5/29/12 Mouth Wired Shut

Every time I change the rubberbands it feels like my mouth has been wired shut. This is especially so after wearing them at night. When I wake up the are especially tight. I'm sure this is because I haven't done anything to stretch them out. It's hard when I have them on to yawn. If I open my mouth to wide, they will snap and break. It's happened before and it hurts! Not that I would wish my summer away, but can't wait for my next appointment. I'm not holding out for getting them off a lot earlier, but any time less than originally thought would be great! I'll keep you posted!

Take care and have a great day!

5/25/12 Not Going To Say It...

Remember when I said I wasn't going to say it and I really didn't. I shouldn't have even thought it. I have a spot on the lower right where the brackets and rubberbands are rubbing and there are two sores there. I don't know why it happened. My teeth really aren't moving from where the rubberbands are. I guess it's because it's aligning my jaw more. Who knows! Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow or the next day.

Well, I am officially unemployed for the summer. School is out and won't start again until the first week of August. I don't like being without a paycheck but love having the summers off with my son.

Take care and have a great weekend!

5/20/12 Sometimes...

Sometimes at night when I wake up, the rubberbands make it feel like my mouth has been wired shut. I can't open it very wide at all. I'm sure my husband would like it to be so I can't talk his ear off. Really he would just tease me about it! Funny. I am even more anxious about my next appointment in June to see how much earlier I will get my braces off. Right now, I'm still tired of them. I think if I hadn't had the TMJ problems and gone to the one Doctor for it, I wouldn't be in this position. He told me that I needed to not grind my teeth at night, wear a night guard to keep me from grinding them and told me to not let my teeth meet. I really think this is what caused my open bite and the need for braces!

Take care and have a great day!

5/18/12 Not Going To Say It!

I'm not going to tell you that things with my braces are going okay. I'm afraid if I do that tomorrow I'll end up with a canker sore or some place where I'll have to put wax. The new rubberband placements are okay, but am still surprised that when I change the bands how it pulls my teeth into alignment better. I'm also surprised at how little I can open my mouth,that is until I get the rubberbands stretched out! Talking does that good enough.

I have one more week of work left before the school I work at is out for the summer. I hate not getting paid over the summer, but really, really love having the summers off with my family!

Take care and have a great weekend!

05/15/12 Took my Rubberbands off and Didn't Know It!

It's weird. I woke up this morning and my rubberbands were off. I don't remember taking them off during the night. Guess I did though. I sure hope I didn't swallow them! I've had the rubberbands break during the day if I open my mouth to wide, but have never had that happen at night.

Oh well. I hope it doesn't happen again. I'm really trying to keep them on all of the time. I know that it helps with my treatment and can possibly help with the amount of time I'll have to have the braces on.

Take care and have a great day!

05/13/12 Happy Mother's Day! Rubberband Pain

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to those of you who are mother's!

I am having some pain from where the repositioned the rubberbands. It is on tooth 3 and 4 on the top and 3, 4, 5 on the bottom. It holds my jaw closer together and it is harder to open my mouth. I can still talk, but have trouble getting food in there with the rubberbands on. I'm sure I'll get use to it. My teeth are a bit sore and so are my jaws. I did forget to tell you that I saw my before pictures and can't believe how much better my teeth look. I am looking forward to my next appointment to see if my braces will indeed come off early!

Take care and have a great day!

05/11/12 My Appointment Today

Things went well at my appointment today. They are not going to need to use the TAD screws which takes $600 off the total price of my braces. They also said I would probably get them off early but won't know how much until my next appointment. They have to do a panoramic xray of my mouth to see the position of my roots. Then they will know for sure. I was so excited about not needing the TAD screws, that the bonus of having them off early was wonderful to hear as well. They did change the position I have to use the rubberbands. While I'm not excited about the continued use of rubberbands, it was still a happy appointment and I'll use the rubberbands as much as I need to.

It's been a long week and I'm glad for the weekend. We had a wonderful speaker at work, a woman that survived the Holocaust. Interpreting in sign language for the student I work with was a challenge, but one that was well worth it.

Take care and have a great weekend!

Ellen

05/08/11 3 Days To Go

Three Days to go until my next appointment. I'm still tired of my braces, but am curious as to what he will say about the TAD Screws and/or rubberbands. I thought I was getting a canker sore on the front inside of my upper lip. I put wax on my braces yesterday and some over the counter canker sore med last night along with wax to help protect it. I took the wax off this morning but used some Ambesol to deaden the pain. Tonight it still hurts, but is a lot better than yesterday. I'm sure that it was just place where the braces were rubbing.

Anyway, thanks for reading my blog. I do appreciate it and will keep you updated on what happens on the 11th. Think good thoughts for me if you can!

Take care and have a great day!

Ellen

05/05/12 Tired of My Braces!

I am so tired of my braces and rubberbands! It's almost 8 months since I had my braces put on which means that I have 19 months left to go if I don't finish early. I think part of it has to do with this ear infection that I've had. I still think part of the pain that I've been having is from the rubberbands pulling on the braces, or the braces moving my jaw around. The pain always seems to be better when I have the rubberbands off. I think I'll call on Monday to see if they can see me before Friday. I just don't know how much more of this I can take. I am going to tell him that I don't want the T.A.D. screws put in. Here's a link if you don't know what they are:http://www.drbibby.com/mini-screws-tad.php He told me they would go in when I've had the braces on for 9 months. I just don't think I can do it. They're going to have to do something else that doesn't involve screwing tiny screws into my bones. I'm sorry I'm so negative today, just tired of the braces along with the pain they've been causing my jaws.

Take care and have a great day!

Ellen

5/2/12 Tired

I am so tired today. I found out I have a middle and outer ear infection. If it hadn't been for the jaw pain that I had, I never would have investigated the pain. I thought for sure it was from wearing the rubberbands for my braces and things moving around. I'm glad I work at a school. I had the school nurse check my ears and she said it was red and that I should be seen by a doctor. The weird thing is, that the pain was worse last night when I had the rubberbands on. I texted the orthodontist this morning to see if it was okay if I left them off for awhile. He said it was, but not for to long. I did put them back on after lunch and the pain didn't come back. I am again thankful that I can send my orthodontist a text and he'll answer me back. Can't wait to see what he says on the 11th.

Take care and have a great day!