One whole freaking year! And what a year it has been!......got married, changed careers, passed one of my final two actuarial exams, went to Europe......wow!
But bring my jaw blog, I'll stick to the teeth.
Seriously, when I look back at the Day 1 blog pictures, my teeth have come light years in one single Earth year! My teeth are now straight, believe that or not! I no longer wear the upper palate retainer, and there has been a little relapse up there (I can tell because that retainer does not fit very snug at all when I try to get it in there), but for the most part everything is looking great! I am currently in the process of closing the gaps caused by the extraction of the lower 4's back in the spring of 2009.
Once that is done, the real fun starts, and my return to this blog will be assured. Impressions of my teeth are going to be taken, and the surgical team is going to figure out the appropriate course of treatment for the impending surgery. It makes me nervous just to think about it. I guess I can take solace in the fact that once THAT'S over, then this whole process is going to be over as well.
I am going in to see Joanie once every 3-4 weeks now since the wire used to close the gaps is only good for that amount of time. I also still have a problem with the upper molars, which have not quite aligned with the rest of the teeth yet. They protrude slightly to the outside, which could be a problem if they move my maxilla forward during the surgery....I may be chomping down on my cheeks. So they are trying to push these molars UP as far as I'm aware. It has made for a couple of uncomfortable days since my last adjustment, and the bracket wire is once again slicing into my cheek.....which has not happened in months!
I will keep everyone up to date.
So given that it has been a year now, I think these are my top observations of life with braces:
1. Carrying a toothbrush with you is a must. Something from every meal is going to get stuck in the brackets, and can be quite disgusting. Lettuce or any kind of leafy vegetable gets stuck in there every time I eat it.
2. Flossing is annoying, but is pretty important. I would recommend at the very least using a waterpik if flossing is as annoying for you as it is for me.
3. Electric toothbrush is a must. The OralB Triumph has special heads for people with braces. I use the pick-like head to clean the brackets, and then the regular head to clean the teeth.
4. Go to your dentist as often as possible for cleanings. The bottom line is that your teeth are not going to be kept as clean with braces as they would be without, so going for cleanings as often as possible is strongly urged! I currently go every four months. Once this is all over, I may pull back to every 6 months.
5. Keep your eyes on the prize. After it's all over, your teeth are going to look great. Besides, adults with braces is becoming more and more common.
I will update this again once I start hearing about the surgery.
Take care!
Paul
Monday, September 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Day 274 - Apologies
Holy crap - I've been terrible about updating this blog. Forget about the pictures, which I have also been bad at, I can't seem to update this BLOG!
That's maybe because there's not much to report. I really want to post some of the pictures that I've taken. The teeth look great. The ortho has stated that they are pretty much aligned now. Pretty soon, they're just going to be closing the gaps in the bottom jaw caused by the teeth they removed last year.
Speaking of 'year' - on June 30 it will be one year since the SARPE expansions stopped. So this means that one year ago, I was sporting a HUGE gap in between my teeth. It's crazy to think about how far everything has come since then!
My surgery was tentatively scheduled for late this summer/early fall, but I think my orthodontist, who is a student still, maybe got a little ahead of herself because now they are saying no surgery until next year! This is what I was assuming initially when this whole thing started over a year ago, but given how well my teeth have been coming along, I was really hoping for this year. Oh well.
The other significant event that occurred was the removal of the expander! This happened at some point in March - about 13 months after it was initially placed up there. The expander was replaced with a removable retainer to ensure the relapse of my jaw is held to a minimum. The retainer was something else I had to get used to, but now it's fine. Holy crap though - when they removed the expander, my palate was very sensitive, it felt weird even when AIR would touch it! My mouth's palate was like a cathedral!! Of course, I'm used to it now. Oh, when I got home, I took a picture of my expander when the process started versus the expander when it was all over. I think you'll be as shocked as I was at the difference (yet another picture I have to put up here!).
My orthodontist is about to go on her summer break. I have an appt next week, and one in July right after my WEDDING actually. It's going to be a busy summer.
Finally, the orthodontic works is nearly paid-in-full!! Next month will be the final payment. Again, I have been very lucky to get this work done through the university. I have a great job and pretty good benefits, but even with all that, I just don't know how I could justify the price tag of this work done through a private clinic.
