Bummed...Ortho Appointment Related

You probably already guessed why I am bummed. If you guessed that I still don't have my flipper in you were right! Today the ortho reposition two brackets in my upper arch. They reposition my right lateral incisor and right canine I am assuming it's to get them to lift up a little more. * By the way I recently noticed that my Iphone flips the pictures around that I have been posting on here so I am sure some of you may think I am very silly and don't know my left and right. I promise you that I do! I am way to lazy to fix it on all the pictures in this blog right now so I am just going to keep going with it. Sorry if it annoys anyone. * My next appointment is 9 weeks away and there is a chance my ortho will give me my flipper then. He told me to just keep asking...grrr. He also said that he is waiting for a stronger wire to give me my flipper. Ortho dude can you please just glue it in and call it a day? Anyway my baby boy is due in the next 5-8ish weeks and I am hoping sooner rather than later this momma is so over being pregnant. At least he won't remember me being toothless if I can keep my teeth in during pictures on his birthday. My daughter on the other hand has begun to notice and asks me on a daily basis where my tooth is. I am honest with her, I told her the Orthodontist took it from me and will give it back when he chooses too.

Below is a picture of my teeth today. They are coming right along.

Great Question Brought Me Back!

Again I have been slacking on my blog until today when I was asked a really good question by a reader on my blog.
First I would like to start with an update since it has been awhile. I had an ortho appointment earlier in the week and I do believe my ortho is playing a game with me because I still haven't gotten my flipper in haha. I am sure when I do get it in I will post here immediately but I was just a little bummed that I still am toothless. I guess it can make for a great halloween costume. Anyway my bite was back to being crossbite a few months ago and my ortho had me wear an elastic band on one side and after three months of doing this it is finally correcting. I do have to say that I was not very good a wearing that band for the first two months and I wore it like a saint the last month in hopes that he would give me my tooth at my last appointment but no that didn't happen. Good news was that there maybe an end in sight the ortho said I maybe able to get my braces off by the end of the year! WOOHOO! crossing my fingers that this will be true and I can begin the process of getting my implant for the front tooth put in.  Now for the question that had brought me back here. I was recently asked if I had noticed any change in my face specifically my cheek bones after my surgery. My answer was not really. But then again it could just be that I see my face in the mirror everyday and maybe I just got used to the change? If it did change it had to have been minor because I don't feel like I look different. I decided I would do a side by side and post it here maybe it will help give a visual of the change the surgery may have done to my face.


before in 2010

after in 2013

 Now after looking at the two photos I don't see much change at all. My lips look a little thinner and my jaw looks skinner but my cheek bones look the same to me. I am sure results are different for everyone though.

Missing in Action! But..

I am back! Sorry for slacking off. My life has been chaotic as of lately. First of all my baby girl turned 2 at the beginning of June and I have to say 2 is tough! She keeps me on my toes and now I understand the true meaning of terrible twos. I do apologize to any parent I ever judged whose toddler was screaming bloody murder in the grocery store. It is now very clear it was not your fault. I am now that parent. Karma I suppose?

In other news I am happy to announce that I am expecting baby # 2! I am 16 weeks today and due December 23rd! I will hopefully find out the sex of this one on July 29th! I am way too impatient to wait until December.

Now the reason I blog in the first place an update on my teeth! It has slowed down in progress so much that I felt blogging about it was useless anyway. At my last appointment the ortho had me wear a rubber band on my left canine to pull it back. I am still waiting for my flipper to be put in and the ortho said once there is enough room that will happen. I have been terrible about keeping my rubber band on especially since I am constantly hungry and pregnancy brain too. I am trying and I hope my next appointment will let me leave with a full set of teeth! Crossing my fingers! Updated picture of my teeth below.

