All about the teeth
Well, I'm committed now. As of six hours ago, what feels like a pound of poking metal is glued, tied and otherwise slotted into my mouth. And then there's the plastic retainer.
After an impending sort of day, I reported in to the dentist at 3 pm and was in the chair almost immediately. She had to "try on" several bands to see which would work--a process she compared to sizing rings, but it feels different. Then there was the stretcher again! And air blowing on my mouth to dry it out for about 20 minutes while they prep half the teeth, glue the brackets on, let them dry and then repeat the process.
Meanwhile a certain amount of information is imparted--mostly of the Thou Shalt Not variety. Taffy, caramels, corn on the cob, meat on the bone, big pieces of raw vegetable, pizza crust, apples (unless sliced thin), nuts, ice, anything too hard or too sticky or too chewy. The basic idea I carried away was unless I'm sure, don't! (As time goes on, I may relax that, I suppose.)
They brought out the retainer and showed me how to snap it in and pull it out. I'm supposed to wear it at night, when I eat and as much of the rest of the time as I can/will. I'm sure that after a while I will be able to speak more understandably with it in ... until then, I may not be able to wear it at work when I'm answering phones.
They gave me a bag of orthodontic supplies--two of the little brushes that look disturbingly like tiny toilet cleaning brushes, an envelope of floss threaders, a new soft toothbrush, two packages of dental wax, a bright orange retainer case and several pages of instructions.
I wrote the down payment check, got the card for my next appointment in four weeks, and headed off to Target for additional supplies--several toothbrushes in a distinctive color (pink) that won't be grabbed by my sweetie accidentally, a six-pack of the generic Ensure in case I don't feel like eating, a Finding Nemo tin to carry supplies (toothbrush, dental wax, etc.) around in my purse, a bottle of ibuprofen and a WaterPik.
Before heading home I stopped to see the BFF and the sprout and ended up going out for Chinese with them and the sprout's best bud. The won ton soup was fine and the other stuff didn't *hurt* to eat ... I just can't figure out where any two of my teeth meet so it feels like I'm chewing. So far I don't seem to ... I suck the food around and make vague passes at it with my teeth, then swallow. A very soft/liquid diet is probably what I'll go with for a while. And the retainer feels really weird too.
I got home before my sweetie was asleep and he hooked up the WaterPik for me and commiserated. (No French kissing for the moment, however.) After he went to bed I began the first full tooth cleaning, which will need to be a nightly ritual.
Ye gods and little fishes! The orthodontist said it would take ten minutes longer than usual ... that might be true for the brushing and the WaterPiking (which was not a required part). But the flossing! It took me about 30 minutes tonight, and I may have skipped one or two areas. Especially with the back teeth, getting an angle with that floss threader is a bearcat. I need to lay in a good supply of floss, too--I went through three pieces tonight, whereas before one would be enough for a full flossing. I sure hope I get faster at it. One problem is that with my glasses on, I can't really see close up in the mirror. So I have to take them off--which means I have to get very close to the mirror. After I got tired of sitting on the counter downstairs I moved to the upstairs bathroom to finish the process.
Trying for the positive viewpoint--I foresee possible weight loss ... it literally seems like too much trouble to eat a lot of the time, given everything that has to be done afterwards. And I have to start getting my teeth ready for bed earlier, and once that's done it's way too much trouble to eat anything and face doing a bunch of it over. And if the retainer makes it hard to talk, maybe I could work on being a better listener. And of course, long-term, this should be a big benefit for my oral health and otherwise. Now I just have to stay healthy, drive safely and live long enough to enjoy it.
*sigh* First full day tomorrow ... number one of a possible 730 days at the outside. Maybe if I do everything I'm supposed to, and my teeth are malleable, it'll be more like 18 months.
After an impending sort of day, I reported in to the dentist at 3 pm and was in the chair almost immediately. She had to "try on" several bands to see which would work--a process she compared to sizing rings, but it feels different. Then there was the stretcher again! And air blowing on my mouth to dry it out for about 20 minutes while they prep half the teeth, glue the brackets on, let them dry and then repeat the process.
Meanwhile a certain amount of information is imparted--mostly of the Thou Shalt Not variety. Taffy, caramels, corn on the cob, meat on the bone, big pieces of raw vegetable, pizza crust, apples (unless sliced thin), nuts, ice, anything too hard or too sticky or too chewy. The basic idea I carried away was unless I'm sure, don't! (As time goes on, I may relax that, I suppose.)
They brought out the retainer and showed me how to snap it in and pull it out. I'm supposed to wear it at night, when I eat and as much of the rest of the time as I can/will. I'm sure that after a while I will be able to speak more understandably with it in ... until then, I may not be able to wear it at work when I'm answering phones.
They gave me a bag of orthodontic supplies--two of the little brushes that look disturbingly like tiny toilet cleaning brushes, an envelope of floss threaders, a new soft toothbrush, two packages of dental wax, a bright orange retainer case and several pages of instructions.
I wrote the down payment check, got the card for my next appointment in four weeks, and headed off to Target for additional supplies--several toothbrushes in a distinctive color (pink) that won't be grabbed by my sweetie accidentally, a six-pack of the generic Ensure in case I don't feel like eating, a Finding Nemo tin to carry supplies (toothbrush, dental wax, etc.) around in my purse, a bottle of ibuprofen and a WaterPik.
Before heading home I stopped to see the BFF and the sprout and ended up going out for Chinese with them and the sprout's best bud. The won ton soup was fine and the other stuff didn't *hurt* to eat ... I just can't figure out where any two of my teeth meet so it feels like I'm chewing. So far I don't seem to ... I suck the food around and make vague passes at it with my teeth, then swallow. A very soft/liquid diet is probably what I'll go with for a while. And the retainer feels really weird too.
I got home before my sweetie was asleep and he hooked up the WaterPik for me and commiserated. (No French kissing for the moment, however.) After he went to bed I began the first full tooth cleaning, which will need to be a nightly ritual.
Ye gods and little fishes! The orthodontist said it would take ten minutes longer than usual ... that might be true for the brushing and the WaterPiking (which was not a required part). But the flossing! It took me about 30 minutes tonight, and I may have skipped one or two areas. Especially with the back teeth, getting an angle with that floss threader is a bearcat. I need to lay in a good supply of floss, too--I went through three pieces tonight, whereas before one would be enough for a full flossing. I sure hope I get faster at it. One problem is that with my glasses on, I can't really see close up in the mirror. So I have to take them off--which means I have to get very close to the mirror. After I got tired of sitting on the counter downstairs I moved to the upstairs bathroom to finish the process.
Trying for the positive viewpoint--I foresee possible weight loss ... it literally seems like too much trouble to eat a lot of the time, given everything that has to be done afterwards. And I have to start getting my teeth ready for bed earlier, and once that's done it's way too much trouble to eat anything and face doing a bunch of it over. And if the retainer makes it hard to talk, maybe I could work on being a better listener. And of course, long-term, this should be a big benefit for my oral health and otherwise. Now I just have to stay healthy, drive safely and live long enough to enjoy it.
*sigh* First full day tomorrow ... number one of a possible 730 days at the outside. Maybe if I do everything I'm supposed to, and my teeth are malleable, it'll be more like 18 months.