelling continues.

As you can imagine, it was really painful to eat during the past week, which is such a shame because it was Thanksgiving and I had about 3 dinners to go to. I still have a hard time chewing today. I've changed my diet back to softer foods such as soups, tofu, napa cabbage, and potatoes. I think I will have to go through those food for one more week, or so I hope.

2nd Adjustment

I went in bright and early today at 8am for my 2nd adjustment. The spacers didn't bother me as much as it did the last time. The spacers went off in no time, and I had to do those back molar bracket fittings. The nurse associates this procedure as finding a shoe among hundreds that fits without first knowing the shoe size. A couple of tries, but she found it. The worst part was having to "bite-close" and to force those brackets into the molars. I don't have a proper bite to begin with, so you can just imagine how hard it was to bite-close those brackets into the back molars. My teeth got so sore! They still are! I can barely chew on anything today. The rear brackets are also scraping against my teeth so I need to use wax.

My ortho fitted me with even thicker archwires. I was surprised when he said that the past 2 wires I had were only "training" wires. Now, it's more like the real thing. He told me that the good news is that my teeth moved a lot, and the bad news is that my teeth moved a lot. He said it while he was checking on my teeth. With my mouth open, I wasn't able to respond. I'm not really sure what that all mean, now that I come to think of it. I hope it's not all bad. I did notice that my lower teeth now look slanted. Is that the way it should be? My ortho already told me that my teeth will look worse than they do before, due to the fact that he is correcting my teeth based on what's going to happen in surgery.

My next adjustment is not going to be until January 20th! 9 weeks from now! My ortho said that the archwire will need 9 weeks to adjust because it's thicker. He also told me that from now on, my adjustments will be further apart because the thicker wires will need more time to adjust. I will eventually need 7 more wires. I got "bone" colored ligs this time. According to the nurse, this is the best color without major staining. I sure hope she's right. My next adjustment is 9 weeks later! The tooth-colored one that I got last time didn't work.

Pre-2nd Adjustment

I went to the Ortho today to put in spacers for my rear molars. On Monday, I will have 4 more rear brackets, in addition to the 4 I already have. The spacers are just what I remembered them to be, annoying. They don't hurt as much this time because I only have 4 this time, instead of 8 last time. They still feel like food stuck in between my teeth. It's hard holding back from flossing them out. I also got some sores on my upper right lips today. I'm not sure why that happened.

One thing I don't like about having braces is all those ortho appointments I need to go to. If I'm a kid going to school, I would love it. Having an ortho appointment would mean a legal excuse to skip classes. But now that I'm working and being as busy as I am, having to leave early or come in late to work become a nuisance. I make the appointment usually 6 weeks before the actual appointment and with my luck, I always seem to pick the day that end up being the busiest day of the month. Yeah. I try to plan around my known scheduled deadlines, but something always come up in between. Like today, I had to excuse myself from a meeting mid-way because I had to leave early for my appointment. I felt embarrassed.

Happy 2nd month!

I've reached my 2 month mark. I know there is a lot more months to go, but it's still a milestone for me. For the most part, I'm 90% used to my braces now. My teeth and gums are no longer sore. I am able to bite into certain food that I would have never attempted to a month ago. So there's definitely progress there. Speaking of progress, I don't notice much difference between my Oct 25 picture and where I am today. Doesn't seem like anything has changed. I guess my definition of change is the straightening of the archwire. But since it was already relatively straight on Oct 25, there isn't a whole lot of more straightening to do. Not that I know this for sure, but I think my next step is to change my bite and the way my upper and lower teeth "fit together." I'm impatient when it comes to these things. I wish everything can go faster.

By the way, I've already lost 6 pounds since I had my braces. I guess you could say 6 pounds less in 2 months. A lot of it has to do with my diet. I've been cautious of what I eat...not because certain foods are more "fattening," but because I tend to gear towards "easy-to-chew" foods, which means lots and lots of tofu. I love tofu, so I guess it all works out. I rarely drink coffee now because it stains my clear ligs. Instead I drink tea. So at the end of the day, I am eating and drinking a lot healthier, although not necessarily all by choice. I would love to eat pizzas and fried chicken wings, but because the massive amount of work I need to do to cut them up, etc I just give it up altogether.

Spacers on Friday .. Yuck.

Endless Sores

When I first got braces on, the metals scraped against the inside walls of my mouth day and night. Knowing that our body is usually very good at adjusting to changes, I tried hard not use any wax because I wanted my mouth to adapt and "immune" to the braces. I want my mouth to quickly develop the stronger tisses to withstand the pain. So, the sores came and went. But I just learned that you can never be done getting sores as long as you have braces on. I got my new adjustment last week and this week, I've already experienced multiple sores inside my mouth, in "new" spots. I guess when your brackets move, they scrape against new areas of the mouth. It's actually quite annoying. So, even if you think that your mouth is equipped to battle sores, it isn't. You'll never be done.

1st adjustment

I just came back from the Orthro's office for my 1st adjustment. I got all my o-rings changed. I chose the tooth-colored o-rings for my upper clear brackets. Hope these won't stain, but I have a feeling that they still will. I don't remember if I got the same ones last time or did I get the clear ones. Either way, I'm going to try them to know for sure. They also removed my archwire and replaced them with slightly thicker ones. When the new archwires went on, my teeth were a bit tight. But after 2-3 minutes, they felt fine again. I don't feel any different than I did before going to the visit, which is good and bad. Good because I don't feel any pain. Bad because I am wondering if that is what I should feel? Are my teeth adjusting faster than normal? I often read about people's experience with braces and for the most part, they are pretty bad. But for me, I'm fine. My teeth aren't hurting at all. Even my orthrodontist tells me that I should feel sore, but in reality, I don't. I'm perfectly OK. I mean, I feel the inconvenience, but pain? soreness? Not really. That worries me a bit.