Anyway, I'm going to try to update this blog a little more regularly. I'll put some pictures up here really soon.
Take care,
Paul
That's maybe because there's not much to report. I really want to post some of the pictures that I've taken. The teeth look great. The ortho has stated that they are pretty much aligned now. Pretty soon, they're just going to be closing the gaps in the bottom jaw caused by the teeth they removed last year.
Speaking of 'year' - on June 30 it will be one year since the SARPE expansions stopped. So this means that one year ago, I was sporting a HUGE gap in between my teeth. It's crazy to think about how far everything has come since then!
My surgery was tentatively scheduled for late this summer/early fall, but I think my orthodontist, who is a student still, maybe got a little ahead of herself because now they are saying no surgery until next year! This is what I was assuming initially when this whole thing started over a year ago, but given how well my teeth have been coming along, I was really hoping for this year. Oh well.
The other significant event that occurred was the removal of the expander! This happened at some point in March - about 13 months after it was initially placed up there. The expander was replaced with a removable retainer to ensure the relapse of my jaw is held to a minimum. The retainer was something else I had to get used to, but now it's fine. Holy crap though - when they removed the expander, my palate was very sensitive, it felt weird even when AIR would touch it! My mouth's palate was like a cathedral!! Of course, I'm used to it now. Oh, when I got home, I took a picture of my expander when the process started versus the expander when it was all over. I think you'll be as shocked as I was at the difference (yet another picture I have to put up here!).
My orthodontist is about to go on her summer break. I have an appt next week, and one in July right after my WEDDING actually. It's going to be a busy summer.
Finally, the orthodontic works is nearly paid-in-full!! Next month will be the final payment. Again, I have been very lucky to get this work done through the university. I have a great job and pretty good benefits, but even with all that, I just don't know how I could justify the price tag of this work done through a private clinic.
Anyway, I'm going to try to update this blog a little more regularly. I'll put some pictures up here really soon.
Take care,
Paul
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Day 163 - Happy Anniversary to my Expander!
Happy February all (only one more month of winter!....unless you're following me from the Southern Hemisphere)!
Just thought I'd take the opportunity to acknowledge that I've now been living with an expander (not "the" expander as they were forced to switch expanders at one point during my expansion since my jaw was initially so narrow) glue to my upper jaw for a FULL YEAR!
The first day I had it in my mouth was interesting. I had a very difficult time saying a lot of words, especially those with a sound rhyming with the letter "e". I think my tongue would keep getting caught on the back of the expander which is why I had so much difficulty. This next part's gross, but also the first couple of weeks produced a lot of saliva! I don't really have a good explanation for this one, but there was a lot. But both of those quickly went away. Talking became like normal again and the saliva situation was under control! Eating without getting crap caught all in the expander is STILL difficult to avoid, and it is still occassionally uncomfortable (not in a painful way though!), but you know what? I am completely used to it now....which is going to make its removal so much sweeter!
I have an appointment next week to get sized up for a removable retainer thing that I can take out when I eat. I think they want me to have the retainer to ensure that the relapse is minimal. It has been nearly 8 months now since expansion has stopped and almost 10 months since the surgery itself, so it's probably ready to come out, but again, the expansion was so severe that they want to make sure...and I don't blame them!
Anyway, I will update everyone on the appointment once I have the chance. Take care!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Day 140 - Expander nearly done with?
Happy 2010 everyone!
It's been a while! It's late, but hopefully everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's! It's a little weird posting on here once the braces are on. I feel that a lot of great stuff is happening to my teeth, but it happens so gradually that I don't feel like I need to post every week like I did back in the Spring of 2009 when I had my SARPE surgery. I mean, when I look at my teeth today compared with day 1 with my braces, the changes are HUGE I think, but it's happened so gradually that I haven't felt the need to post! I apologize for this, but even if that habit continues, my next surgery is going to get me to start posting again!
I had an appointment almost two weeks ago with Dr. Roy. She's pleased with the progress so far. They took an x-ray of my front teeth, and enough bone had formed between them that they were able to activate the brackets on my front teeth finally! The bottom wire's gauge was ramped up a couple of notches as well. So all in all, my bottom teeth and two front teeth were in some pain for a couple of days. But again, it's really peanuts compared to what I've experienced already!