A Long Time Since the Last Update

March 20th, 2013
Time is flying on by. I began this journey as a mommy-to-be and now I am a mother of a 21 month old daughter who I may add is extemely intelligent. She has countless words, full sentences, and sings. Oh what a year can change. Speaking of change my teeth have made such a transformation since this time last year. I think around this time last year I was trying to figure out if I could truly afford this surgery. I am so grateful to my husband for his help to make this surgery happen for me!
Now on to my appointment I had today. Things are moving along nicely although still no flipper until things are a little more in place. They put a stronger wire on my upper arch and replaced the wire on my bottom arch. The plan now is to align all my teeth. I go in on April 23rd for a pan of my teeth. Below is a picture of my teeth today.

March 28th, 2013

The last adjustment I had on the 20th of March as made my bite feel very off. I realize now how very crooked my mouth is which is what they are working on correcting now. I am back to hitting my lateral incisor when I bite down. Sigh

April 24th,2013
So by now some of you may have given up on me. I apologize I have been extremely busy with my independent toddler and work. I am still going at this braces thing though. This blog is now over a year old! Amazing! And my surgery is coming to its one year anniversary May 9th!! Time sure does fly! I had an appointment yesterday it went smoothly. My Teeth still hurt today and I still don't have a front tooth. The Ortho is still in the process of bringing my lateral incisor up and moving my teeth to the correct alignment. I hope this all makes sense sorry I am on my iPhone. :) Next appointment is at the end of May. I will do my best to update then.

For about 10 months!

This expander has been in my mouth since April 11, 2012. I am just an hour and a half away from getting it removed and I am nervous and so excited! I am guessing my jaw will be sore when all is done.
11:30 am
I leave my office grinning ear to ear. I am in walking distance of the orthodontist office. I arrive say hello and get checked in. I sit and wait reading a book until my name is called. I don't wait long, my name is called and I follow one of the many nice assistants to the back and to my chair. She takes off the bottom power chain and the bands on the top arch and the top arch wire. Then it is finally time! She starts to pop my expander off. It doesn't hurt to bad I just feel pressure and hear crunching and its out she gives me water to swish around my mouth since it tastes nasty, I swish and get the sucker thingy in my mouth to get rid of the water and finally I rest my tongue on the roof of my mouth! WOW it felt so good!
After they clean the glue off they add the brace brackets to my back molars. Then add new wire and bands and no more power chain on the bottom arch. Woohoo. Only disappointment today ortho won't put in my flipper until spring if it will fit. I went straight back to the office to eat my lunch it was so good to eat like a normal person. No lip smacking and I could taste the food! So far my jaw doesn't hurt but it may take a bit for my jaw to start feeling sore. I hope not though. :)  Pictures below.

Very Good News Today

So happy with my Ortho appointment today. I finally got the news I was looking forward to hearing since last April! Can you believe that last April I had my expander put in?! Crazy right? Well My Ortho is very pleased with my alignment on my upper arch right now. He said I am now completely out of crossbite! Hurray and not only that but he has scheduled me an appointment to remove my RPE!!!!! January 30th is the day that I will no long talk as funny, smack my lips trying to clear food out of this silly expander and finally allow my raw tongue to heal so that I can finally enjoy spicy food again! I am very happy to close this chapter in my life and I want to thank all of you for reading my blog in its ups and downs and I promise you I am not going to stop my blog here. Nope I am going till the very end of this long journey and maybe even beyond. To think I started this whole thing at 4 weeks pregnant and now I have a 19 month old running around and talking back to me. Below is a picture after my adjustment. A new wire on top and another power chain on the bottom. I will be back here for another report on the 30th! :)
P.S. Yesterday was 8 months since my SARPE Surgery!

Happy Everything!

I had such a wonderful holiday season spent with my wonderful family. I hope you all had a great one too! Last year was a year of major change and it looks like this year will be too. My teeth are looking so great now and even with a tooth missing right at the front I can smile proudly. Picture of my teeth from today and a picture of my daughter and I on New Years watching a fireworks display below! :)