Four Months Down and Fourth Adjustment . . . Plus Some Impressions

Last week, I had my fourth adjustment. Before we got to the "adjusting," though, I had some more impressions. Those things are a little tougher to do when your teeth are covered in braces! I felt bad for the hygienist. She was new and it was the first time she did it -- she was tugging and pulling at my teeth for quite awhile before someone else came over to help. I'm usually pretty good about letting them do whatever they want with my teeth, but even I was ready to ask for help at that point. Anyhow, they did the impressions just to find out where my bite is. I find out next month when I go back for my next appointment. In my usually pushy way, I asked my orthodontist if I was still on track for my surgery date. At first, he thought it was a month later than it actually is, which freaked me out. But, after confirming the date (following my freak out moment), he said he'd get me there "one way or another." That was happy news to my ears (and teeth). I decided to push a little further and find out how much longer I'd have to wear the braces after the surgery. He said 6 to 9 months. Then he said, "so by this time next year your braces should be off." Now THAT's fabulous news! I can't wait for this process to be over and to be able to move forward.

Back to the adjustment . . . One thing I like about going to the orthodontist is that I get to floss my teeth like a normal person while the wire is out. I love that! After the impressions were done and I flossed my teeth, we moved onto the adjustment for "fine tuning." This was the first time I didn't receive new wires. Instead, he did some adjustments on the existing "heavy" wires. He bent them in various places and said it would help even out my teeth. One of the hygienists who hadn't worked on my teeth since the first adjustment commented on how my top teeth are less horizontal than before . . . that was good news. Ever since I got my braces, I've been more and more aware of that and also how my lower jaw is so much further out than my top jaw when you look at my profile (my top teeth go horizontally in an effort to meet up, I guess). Can't wait to get that fixed!

Not much else exciting to share on the teeth front. I was at a friend's BBQ a few weeks ago and had a funny moment when I realized three of us -- all over the age of 30 -- had braces. I was the only girl, but it was still comforting to have others there.

Work is busy (end of our billable year, lots of seminars to present, upcoming retreat "skits," etc.) and my class is going well. My first set of students did their presentation last week. It was fun to see them get all dressed up in suits and take it seriously. It was nice. I'm looking forward to seeing the next group.

I'll update more later. My next appointment is in three weeks. I hope everyone is doing well! I love seeing the progress that everyone has made post-surgery. It helps make all of this seem less daunting.:)

Have a good week!