The best news of the appointment was that my expander is almost ready to come out! It has now been almost 7 months since expansions have stopped, and almost a full YEAR since the expanded was first fitted into my mouth. The expander is going to be replaced by a type of retainer at my next appointment, which will be in late February (or almost EIGHT months post-expansion!!). This retainer will allow me to remove the appliance when I eat. I know I'm going to love the feel of the roof of my mouth so much that I'm not going to want to wear the retainer. I'd actually almost prefer to keep the expander in until they are 100% sure it can be removed with little to no relapse.
For those who don't know and would like to, I'm told the expanders for SARPE generally are removed six months after expansions are stopped. They have to leave the expander in as the palate's suture that gets broken in SARPE re-solidifies. If the expander is removed prematurely, then the two sides of the jaw will collapse on each other again, which would render a surgery and subsequent hideousness worthless. However, given that my expansions were so extreme (almost 70 activations, which is nearly three-quarters of an inch!.....in fact, two expanders were needed to complete the job because the screw on the first one was only long enough to go 40 activations on its own), they wanted to leave it in there for a while longer. Again, I'll be close to eight months once my next appointment comes. Maybe that's long enough? Who knows. If they're not sure though, I'd rather just keep it in to be safe rather than sorry.
Finally, the impending orthognathic surgery seems to be on track. Dr. Roy said that she may even have me prepped for it by the time her summer vacation comes along. Sounds great, this is ahead of schedule, but any summer surgery that happens will have to be after the wedding in July.
So I guess I'll update you again when the next appointment comes along. Maybe I'll be able to take a picture of the ROOF of my mouth sans-expander for the very first time in a year.
Take care,
Paul
It's been a while! It's late, but hopefully everyone had a great Christmas and New Year's! It's a little weird posting on here once the braces are on. I feel that a lot of great stuff is happening to my teeth, but it happens so gradually that I don't feel like I need to post every week like I did back in the Spring of 2009 when I had my SARPE surgery. I mean, when I look at my teeth today compared with day 1 with my braces, the changes are HUGE I think, but it's happened so gradually that I haven't felt the need to post! I apologize for this, but even if that habit continues, my next surgery is going to get me to start posting again!
I had an appointment almost two weeks ago with Dr. Roy. She's pleased with the progress so far. They took an x-ray of my front teeth, and enough bone had formed between them that they were able to activate the brackets on my front teeth finally! The bottom wire's gauge was ramped up a couple of notches as well. So all in all, my bottom teeth and two front teeth were in some pain for a couple of days. But again, it's really peanuts compared to what I've experienced already!
The best news of the appointment was that my expander is almost ready to come out! It has now been almost 7 months since expansions have stopped, and almost a full YEAR since the expanded was first fitted into my mouth. The expander is going to be replaced by a type of retainer at my next appointment, which will be in late February (or almost EIGHT months post-expansion!!). This retainer will allow me to remove the appliance when I eat. I know I'm going to love the feel of the roof of my mouth so much that I'm not going to want to wear the retainer. I'd actually almost prefer to keep the expander in until they are 100% sure it can be removed with little to no relapse.
For those who don't know and would like to, I'm told the expanders for SARPE generally are removed six months after expansions are stopped. They have to leave the expander in as the palate's suture that gets broken in SARPE re-solidifies. If the expander is removed prematurely, then the two sides of the jaw will collapse on each other again, which would render a surgery and subsequent hideousness worthless. However, given that my expansions were so extreme (almost 70 activations, which is nearly three-quarters of an inch!.....in fact, two expanders were needed to complete the job because the screw on the first one was only long enough to go 40 activations on its own), they wanted to leave it in there for a while longer. Again, I'll be close to eight months once my next appointment comes. Maybe that's long enough? Who knows. If they're not sure though, I'd rather just keep it in to be safe rather than sorry.
Finally, the impending orthognathic surgery seems to be on track. Dr. Roy said that she may even have me prepped for it by the time her summer vacation comes along. Sounds great, this is ahead of schedule, but any summer surgery that happens will have to be after the wedding in July.
So I guess I'll update you again when the next appointment comes along. Maybe I'll be able to take a picture of the ROOF of my mouth sans-expander for the very first time in a year.
Take care,
Paul
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Day 103 - Happy Holidays!!
Over 100 days with braces now! Not so bad! The differences I'm noticing are crazy!
