Sores Galore & Wax Attacks

Good grief.  This isn't for the faint of heart, that's for sure.  It's been a number of months with the TAD (Temporary Anchoring Device) and there has been SO. MUCH. MOVEMENT!  Which, to be honest, is very, very welcome.

And, can I brag for a minute?  ...My teeth are FINALLY touching on the left side of my mouth!  The first time they actually made contact, there was a clicking noise.  I looked around for a minute to find the source of the click before I realized it was actually my teeth and I was hearing it in my left ear for the first time ever!  The left side made the contact clicking noise slightly after the right side.  It sounds crazy, but it was such a foreign sound that I wasn't sure what it was right away.  Obviously, it only took a second or two to figure it out.  Thank goodness I was home alone because my family might have thought I'd lost my mind.  I just kept clicking my teeth together over and over, celebrating a small victory in this journey I'm on.

With all this movement, my soft tissue in the lower jaw is making a lot of changes, too.  There was a week that my teeth moved so quickly that my lips developed a bunch of canker sores.  The brackets were rubbing against the tissue so much.  I ended up looking like I'd been in a fight--my lips were so swollen!  They did finally clear up after about 4 or 5 days, after a lot of hydrogen peroxide treatment and an abundance of my new best friend--dental wax!

I seriously went through 2 cases of this stuff in just that short amount of time.  Whatever works, right?

The muscles in my neck and chin are moving along with the teeth, too!  I'm not going to go so far as to say it's almost like a face lift, but...  It's definitely a noticeable change.  My entire profile is changing.

With the addition of the TAD, I've had multiple rubber bands in my mouth now.  I had a couple of "buttons" put on the bottom left arch on the inside (tongue side) of my teeth.  The ortho folks call them buttons, but I call them spikes!  When the rubber bands are not on the buttons, they feel quite sharp against my tongue. The rubber bands have to come off every time I eat.

And, speaking of eating...  Just a couple weeks ago, I got my tongue stuck on the buttons.  Now, let me preface this by saying I've had these things in my mouth for MONTHS.  This had not happened before and I pray it will not happen again.  I was chewing some pizza with a rather thick crust--and talking with food in my mouth--and the soft underside of my tongue got caught up in the buttons.  Yeah, it hurt a little bit.  I started panicking, thinking that I might choke with all that bread in my mouth.  Fortunately, my family was right there with me.  My mom was trying to keep me calm, my husband was asking how he could help, and I was just there with a stuck tongue and a mouth fully of gummy pizza.  Eventually, I realized that I needed to get the bite out of my mouth.  With all this metal in there, I couldn't move my tongue around the food.  I asked for a spoon, which sounded more like "Oon! Oon! Et me a oon!"  Thankfully, someone figured it out and brought me one.  I scooped out my bite and was able to get my tongue unstuck.

In the meantime, I've learned not to shove such big bites into my mouth.  With this expander and the buttons, the food capacity is significantly smaller.  You'd think I'd lose some weight with that concept.  You'd be wrong.  Since everything I can eat has to be fairly soft (my teeth are very sensitive), I'm mostly eating carbs.  That hasn't been good for swimsuit season. 

Thankfully, it's now August.  Swimsuit season is coming to an end.  My favorite time of year is on its way--Autumn!  I can't wait to see what changes the cooler weather brings.  I'm hoping to be able to take some updated pictures for my next post.  It's hard to believe the difference just 6 months has brought!

Adult Braces and TADs

Here's the fun post (and I mean that in the most sarcastic, it's-not-going-to-be-fun-at-all way).

I've been to the orthodontist a few or more times by now.  My wires have been changed multiple times.  The upper arch looks straight to the untrained eye.  Why is this significant?  Because I'm an untrained eye--and you probably are, too.

My orthodontist, however, has a highly trained eye.  I might consider him a bit OCD--which is what I want in someone I'm paying a lot of money to for my daughter's and my smile.

***Side Note:  Aurora is now halfway through her orthodontic treatment!  She has had her expander and Herbst Appliance off for a couple months and her bite is looking really promising!***

As part of my current treatment, Dr. Allen is using Temporary Anchorage Devices (TADs) to help pull my open bite together.  These are small screws that are placed as skeletal anchorage to bring the teeth together and close the open bite.  I had my TAD placed on May 14th.  It's on the left, screwed into my skull (literally, no kidding) above and between my canine and the first molar.  The goal is to move my first and second molar on the bottom arch into a straight position.  Right now, they are still turned in toward my tongue instead of straight up and down.

