Happy Halloween!!

Ouch!!

So yesterday I had that thicker wire put on my top teeth and today they are killing me!! I had to go in again this morning because the wire was too long and it was tearing up my cheek. The assistant went in there to clip it and my back bracket
came off. She said she was going to leave it off until my next appointment (in 8 weeks) and said it wouldn't interfere with
my progress. I hope she's right. That back tooth was really hurting, but now that the pressure is off, it's okay.
But the rest of my top teeth are so sore. Oh and by the way, these snap-open brackets on the Damons aren't all they are
cracked up to be. When your teeth are sore, and they have to snap open the little door things to get the wire out ~ OUCH! And
then they have to close them again which also hurts! I guess I'll be drinking my protein drinks for a couple of days.

Thicker Wire

Today I went back to my ortho to have my wires put back on. I have the same wire on the bottom and a new thicker wire
on the top. I can definitely feel the pressure on the top. It makes me wonder if am going to be eating soup for the next
few days...

First Cleaning With Braces

I just got home from having my first cleaning with my braces. I went to my orthodontist first (he and my periodontist are in the same building) and had my wires removed and then had my cleaning. My hygienist said it was nice to have the wires removed as it was easier to clean my teeth. It felt so good getting my teeth cleaned. I wish I could go every month. I have my wires off until tomorrow morning, so I am going to enjoy flossing tonight! (Who would have thought I would ever be excited about flossing??) My hygienist said that I was doing really well with my hygiene (whew!!) and I had hardly any bleeding. I usually have some bleeding and now I am wondering if my gums are less irritated because the teeth are in new positions. My ortho commented that my bottom teeth have moved quite a bit since I had my braces put on 6 weeks ago. He was telling the assistant to put a heavier wire on my top teeth when I go back tomorrow but to keep the same wire for the bottom since I have one "twisted" tooth that hasn't straightened out yet.

I asked the surgery coordinator lady why my surgeon would mention only doing lower jaw surgery and in so many words she said that Kaiser is an HMO and they would try to get away with doing as little as they can. That was a bit disconcerting to me. So I asked my ortho about it and he told me not to worry, that he would push for whatever would give me the best functional and aesthetic benefit. That put my mind to rest for now.

Appointment with Surgeon

I had my appointment with the surgeon yesterday. It wasn't very exciting. He said that he doesn't know if he will do upper and lower jaw surgery or just lower. I was really surprised to hear that because I have been told by another surgeon and three orthodontists that I would need both upper and lower surgery. I was trying to absorb the fact that he said possibly just
lower surgery and now regret not asking him more questions like WHY? Anyway, the surgeon has
an excellent reputation, so I suppose I should trust that he knows what he's doing. I'm thinking that maybe once he takes all the
measurements and once all my teeth are in place he will have a better idea of what he is going to do.

He then explained to me that he won't be reducing the length of my chin because he doesn't want it to look "flat" and I might get a "turkey" neck, which I wouldn't be happy with. I told him that the other surgeon I saw said that I would benefit from cheek augmentation and my chin reduced. He said that I wasn't going to hear the same thing from him and that he doesn't do cookie cutter faces.