As 2009 draws to an end, I started thinking about all the stuff that's happened this year:
1. My upper jaw is 50% bigger than it was at the start of this year.
2. My teeth, top and bottom, are much straighter than at the start of this year.
3. My fiancee and I bought our first home - a condo in downtown Toronto.
4. This is new news, but I recently accepted a position at a new firm! It was a very difficult and surprisingly emotional decision, but I decided to try something a little different for the next little while and see where it leads me!
So new job, new home, new MOUTH, it's been a great year overall!!! I'm not positive I've had such an eventful year before!
Who knows what 2010 will hold! At the very least, our wedding is in July, so that's huge. The jaw surgery is still tentatively slated for the fall, so that's big news too. So in all honesty, barring any major setbacks, 2010 is shaping up to live up to 2009. The other thing is passing my last two professional actuarial exams. That's #1 on my priority list for 2010. I have one in May and hopefully the last one in November. We'll see!!
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2010!! I'll talk to you again then!
As 2009 draws to an end, I started thinking about all the stuff that's happened this year:
1. My upper jaw is 50% bigger than it was at the start of this year.
2. My teeth, top and bottom, are much straighter than at the start of this year.
3. My fiancee and I bought our first home - a condo in downtown Toronto.
4. This is new news, but I recently accepted a position at a new firm! It was a very difficult and surprisingly emotional decision, but I decided to try something a little different for the next little while and see where it leads me!
So new job, new home, new MOUTH, it's been a great year overall!!! I'm not positive I've had such an eventful year before!
Who knows what 2010 will hold! At the very least, our wedding is in July, so that's huge. The jaw surgery is still tentatively slated for the fall, so that's big news too. So in all honesty, barring any major setbacks, 2010 is shaping up to live up to 2009. The other thing is passing my last two professional actuarial exams. That's #1 on my priority list for 2010. I have one in May and hopefully the last one in November. We'll see!!
I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2010!! I'll talk to you again then!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Braces - Day 84 (my political rant)
Hi everyone!
I found myself just combing through some of my old posts, especially those with pictures. Yikes that gap was big wasn't it?!?! Unbelievable. I can't believe we're really starting to come to the close of 2009 now. This year has gone by so quickly. I feel I've been saying that for a few years now, and I fear I'll be saying that every year.
My teeth are good. I went in last week to see Dr. Roy, who changed the wire, but not to a different gauge. She said that the teeth still have to move a little bit! I'm really starting to wonder if the timing of this whole process is going to be a little bit longer than anticipated.
When I was there, I also put a huge payment down on the braces, meaning that this whole process is nearly paid for in full! I think I have about $700 to go. Again, I'm very grateful to the University for taking my case. I have a pretty good job with decent benefits, but there's no way I could afford to do this privately. I don't know how some families can cope with this burden. I realize that orthodontics can be perceived as a cosmetic "luxury", but in my case, this has really helped me out physically. I snore less (so my fiancee now sleeps more!), my sleep apnea episodes have decreased dramatically, I even don't drool (sorry, I know that's gross) nearly I much as I used to which has led to less gum irritation which once led to bleeding when I went for cleanings.
And forget about orthodontics, only those with benefits from an employer are the ones lucky enough to go to a dentist on a regular basis. That's unbelievable. I would not say for a second that I am a liberal or democrat or left-wing or whatever you call it, but I am a big believer in public health when regulated properly, and in the interest of preventative medicine (as we all know, oral health is a big indicator of overall health), basic dental benefits really ought to be covered by this Province.
I'm sorry for the political rant there. It does not happen very often, but I think often about how lucky I am to have found this University program for my teeth that some other deserving individuals will not have the opportunity to partake in.
Once again, my apologies for no pictures. They're coming soon!
Take care. If I don't post again before Christmas, I wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy 2010!!!
I found myself just combing through some of my old posts, especially those with pictures. Yikes that gap was big wasn't it?!?! Unbelievable. I can't believe we're really starting to come to the close of 2009 now. This year has gone by so quickly. I feel I've been saying that for a few years now, and I fear I'll be saying that every year.
My teeth are good. I went in last week to see Dr. Roy, who changed the wire, but not to a different gauge. She said that the teeth still have to move a little bit! I'm really starting to wonder if the timing of this whole process is going to be a little bit longer than anticipated.
