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!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
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!!!
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Braces - Day 1
They're on!!
Today was the big day. Two hours after walking into the clinic, I walked out with significantly more metal in my mouth! It's been almost 7 hours since the appointment ended and although my teeth are feeling uncomfortable, I wouldn't say they are painful. So either the pain is coming, or maybe I've just gotten used to it by now with the SARPE. The appointment did confirm one thing - I still have little to no feeling in my upper jaw. I could easily tell when Dr. Roy was applying the glue to my bottom teeth, but did not feel anything when she applied the glue to the top. I'm starting to become a little concerned that the feeling won't come back. It's been 4.5 months now after all!
The appointment itself was fine. Under the advice of my fiancée's mom, who is a RN, I took 2 advils and 2 tylenol an hour prior to the appointment, but in hindsight I do not think I needed anything. When I got there, they basically sat me down, cleaned the teeth a little, placed the brackets, and fed the wire through. Easy as pie (which I can't bake, so maybe that's a bad analogy, but you get the idea). You can't see what's going on as the brackets and everything are being applied - you have to wait until afterwards. It was a little nerve-wracking looking in that mirror the first time, but honestly, it was not as bad as I thought. It's still bad. Lots of metal. But not as bad as I thought.
After I left, I picked up some special toothbrush heads for my Oral B Triumph. I got the whole spiel on how important the cleaning is, and I definitely plan on keeping up with the cleanings as best I can. I think having the Triumph will help out a lot.
The expander is still in my mouth. The way the expander is, no brackets were required for the teeth the expander is attached to (the top 4's and 6's), so the wire was simply fed through. When the expander is ready to be removed, brackets will then be glued to those teeth.
I asked about timing, and Dr. Roy said that we'll have a much clearer idea after the next few adjustments. Initially, I was told the end of 2010. I never actually believed that was a possibility though, so if it's not then, I won't be THAT disappointed! My next appointment and first adjustment is happening on October 14, four days prior to my 27th birthday. Ugh, 27. That's officially "late twenties" isn't it? I'm in my late 20's and have braces.....weird?
Now on to what you've been waiting for - the pics. Attached below are pictures taken last night before the braces, and the same ones tonight with the braces. I'm going to try to take pictures once a week again to track the progress the braces make.
Enjoy the pictures and I'll post again soon!
Today was the big day. Two hours after walking into the clinic, I walked out with significantly more metal in my mouth! It's been almost 7 hours since the appointment ended and although my teeth are feeling uncomfortable, I wouldn't say they are painful. So either the pain is coming, or maybe I've just gotten used to it by now with the SARPE. The appointment did confirm one thing - I still have little to no feeling in my upper jaw. I could easily tell when Dr. Roy was applying the glue to my bottom teeth, but did not feel anything when she applied the glue to the top. I'm starting to become a little concerned that the feeling won't come back. It's been 4.5 months now after all!
The appointment itself was fine. Under the advice of my fiancée's mom, who is a RN, I took 2 advils and 2 tylenol an hour prior to the appointment, but in hindsight I do not think I needed anything. When I got there, they basically sat me down, cleaned the teeth a little, placed the brackets, and fed the wire through. Easy as pie (which I can't bake, so maybe that's a bad analogy, but you get the idea). You can't see what's going on as the brackets and everything are being applied - you have to wait until afterwards. It was a little nerve-wracking looking in that mirror the first time, but honestly, it was not as bad as I thought. It's still bad. Lots of metal. But not as bad as I thought.
After I left, I picked up some special toothbrush heads for my Oral B Triumph. I got the whole spiel on how important the cleaning is, and I definitely plan on keeping up with the cleanings as best I can. I think having the Triumph will help out a lot.
The expander is still in my mouth. The way the expander is, no brackets were required for the teeth the expander is attached to (the top 4's and 6's), so the wire was simply fed through. When the expander is ready to be removed, brackets will then be glued to those teeth.
