No More Braces!

Mommy and Jude before (can you see his two bottom teeth, can you???):



Mommy and Jude after:

A Post About Teeth

I had an orthodontist appointment last week where it was confirmed that I get my braces off on January 5th! Yay!!! I'm really, really excited. I have been in orthodontic care for 3 years now and have had the braces for 2.5 years. It is time to be done with it!

In completely related news, Jude already has his first two teeth! He got his first one a week before Christmas and I felt the second one on Christmas morning. Here is a picture from a couple of days before Christmas where you can definitely see one tooth and I can even see a little of the second tooth about to pop through:

Ok, I'm not sure if you can see it on the blog, but it's really obvious on the picture on my hard drive :) I guess you'll have to take my word for it for now. I'm sure there will be more tooth pictures in the future. Maybe I'll try to get one of us together after the braces come off!

Barefoot and Pregnant

I now completely understand where the phrase "barefoot and pregnant" came from. Between the recent heat and being pregnant, all of my shoes feel tight and I'd rather be barefoot!

My 32 week picture:


Also, I don't think I've mentioned that I have a time frame for getting braces off! Dr. Olsen says my teeth will be ready at about the same time as the baby (August). Since lying on my back in a dentist chair for 2+ hours at nine months pregnant is not really an option, I will be getting the braces off once I'm ready after the baby comes (I'm thinking late September or sometime in October). I can't believe that phase of my life is almost over, and with so much less pain and money than originally thought!

We worked on painting the baby's room this past weekend. It's almost complete, just some cutting and another coat on the closet to go. I can't wait to post before and after pictures of that room - its' going to be gorgeous!

Orthodontic Update: It's Official!!!

I had an ortho appointment today and my orthodontist officially called off surgery! Yay!!! I wasn't too surprised, considering that this past month has been the "test" and my underbite hasn't come back. Still, it's really nice to hear it become official. :)

Orthodontic Update, November 2009

I really should have posted an update after my last trip to the orthodontist, since that's when the interesting things happened. So, I will recap both trips.

I went into my October ortho visit hoping that Dr. Olsen would finally tell me I was ready for oral surgery. So, imagine my surprise when, after looking at my teeth and chart for awhile, he instead tells me he wants to try something that could keep me from needing surgery at all!

Of course, I said, "Let's go for it!"

So, Dr. Olsen gave me some rubber bands that go from my back upper teeth to my front lower teeth to try to convince my top teeth to "hop" over my lowers.

Last week, my uppers did in fact start "hopping". I was cautiously excited going into today's appointment. I had no idea what my teeth would need to look like in order for Dr. Olsen to think that this could work.

When Dr. Olsen saw me today, he was really happy with how my teeth are looking. Whew! He's still not ready to say that the surgery is off, but he did say, "If your teeth keeping moving like this, we shouldn't need to do the surgery." I'm going to keep praying!

Orthodontic Update, March 2009

It's been awhile since my last orthodontic update!

I went in today to get my last two "free" teeth banded. They are the last molars on my upper jaw. There's not much room up there, so things are pretty sore. There's also hooks sticking out on the inside of the band, so my tongue is really sore, as well. I can see why Dr. Olsen saved these bands for last :(

When I was in last month, I asked for a timeline update from Dr. Olsen. I was really happy when he took a couple of minutes to think about it before answering me. It wasn't just an off-the-cuff answer.

Anyway, he said I should be ready for surgery by November or December of this year. I was hoping for a little sooner, but afraid it would be even longer, so I'm ok with this!

Please say a little prayer that my tongue will "toughen up" soon and I can eat more than just ice cream... wait a minute, I love ice cream! I guess you should still pray for me since I don't think ice cream in and of itself is a balanced meal :)

Orthodontic Update: Bad News Bears

I had my most recent orthodontist appointment at the beginning of December. I got bands around my last molars on the bottom (fun times).

At the end of the appointment, I asked Dr. Olsen where we were in the process and what he is currently doing with my teeth. He said he's currently turning and lining teeth up. After that, I will get new impressions done (more fun times), and then he'll see if my teeth are lined up properly for the surgery... yeah, the surgery. Dr. Olsen said that it's currently not looking like he'll be able to get my teeth where they are supposed to be without the surgery. Needless to say, I was pretty bummed.

It took me a day to recover from that news, but I'm ok with it now. At this point, I just want to hurry along with things and get the surgery done as soon as my teeth are ready. Let's get this over with already! I'm guessing it still won't be until Fall 2009, but I didn't ask (I think Dr. Olsen is sick of all of my questions!).

*sigh*

ps- How weird is it that I'm trying to look at the surgery positively by thinking that it will be an easy way to lose some weight??? (I'll be on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks after the surgery)

Orthodontic Update September 2008

The Hyrax came out last Wednesday and top braces went in! The top braces made my mouth a lot more sore than anything else has so far. Hopefully it won't be this bad every time they get adjusted. Today was the first day I could eat normal food without wincing in pain.

My next appointment isn't for two whole months. That surprised me. I guess things are going to go more slowly now that the braces are on. Bummer.

I asked my orthodontist for an update on the likely-hood of surgery. He said he wouldn't know anything more until next year at this time. Grrrr! I hate not knowing! *sigh* I guess the Lord needs to teach me patience somehow. ;)

Orthodontic Update July 2008

I went in for my first braces-tightening today. My teeth are a bit sore! Dr. Olsen checked out the Hyrax and said that it gets to come out next time!!! Yes! I hate that thing.

My next appointment is August 27th. I will be getting the Hyrax out, but a bar will be going across the top of my mouth in it's place. I'm not really excited about that, but at least I'll be rid of the Hyrax. I will also be getting braces on my top teeth at that appointment! We're moving right along. :)

Orthodontic Update May 2008

Yesterday was my orthodontist appointment. As I said last month, Dr. Olsen was going to decide whether I needed to continue cranking the Hyrax. He said I was all done cranking! He put a wire in the Hyrax so it doesn't accidentally crank on it's own. The Hyrax will still stay in for another four months, though. :(

I was then informed that at my next appointment in June, I will be getting braces on my lower teeth! Wow! I had no idea that would be happening so soon. He will try to get my lower teeth to "tuck" under my upper teeth. Dr. Olsen said I'm still "on the fence" as far as surgery goes. There's still a chance I might be able to avoid it. It all depends on what my lower teeth do.

So, in a month I will have braces! On the one hand, I'm not looking forward to it at all, but on the other hand, this means things get done and over with that much sooner.

I'll let you know how the braces installation goes. :)

Orthodontic Update April 2008

I wrote a little about my upcoming braces and surgery over at my Family and Finances blog in the past, and I've decided to move that topic over to this, my personal blog, for obvious reasons.

I went to the orthodontist today for a check-up on how the Hyrax is working. Dr. Olsen was very happy with my progress. He wants me to crank the appliance only once a week for the next four weeks. When I go in for my next appointment on April 30th, he'll see if I can stop cranking! I didn't ask how much longer the Hyrax would have to stay on after the cranking stops. He had originally told me six to eleven months, but I've been cranking it every four days instead of weekly up to this point.

I'll post another update next month!