When I was there, I also put a huge payment down on the braces, meaning that this whole process is nearly paid for in full! I think I have about $700 to go. Again, I'm very grateful to the University for taking my case. I have a pretty good job with decent benefits, but there's no way I could afford to do this privately. I don't know how some families can cope with this burden. I realize that orthodontics can be perceived as a cosmetic "luxury", but in my case, this has really helped me out physically. I snore less (so my fiancee now sleeps more!), my sleep apnea episodes have decreased dramatically, I even don't drool (sorry, I know that's gross) nearly I much as I used to which has led to less gum irritation which once led to bleeding when I went for cleanings.
And forget about orthodontics, only those with benefits from an employer are the ones lucky enough to go to a dentist on a regular basis. That's unbelievable. I would not say for a second that I am a liberal or democrat or left-wing or whatever you call it, but I am a big believer in public health when regulated properly, and in the interest of preventative medicine (as we all know, oral health is a big indicator of overall health), basic dental benefits really ought to be covered by this Province.
I'm sorry for the political rant there. It does not happen very often, but I think often about how lucky I am to have found this University program for my teeth that some other deserving individuals will not have the opportunity to partake in.
Once again, my apologies for no pictures. They're coming soon!
Take care. If I don't post again before Christmas, I wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy 2010!!!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Day 54
First off, I'm EXTREMELY sorry about not posting. I've been terrible about keeping the blog updated, especially when it's actally been a fairly eventful 53 days since my last post!
Today, things are great. I've noticed a huge difference especially with my bottom teeth - the gap where they extracted the 4's is basically closed up now on the right side. The left side still has some room but is getting there. The rest of my bottom teeth have straighted out very nicely actually!! For the top teeth, I'm declaring the gap officially closed. There's still a very small triangle at the top, but yes, closed! Okay, now lets update you on the first month:
After getting the braces on, I noticed that flossing was just not going to be an option. I couldn't even thread the floss through to my back teeth and the whole process took 15 minutes. Can't do that. But I am used to flossing everyday and the thought of all that food stuck in there grosses me out, so I immediately bought a waterpik. I love it. According to the waterpik people, it removes more plaque from in between teeth than flossing. It's basically a pressure-washer for your teeth. I HIGHLY recommend this for people who don't have the 15 minutes/day to floss! In addition, I bought some special "braces" brushes for my Oral B Triumph which has been working quite well. I think the brush is just a little softer than usual, and then there's another "pick" kind of brush that I use to clean the metal.
It took me a while to get used to the braces. For the first week, I was holding my jaw closed. When I went to open my jaw to do something as simple as talk, it actually took some effort to unlock my jaw because I was closing it so hard. Weird. That lasted a week or so - I'm over it now.
On day 2 or 3 with my braces, the bracket on the top-2 tooth on the right side detached from my tooth. I think the tension in the wire was too much or something! Anyways, no big deal, got it fixed up a few days later. Then a few days after that, I caught myself grinding my teeth at night (this was when I was still holding my jaw closed), then as I woke up, I heard a snap at the back. The very back bracket on the bottom broke off. The difference this time was that since it was the back bracket, I had a piece of wire sticking out. It wasn't poking at me or anything though. My ortho said that since it was a back tooth, it doesn't matter much, so if I wanted to have it fixed, no problem, but if I wanted to wait until my next appt, no problem either. I decided to wait until the next appt.
What happened next though was awful. With that little piece of wire in there, I would poke at it with my finger several times daily. One night before dinner, I did my routine wire check, then ate. After dinner was over, there was NO WIRE where there had been one before!! Having just felt it before I starting eating, I was convinced that I swallowed it as I ate!! My fiancee's mom is a nurse and told me to go to the ER - after all, it's a pretty sharp piece of metal, and about a half-inch long. That ER experience was the worst. Got there around 10pm or so, and did not leave until just before 6am. And all that time was spent for me to hear from the doctor, "If you experience any sickness over the next day or two, come back." Ugh. Brutal. Anyways, long story short, a few days passed and I was feeling fine, so I figured that everything worked out naturally (sorry if that caused a graphic image!).