I asked about timing, and Dr. Roy said that we'll have a much clearer idea after the next few adjustments. Initially, I was told the end of 2010. I never actually believed that was a possibility though, so if it's not then, I won't be THAT disappointed! My next appointment and first adjustment is happening on October 14, four days prior to my 27th birthday. Ugh, 27. That's officially "late twenties" isn't it? I'm in my late 20's and have braces.....weird?
Now on to what you've been waiting for - the pics. Attached below are pictures taken last night before the braces, and the same ones tonight with the braces. I'm going to try to take pictures once a week again to track the progress the braces make.
Enjoy the pictures and I'll post again soon!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
6 Days and Counting!
It's been a long time since I've posted. There's not been very much to update on.
I can't believe the summer's over! But with it comes the big day for the braces. September 9 is the afternoon where I'm hoping they get put on. Weird how I'm hoping they go on. I guess I just want to get through this process as quickly as possible!
Hopefully all the orthodontist's are pleased with the progress made. My two front teeth, which once had a gap that looks so much bigger now than I thought it was at the time, are now touching, and my bottom teeth have migrated somewhat as well.
As soon as the braces are on, I'll take some pictures and post them.
On a related note, my 15-year old sister just had her braces removed on Monday after just over two years or wearing them! Hers came off and mine are going on. If my teeth look half as good as hers do at the end of this, I'll be happy!!
I can't believe the summer's over! But with it comes the big day for the braces. September 9 is the afternoon where I'm hoping they get put on. Weird how I'm hoping they go on. I guess I just want to get through this process as quickly as possible!
Hopefully all the orthodontist's are pleased with the progress made. My two front teeth, which once had a gap that looks so much bigger now than I thought it was at the time, are now touching, and my bottom teeth have migrated somewhat as well.
As soon as the braces are on, I'll take some pictures and post them.
On a related note, my 15-year old sister just had her braces removed on Monday after just over two years or wearing them! Hers came off and mine are going on. If my teeth look half as good as hers do at the end of this, I'll be happy!!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Beginning and End of Expansion
After a SARPE surgery, 4 wisdom teeth removed, 2 bottom 4's removed, 67 activations totalling 16.75mm (almost 0.75 inches!), and 3 weeks of post-expansion migration of teeth, this is what my upper jaw looks like compared with the night before the operation. I'm showing pictures of the roof of my mouth, and of my teeth straight on. The beginning pictures were taken on April 22nd while the others were taken July 25th - just over 3 months later.
You'll notice that the expansion has caused "more teeth" to be visible in the straight-on shot. This is because my teeth basically went straight back. Now they take a much more rounded arch shape as is apparent in the second set of photos. It still amazes me to look at these pictures and think that it's ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS!!! I guess that's why the R in SARPE stands for Rapid. Keep in mind too that the majority of SARPE patients would not require nearly the same amount of expansion, so the average patient would be done much sooner than three months!
If you were wondering, and I have mentioned this before, the upper jaw is 50% bigger than it was when we started (the upper 4's were initially separated by 29mm, they are now at 43mm).
Migration of the teeth will continue now until September when the braces go on.
You'll notice that the expansion has caused "more teeth" to be visible in the straight-on shot. This is because my teeth basically went straight back. Now they take a much more rounded arch shape as is apparent in the second set of photos. It still amazes me to look at these pictures and think that it's ONLY BEEN THREE MONTHS!!! I guess that's why the R in SARPE stands for Rapid. Keep in mind too that the majority of SARPE patients would not require nearly the same amount of expansion, so the average patient would be done much sooner than three months!
If you were wondering, and I have mentioned this before, the upper jaw is 50% bigger than it was when we started (the upper 4's were initially separated by 29mm, they are now at 43mm).
Migration of the teeth will continue now until September when the braces go on.
Picture Post #13 - 25 Days Post-Expansion
These were taken on July 25th - 25 days after expansion stopped.
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