My orthrodontist tells me that he's using the most comfortable treatment for me and that may be why I don't feel pain. He said my first archwire was just a "transition" period just so I can get used to have braces. The archwire I have now helps me start the process. I will be getting rear metal brackets on my furthest back molars in 3 weeks. I already have 4 (2 upper, 2 lower) but I'll get 4 more. The worst thing is that I will need spacers before the brackets can go on. I HATE SPACERS. They hurt like hell and are really annoying. They feel like you have food stuck in between your teeth, 24 hours a day. They move your teeth apart so all the other teeth feel pressured. Luckily, I got the orthro to give me appointments only 3 days apart so I can get the spacerse removed ASAP. Next appointment: November 18, 2005 for spacers. November 21, 2005 for my rear brackets. I think I will get another set of wires on that day as well.

I was able to eat a pizza for dinner today. I still had to cut it up into pieces but at least I was able to chew and swallow it. I avoided the hard crust and ate mostly the middle, more soggy parts of the pizza. Happy to note that I am beginning to get used to having braces. Don't get me wrong, I am still very much reminded every moment that I have braces and the inconvenience of having them doesn't go away. But at least now, my teeth don't hurt as much. People tell me that the moment you get used to the braces, it's time to have them adjusted (usually about 6 weeks), which is totally correct in my case. I will have my first adjustment this Thursday. I took a picture of my teeth today and notice substantial improvement since the first day. My archwire is now almost totally straight. This only tells me that my teeth are beginning to straighten with the archwire, which is exciting for me. I wonder if I'll be getting a new archwire on Thurs....which I'm sure will cause me another few weeks of pain. Not looking forward to that. On the flip side, I am anxious to change out my yellow o-rings. I have been enjoying coffee this week because (1) I really needed it to fight jetlag, and (2) I know that I'll be changing my o-rings this Thursday. I'm posting the picture I took today and I'm re-posting the first day the braces got on. You can see the noticeable difference when you compare the two.

October 25, 2005

September 16, 2005

Happy 1st month!

Sorry that I haven't been blogging as often as I would like. I'm actually on business travel in Hong Kong right now. The bad thing about this trip is that I need to meet a lot of new people. People who I always email or talk to the phone with, but have never met in person. I am conscious (and curious) of what people think of me when they first see me, with braces. I don't think they would have imagined someone as old as me to have braces. Majority of the people would have nice teeth by now, since braces are usually a teenager thing. But nope, not me.

Traveling also throws you off your normal schedule. I am relying a lot on coffee to keep me adjusted to the time schedule and the lack of sleep. My O rings are already disgustingly stained, so I'm not even going to care anymore. I need the caffeine to keep me awake.

I've been pretty busy with work and meetings, but I have to find time today to celebrate my 1st month anniversary with braces!! Like I said before, the experience hasn't been bad so far. I go on my first adjustment on Oct 27.

Don't eat greens in public!

I learned something new today. Never eat greens in public...especially spinach. Or any other veggie related to spinach. They will stick onto your braces like glue and are almost impossible to remove. After I brushed my teeth, irrigated with high-pressure water, and flossed, the spinach is still stuck in between my teeth and wrapped around my brackets. It's already embarrassing to have green stuff stick in between your teeth. When you have braces, it's 10 times worse. So word of caution, don't eat spinach in public.

I hit my 20 day mark today. YEAH! I am quite amazed that my teeth has already started to move a little bit. My front teeth are still sore and sensitive. They're not painful nor bother me at all, but I can't bite food with them. I usually have to break the food apart into smaller pieces and then chew with my back teeth. In fact, when my mouth is idle (not eating or talking), I almost forgot that I have braces on.

Like I promised last time, I'm posting some of my "before" pictures. Hope they won't scare you!

When you look at my front view (right), my teeth and jaw don't look too bad. In fact, I've learned how to smile so that only my upper teeth show and no one really notices my protruding jaw.


Now if I turn to my side and you see my profile... YUCK!!! I hate my profile. My jaw protrudes out sooo much. My lower lip sticks out so much! I never take any pictures with my profile. It's ugly, ugly, ugly!!

Here is my teeth. Sorry to scare you! Notice that the top and bottom teeth don't touch each other. There is at least a 5mm gap in between. My bottom teeth tried to accommodate the irregularity by growing inward, attempting to touch the upper teeth. For the most part, my front teeth are inusable. I only chew with my back teeth, which aren't fitting to each other that perfectly either. Some parts of my teeth are crooked. The bottom right has some crowding.

My first day in braces! September 16, 2005. The crookedness is noticeable when I have the braces on because you can tell from the archwire. It's not straight. The worse part is the bottom right crowding.


Here is my teeth today, 20 days later. Notice the lower right teeth...the crowding is a little bit better. The tooth no longer "leans" to the side. The wire has also straightened out. I am happy that it's progressing. My orthro tells me that since my lower bottom teeth leans inward, the plan is to have them straighten, so before surgery, the gap in between the top and bottom jaw will be wider. My teeth and lip will appear to protrude out even more. Until then...