In order to install the TAD, they had to numb my mouth.  I really didn't feel anything as he was working the TAD into place.  Really, the part that is causing me the difficulty are the "buttons" as they called them.  They placed these very small "buttons" (they're actually more like spikes when the rubber band is not in place, but I digress) on the inside of my left first and second molars on the lower arch.  I take the smallest rubber band I've ever seen in my life and connect those two buttons to the TAD up top.  Those rubber bands are super strong, too.  I've popped a few of them hollering at the kids or laughing too hard at something I read on Facebook (what?  I've got some hilarious friends.  Seriously, we should have our own show already!).  When the bands snap, the whole room hears it, though.  That's super embarrassing.  Most people are like, "Woah!  What the heck was that?!?"  When I explain, they ask if I'm ok, or if I need anything.  My response:

I've only had the TAD installed for a couple weeks now.  It's been a slow process.  I expected things to go as quickly as they did at first.  You know, two weeks later and those bottom teeth are not only in place, but they're touching the teeth up top.  No.  Not how this is going to go.

Because the TAD is placed into skeletal tissue through the gums, I have to take really good care of that area around it.  An infection could set back my treatment by months.  Every time I eat, I have to change the rubber band.  Every time I change the rubber band, I have to treat the TAD with an antimicrobial medication given to me by the ortho folks.  I was told that if I wanted to treat the TAD 8 times a day, that would be fine, but to definitely treat it after I wake up in the morning, after each meal, and before I go to bed at night.  I just carry the bottle with me in my purse, along with a Ziplock bag of Q-tips and all the other mouth care items I have in there: toothbrush, toothpaste, ibuprofen, my rubber bands, and those interdental brushy things to get the food the toothbrush missed.  Yeah, I now carry more dental supplies than makeup supplies.  Go, figure.

Remember how I mentioned I was tired?  I'm on a whole new level of tired now.  Every day at 2pm--and I could almost set my clock by it--I feel pressure on the left side of my face.  I take my chewable Ibuprofen at this time and within 20 minutes, everything settles down.  I don't know what it is about 2pm, though.  Need to ask the ortho folks about that next time.  Each night, I'm going to bed earlier even though I take a power nap in the afternoons.  And, working out at the gym?  Yeah, that's gone by the wayside for a bit.  The best I can do is walk a mile or so up and down my neighborhood in the evenings after dinner.

I keep a positive attitude about it, though.  There are definitely noticeable results.  The open bite isn't nearly as open as it was.  I'm seeing straighter teeth on the bottom and can even move my jaw so that the front incisors can now make contact--both of which I've never had before!

Is it worth it?  Yes!

Does it hurt?  Yes!

Would I recommend it?  Yes!

Do I want another nap?  Yes!  Always yes.  I regret every nap I never took in my pre-orthodontia life.

Expander Woes

Oh, my word!  This expander in my adult mouth became quite a pain--literally!

I had to "crank" my expander twice a day for a number of days after having it installed.  Then, after that initial expansion, went in for a checkup to see how it was going.  Fortunately for me, my palate handled it quite well.  Unfortunately for me, the expander couldn't handle the crookedness of my teeth.

It kept coming off!  Yes, that's right.  Remember how my teeth were angled toward the inside of my mouth--almost as though they had turned toward each other?  The best explanation we could come up with is that the teeth were unevenly crooked to start with--and so the expander was angled with the crooked teeth.  As the teeth straightened and became more even, the metal expander remained in the uneven state and just angled itself right off the teeth.  This happened 3 or 4 times in February and the first part of March.  After a while, the orthodontic staff just kept a standing appointment for me each Monday.  Because, naturally, the expander ALWAYS came off on Sunday afternoon/evening.

The good news was: My teeth--especially my canines--were straightening at such a rapid rate that I could see beautiful results within the first 4 weeks!  The bad news was that the straightening teeth were outpacing the expander.  It was almost comical how often I needed to go back to the orthodontist to have the expander reinstalled.  Dr. Allen would keep bending it into the shape my teeth were and then the next week, the teeth were in a different position.  He started calling me Wonder Woman because we wondered whether I'll be back in for a refit the following week.

Sigh.  Eventually, everything calmed down and it finally stayed in place.  I don't know how long I'll have to wear this expander, but I sure am looking forward to getting it out!

Some things to note about my expansion experience:

• As I was expanding, my entire skull was, too.  This caused pressure throughout my sinus cavities.  It was nothing a little Ibuprofen couldn't handle, though.
• As my sinus cavities expanded, I started having sinus drainage through my nostrils.  This coincided with the onset of Spring allergies, but I don't usually have sinus drainage with allergies--it's usually post-nasal.
• As my upper arch expanded, my teeth moved so quickly!  I kept saying "my teeth feel so foreign inside my mouth".  My canines moved down into place and I have contact on the left molars now!
• I had to relearn how to chew each week because my teeth weren't where they were last week.
• The expander made it difficult to swallow certain things.  Food would get stuck between and wrapped around the expander.  Small pills/medications would get stuck between the expander and the roof of my mouth.  I ended up getting children's chewable Ibuprofen because they would practically melt instead of needing to be chewed.
• Chewing hurts for the duration of your expansion.  I survived on mashed potatoes and gravy, crushed Ramen, Spaghetti-O's, and Slim-Fast shakes.  Somehow, I didn't lose any weight, though...
• I had to learn to take smaller bites. There were a few instances where I nearly choked because I put too large a bite in my mouth.  With all that metal in there, your mouth capacity is smaller.
• All the expanding creates new bone.  This made me extra tired a lot of the time.  I was told that it's similar to healing from a bone fracture.  As a person gets older, healing from these things takes more time and energy.  This is why orthodontics are recommended in younger teens and tweens.  (Of course, I use this knowledge to justify naps.)