Then a few weeks back I go to my first Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game ever here in Toronto. I am an Ottawa fan, and have a Daniel Alfredsson jersey, so decided to wear it. For those who don't know the Toronto/Ottawa 'rivalry', Daniel Alfredsson (or "Alfie") is public enemy #1 for Toronto fans. So my sweater clearly garnered some attention. But it wasn't bad until Alfie scored what ended up being the winning goal on a penalty shot. There was this drunken idiot a few rows behind me chirping me for the rest of the night. I kept watching the game, only looking up once to see who was doing this. Some punk, early 20's, drunk, Leafs fan, you know the type. Moron. Anyways, after the game was over, it turned out that he got down beside me and took a handful of his beer and threw it in my face. Can't say that's happened before, but it felt like I got spit on. Given all the chirping and everything, I hurled some insults his way - a total of three sentences. I got down into the tunnel and he decided to take the rest of his beer and throw that into my face. This time, I took it. Walked away. As I was exiting the building, I looked behind me a few times to see if this dick was following me, but could not see anything. Of course, I am not the most difficult person to follow - I'm 6'7" and was wearing a red Ottawa sweater in a sea of blue and white Leaf sweaters. So he must have followed me from a distance and then made his move when I got outside, because about 10 seconds after I got outside, I heard from behind me "HEY ALFIE!" I turned around, and took a big right hook to my left cheek. Big. It didn't knock me down, but there was some significant bleeding. Of course, the dick ran off right afterwards. I'm not a fighter (it was my first punch to the face), but he didn't give me a chance put my hands up or to even take my glasses off. Pretty sure that's against the rules.
I mention that story because LUCKILY it didn't get me in the teeth. His hand would have been pretty messed up had it got me in the mouth, but my teeth would have been worse off. Who knows? Maybe he did fuck up his hand. Anyways, the fall out was bad. I had a mild concussion, and some broken blood vessels in my eye that basically turned my right eye completely dark red and made me look like a zombie for a couple of weeks. My whole cheekbone was deeply bruised, but no broken bones. I filed a report, but there's no chance they'll find the guy. Bigger fish to fry in Toronto. It's too bad though - it's totally a solvable case. I know exactly where he was sitting.
I'm SO sure they can track who used those tickets that night. Ugh. I'm going to call the police tomorrow and ask for a follow-up.
See what I mean by eventful?!?!
Then I had my first adjustment appointment. Nothing was adjusted though. They kept the same gauge of wire in there. Dr. Roy said that the teeth had not moved far enough yet - I guess that's common in adult teeth. We started talking about the big surgery next fall. The surgeons are probably going to start looking at me at my next appointment in 2 weeks.
After that appointment, I went to Ottawa and to Montreal for my birthday weekend. I was out in Montreal wearing my Ottawa jersey (a game that Ottawa won as well) and got no idiotic comments whatsoever. It was a much better experience.
Back to the teeth - my next appointment is at some point this month. I'll try to post then. I also have some pictures that I PROMISE to post on here soon.
Sorry for the novel! Thanks for reading. Take care!!!
Today, things are great. I've noticed a huge difference especially with my bottom teeth - the gap where they extracted the 4's is basically closed up now on the right side. The left side still has some room but is getting there. The rest of my bottom teeth have straighted out very nicely actually!! For the top teeth, I'm declaring the gap officially closed. There's still a very small triangle at the top, but yes, closed! Okay, now lets update you on the first month:
After getting the braces on, I noticed that flossing was just not going to be an option. I couldn't even thread the floss through to my back teeth and the whole process took 15 minutes. Can't do that. But I am used to flossing everyday and the thought of all that food stuck in there grosses me out, so I immediately bought a waterpik. I love it. According to the waterpik people, it removes more plaque from in between teeth than flossing. It's basically a pressure-washer for your teeth. I HIGHLY recommend this for people who don't have the 15 minutes/day to floss! In addition, I bought some special "braces" brushes for my Oral B Triumph which has been working quite well. I think the brush is just a little softer than usual, and then there's another "pick" kind of brush that I use to clean the metal.
It took me a while to get used to the braces. For the first week, I was holding my jaw closed. When I went to open my jaw to do something as simple as talk, it actually took some effort to unlock my jaw because I was closing it so hard. Weird. That lasted a week or so - I'm over it now.
