Adult Braces: My Third Adjustment

Due to the promise I made after my second adjustment regarding not purchasing milkshakes, I was pretty darned excited for adjustment number 3.  I mean, c'mon - MILKSHAKE!

This time has actually been okay, folks.  I expected to not be able to eat much for a couple of days, so I prepped for more than my fair share of soft foods with not a lot of pain.  I won't be munching tortilla chips anytime soon, but it's okay.

I received two new wires (top and bottom), as well as some pretty blue rubberbands on the bottom.  My next visit will bring me a "claw" (I asked, they told me it meant bending wires to close the spaces that were created to turn/straighten certain teeth) and all the other prep work for adjustment number five.  What is happening on adjustment five?  *gulp*  Springs.  This option is better than head gear, but I also fear the side effects.

I listened to myself on the show in podcast form that I help with - The Cultural Hall - and heard this weird "sh" every time I said an "s."  It was very weird listening to my intonation and enunciation be so different than recordings in the past.  C'est la vie, it'll only last another year and a half-ish.

Until adjustment number 4, chew lightly.

Adult Braces: Making the Decision
Adult Braces: Getting Spacers aka The Prep Work
Adult Braces: Getting Braces On
Adult Braces: Learning to Eat with Braces
Adult Braces: My First Adjustment
Adult Braces: Rubber Band Replacement (the first few)
Adult Braces: My Second Adjustment
Adult Braces: My Third Adjustment

Adult Braces: My Second Adjustment

Why-oh-why did I become filled with naivete?  Oh, that's right, because I had no pain after my first adjustment, I assumed I'd be fine for all others.  Wrong.

On January 14th, I actually ran from my car to the office, wanting to be on time and actually excited.  I don't have much control over how quickly or correctly my teeth choose to move, but ever-the-perfectionist, I couldn't wait to be praised for how good I was taking care of my teeth and how lovely they were behaving.

I received my praise, new wires on the tops and bottoms, a superchain (they chain rubberbands together across the bottom to pull them closer together once they are straight enough) on the bottom, and new bands on the top.

I treated myself to a salad that night with my friend, Shayla, mentioning that my mouth was a little sore so my consumption would be slow.  I haven't had anything crunchy since then.  I even had to make a handshake agreement with my husband that I would not purchase anymore milkshakes until my next adjustment.  Yep, that happened.

I want pizza.

Adult Braces: Making the Decision
Adult Braces: Getting Spacers aka The Prep Work
Adult Braces: Getting Braces On
Adult Braces: Learning to Eat with Braces
Adult Braces: My First Adjustment
Adult Braces: Rubber Band Replacement (the first few)
Adult Braces: My Second Adjustment
Adult Braces: My Third Adjustment

Adult Braces: Rubber Band Replacement

Getting your rubber bands replaced at adjustments or because your eating adventures dyed the clear bands orange *cough* Buffalo Wings in Buffalo, NY and Skyline Coney Dogs in Ohio *cough* feels as if someone is trying to rip your teeth out of your face.

I suppose it isn't really so painful as it is disarming.  There is a lot of pressure that truly does feel as if they are trying to pull your teeth, but I think it is the fear of the unknown that makes it even more weird than the physical aspect.  You don't know what's going on - you can't see anything, you've never been through this before.  All you know is...*ow.*  You make a few weird faces and in sixty seconds it is all over.  The pain isn't even bad enough to need ibuprofen and only lasts for the moment that tooth is worked on.

Then you leave the office with beautiful, clear rubberbands and teeth on their way to perfection.  I'll take that deal any day.

Adult Braces: Making the Decision
Adult Braces: Getting Spacers aka The Prep Work
Adult Braces: Getting Braces On
Adult Braces: Learning to Eat with Braces
Adult Braces: My First Adjustment
Adult Braces: Rubber Band Replacement (the first few)
Adult Braces: My Second Adjustment
Adult Braces: My Third Adjustment

Adult Braces: My First Adjustment

So. Not. Bad.

On December 3rd, I received a new bottom wire, my top wire was flipped, and my rubber bands were replaced.

I was not sore for one second afterwards.  I felt perhaps I was living in an alternate reality, but ends up I just got lucky.

Adult Braces: Making the Decision
Adult Braces: Getting Spacers aka The Prep Work
Adult Braces: Getting Braces On
Adult Braces: Learning to Eat with Braces
Adult Braces: My First Adjustment
Adult Braces: Rubber Band Replacement (the first few)
Adult Braces: My Second Adjustment
Adult Braces: My Third Adjustment

Adult Braces: Getting Spacers aka The Prep Work

Spacers.

I had never heard of these little suckers until I walked into my appointment and said, "I decided to get braces!" (instead of Invisalign)

Immediately, I was escorted to the chair to get my spacers in for a week before the braces.  Apparently these suckers separate your teeth enough to allow for space for the wires to go around your teeth in the back as needed.  My teeth have always loved each other very much and even occasionally gang up in a game of tug-of-war between me and my floss.