In case you're wondering what an expander is, why it's used and what its purpose could be, here's a little infograph.  Fortunately, I found one that's not too graphic--you're welcome! 

Yes, this graphic says "until puberty".  Obviously, that doesn't describe me (a mother of a couple of kids actually going through that phase of life).  In various cases, palatal expansion is used in adults.  I'm fortunate that I am one of the adults whose mouth accepted the expansion quite well.  If you have a more difficult case similar to, or more extreme than mine, I highly suggest avoiding the at-home treatments and seeking a professional, medically-trained orthodontist.  Please see an AAO Orthodontist for treatment options and plans.  It's surprisingly affordable and you won't regret taking care of yourself and upgrading your smile.

Even with these expander woes, I highly recommend Marc Allen Orthodontics.  If you are in the Charlotte Metro area, please consider him for your smile.  

My Mom Will Never Believe This!

On February 7, 2018 I went to the orthodontist to have my braces installed.  Fun times.  I picked up my youngest early from school after my appointment.  Once we got home, we were playing around with Snapchat to pass the time until the older 2 kids got out of school.  Here are a couple of our favorite Snaps:

In addition to traditional metal braces, I also had an expander installed on the top arch.  Basically, my mouth was not big enough for all the teeth I had crowded in there.  Funny enough, this was my second time in an expander.

Yes, I had an expander in my teens.  This means that my mouth STILL wasn't big enough.

Now, anyone who knows me, knows that I can easily be described as a "Big Mouth".  I told my orthodontist that he needed to send my mom something in writing that my mouth was not big enough!  He got a kick out of that.  After he chuckled a moment, he explained that I may need a second expander once this one has done its job.

Once the expanding is complete, I'll have enough room for all these big (soon-to-be) beautiful teeth of mine.

Adult Braces: My Origin Story

My mouth is jacked up.  Let's just put that out there from the start...  My bite is crooked and so are my teeth.  My upper arch was straightened when I was 15-16 years old.  The lower arch never had braces.  As a result, the problems with my bite were not corrected properly.  But, that's a story for another day. Today, however, I'm wearing braces in my late 30's.  I have a nightly routine of caring for my braces and then putting on anti-aging cream.  Hence, the "Wrinkle Cream & Dental Wax" title of this blog.

As I aged, my teeth moved drastically.  The molars started turning toward the inside of my mouth--as though my cheeks were pushing the teeth toward my tongue.  Basically, the chewing surface of my molars (the part that should have been straight up and down) were pointing toward the inside of my mouth.  The smooth sides of the teeth became my mashing surfaces, instead of the grooved divots of my molars.

Additionally, only my right molars actually made contact with each other.  For as long as I can remember, I could only chew on the right side of my mouth.  My left side teeth NEVER touched.  Needless to say, I'm a slow eater.  And, there are a lot of foods that I never could eat.  For example:

• corn on the cob
• apples
• ribs
• hamburgers with uncut lettuce, onions or pickles
• meat on the bone
• spring rolls
• and so many more things

And, don't even get me started on celery or other stringy fruits and vegetables.  Basically, anything that required your front incisors to cut the food, I couldn't eat it.  Well, I couldn't eat it like most people would.  I would have to bite it with the right side molars (not a pretty picture, btw) or cut it up and use a fork or other utensils and somehow get that food back to the molars on the right side of my mouth.

When I was married, I didn't realize how bad my bite was.  My husband and I were discussing the differences in our eating habits one night and I was shocked to learn that he could chew with BOTH sides of his mouth.  I really thought he was a superhero, or something--that's how ignorant I was about my bite!  At this point in our early marriage, my upper arch was still fairly straight.  

As the years went on, everything shifted out of place.  I decided that I would wait until my oldest was in braces to begin treatment for myself.  I had really hoped for a Buy One, Get One 1/2 Off deal, but that's not exactly how orthodontics work.  Nevertheless, I went with my oldest to the initial consultation.  We found out some really interesting things together.  Mostly, that she inherited my jaw (sorry, baby girl).  Apparently, we both have a condition where one side of our jaw is actually lower than the other, which causes the bite on that side to not close completely.  In the x-ray below, you can clearly see that there is a difference in height of each side of my jaw.  The red arrow is my right jaw, the blue arrow is the left.

Gross, right?  If this had been corrected when I was 15 and still growing (like my oldest is), the orthodontics would be much simpler.  In my late 30's, however, the correction is a bit more tricky.  Apparently, I'm old and set in my ways.  Well, at least my bones are. 

So, here we go.  The plan has been put into action.  Beginning in February 2018, I'm in braces for approximately 30 months.