On day 2 or 3 with my braces, the bracket on the top-2 tooth on the right side detached from my tooth. I think the tension in the wire was too much or something! Anyways, no big deal, got it fixed up a few days later. Then a few days after that, I caught myself grinding my teeth at night (this was when I was still holding my jaw closed), then as I woke up, I heard a snap at the back. The very back bracket on the bottom broke off. The difference this time was that since it was the back bracket, I had a piece of wire sticking out. It wasn't poking at me or anything though. My ortho said that since it was a back tooth, it doesn't matter much, so if I wanted to have it fixed, no problem, but if I wanted to wait until my next appt, no problem either. I decided to wait until the next appt.
What happened next though was awful. With that little piece of wire in there, I would poke at it with my finger several times daily. One night before dinner, I did my routine wire check, then ate. After dinner was over, there was NO WIRE where there had been one before!! Having just felt it before I starting eating, I was convinced that I swallowed it as I ate!! My fiancee's mom is a nurse and told me to go to the ER - after all, it's a pretty sharp piece of metal, and about a half-inch long. That ER experience was the worst. Got there around 10pm or so, and did not leave until just before 6am. And all that time was spent for me to hear from the doctor, "If you experience any sickness over the next day or two, come back." Ugh. Brutal. Anyways, long story short, a few days passed and I was feeling fine, so I figured that everything worked out naturally (sorry if that caused a graphic image!).
Then a few weeks back I go to my first Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game ever here in Toronto. I am an Ottawa fan, and have a Daniel Alfredsson jersey, so decided to wear it. For those who don't know the Toronto/Ottawa 'rivalry', Daniel Alfredsson (or "Alfie") is public enemy #1 for Toronto fans. So my sweater clearly garnered some attention. But it wasn't bad until Alfie scored what ended up being the winning goal on a penalty shot. There was this drunken idiot a few rows behind me chirping me for the rest of the night. I kept watching the game, only looking up once to see who was doing this. Some punk, early 20's, drunk, Leafs fan, you know the type. Moron. Anyways, after the game was over, it turned out that he got down beside me and took a handful of his beer and threw it in my face. Can't say that's happened before, but it felt like I got spit on. Given all the chirping and everything, I hurled some insults his way - a total of three sentences. I got down into the tunnel and he decided to take the rest of his beer and throw that into my face. This time, I took it. Walked away. As I was exiting the building, I looked behind me a few times to see if this dick was following me, but could not see anything. Of course, I am not the most difficult person to follow - I'm 6'7" and was wearing a red Ottawa sweater in a sea of blue and white Leaf sweaters. So he must have followed me from a distance and then made his move when I got outside, because about 10 seconds after I got outside, I heard from behind me "HEY ALFIE!" I turned around, and took a big right hook to my left cheek. Big. It didn't knock me down, but there was some significant bleeding. Of course, the dick ran off right afterwards. I'm not a fighter (it was my first punch to the face), but he didn't give me a chance put my hands up or to even take my glasses off. Pretty sure that's against the rules.
I mention that story because LUCKILY it didn't get me in the teeth. His hand would have been pretty messed up had it got me in the mouth, but my teeth would have been worse off. Who knows? Maybe he did fuck up his hand. Anyways, the fall out was bad. I had a mild concussion, and some broken blood vessels in my eye that basically turned my right eye completely dark red and made me look like a zombie for a couple of weeks. My whole cheekbone was deeply bruised, but no broken bones. I filed a report, but there's no chance they'll find the guy. Bigger fish to fry in Toronto. It's too bad though - it's totally a solvable case. I know exactly where he was sitting.
I'm SO sure they can track who used those tickets that night. Ugh. I'm going to call the police tomorrow and ask for a follow-up.
See what I mean by eventful?!?!
Then I had my first adjustment appointment. Nothing was adjusted though. They kept the same gauge of wire in there. Dr. Roy said that the teeth had not moved far enough yet - I guess that's common in adult teeth. We started talking about the big surgery next fall. The surgeons are probably going to start looking at me at my next appointment in 2 weeks.
After that appointment, I went to Ottawa and to Montreal for my birthday weekend. I was out in Montreal wearing my Ottawa jersey (a game that Ottawa won as well) and got no idiotic comments whatsoever. It was a much better experience.
Back to the teeth - my next appointment is at some point this month. I'll try to post then. I also have some pictures that I PROMISE to post on here soon.
Sorry for the novel! Thanks for reading. Take care!!!
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