They are so tight, in fact, that these cushy-looking foam spacers in the below picture would not fit between my teeth.  I had to have metal.  Ouch.  For some reason, I wasn't prepared.  I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to eat without those metal pieces jamming into my teeth and gums.  On top of that, the pressure of my teeth moving was unlike anything I've ever experienced.  To top it all off, one of the metal pieces did not get along with my bite and came apart to start stabbing my gum in a bloody brawl within 8 hours of placement.  Needless to say, I pulled that sucker out and went back to the doctor the next day.  In just that little bit of time, my teeth had separated enough to allow for a foam spacer, but then my bite is so wonky that I immediately bit right through the thing.  The doctor said it would be okay to wait and work on that particular space later in the process.

I finally started getting used to the spacers one day before I got my braces.  I'd been nibbling at everything with just my front teeth, not yet realizing that front-teeth-nibbling is not something I'd be able to do again until the braces are off.  I had to learn to eat one way with spacers and an entirely opposite way with braces.

When I went in for my application appointment a week later, I was shocked to see how quickly my teeth decided to part ways with each other and leave room for the braces.  Seeing results fast is encouraging.  I was also shocked at how quickly braces are applied because less than an hour later, my life for the next two years was changed.

Adult Braces: Making the Decision
Adult Braces: Getting Spacers aka The Prep Work
Adult Braces: Getting Braces On
Adult Braces: Learning to Eat with Braces
Adult Braces: My First Adjustment
Adult Braces: Rubber Band Replacement (the first few)
Adult Braces: My Second Adjustment
Adult Braces: My Third Adjustment

Adult Braces: Making the Decision

The decision took me over two years.  My first consultation with Dr. Hamid Omana was in March or April of 2012.

Let me give you some background.  When I was 17, I noticed my perfectly straight teeth starting to crowd/move.  I thought perhaps the impending doom of wisdom teeth was the cause, so I begged to get them removed Christmas of my Senior Year.  My teeth obviously didn't agree with me about the reason to move and kept shifting.  At 22, after I graduated from college, I asked a dentist at home in Ohio what he thought I should do and he responded, "Your teeth aren't very crooked.  If you get braces now, you'll just have to get them again later in life because your teeth will continue to shift your whole life."  I had no idea I should have been asking those questions of an Orthodontist, not my dentist.  

Flash forward to 2012.  I innocently thought Invisalign (clear retainers as an alternative to wires and brackets) would be the solution for my crooked-since-I-was-17 smile.  I was prepared for a financial investment of about $4,000 because adults don't get the same sweet insurance treatment as adolescents.

Then these words changed everything, "Your jaw is misaligned."
Me: "What does that mean?"
Dr. Omana: "Invisalign will only temporarily straighten your top teeth.  We need to correct your bite to get and keep your teeth straight."
He proceeded to show me the type of braces and rigging I'd need, as well as letting me know the whole process would take two years.

I was single at the time and dating pretty frequently.  I worried braces would affect that.  Worst of all, what if I did happen to meet "the one" and had braces in wedding photos?  That was a thought I couldn't live with, so I decided to "wait until after I get married."  Which is kind of dumb considering I was almost 31 and in no rush to get married.  Sooner is always better than later.  Wouldn't you know it, I did end up meeting my Rob and getting married within that two-year time span.

After marriage, I faced all sorts of self-image doubts and medication weight fluctuations. I knew I needed braces to correct my crooked jaw/bite, but I didn't know if I could handle the potential self-esteem issues.  Notice I said "potential," not "definite."  I realized I was making an important medical decision off of something that "might" be.

Flash Forward to October of 2014.  Thirty-four year old Larissa drags her hubby to Dr. Omana's office so he can hear all of the medical jargon.  We took a week to mull over the decision.  My two other concerns were in regards to my career and my extra-curriculars.  At the time of my first consultation, I worked behind a desk, so that didn't matter.  Now, however, I work with high-end weddings and corporate events.  Outside of events, I perform with local theater groups.  Will any directors cast someone with braces?  Again, I can't make a life-changing decision based off of what "might" be.

Once the decision was made, over two years of worrying about this decision seemed stupid.  The process started immediately - there were so many things I wasn't ready for and yet I was entirely ready.

For all of you adults who may be contemplating the same question - "To get adult braces?" - I'll recount to you in the next post about the prep, application, and week after.

Adult Braces: Making the Decision
Adult Braces: Getting Spacers aka The Prep Work
Adult Braces: Getting Braces On
Adult Braces: Learning to Eat with Braces
Adult Braces: My First Adjustment
Adult Braces: Rubber Band Replacement (the first few)
Adult Braces: My Second Adjustment
Adult Braces: My Third Adjustment

Yes, I have braces in this photo.  Hard to believe, right?  I'd had them for four whole days at this point.