While my body has always had a host of issues (see recent postings), I always knew I could count on my teeth to come through for me. In my 44 years I’ve never had a single cavity, got to keep my wisdom teeth, never had braces, nor had a bad report at a checkup. I’ve always felt good leaving the dentist office–until last checkup, that is . . .
At my February 4th visit the Dentist said that while my dental health was excellent, I had crowding in my upper jaw that had forced one of my teeth inward (called a crossbite). The problem tooth is identified with the blue arrow in the diagram below.
As a result of that tooth’s movement, my teeth now hit together directly instead of my top jaw coming down just a bit in front of my lower jaw. The Dentist said that in time that direct contact will wear down the teeth and could possibly lead to chips or breakage of my teeth.
Her recommendation? Braces, of course! :( I was not happy about this news and held out hope that it was not as big of deal as she was suggesting (I mean, it wasn’t even causing me any pain!). Two days later, I had my first ortho consult, during which they confirmed two things: that I definitely needed braces, and that the clear Invisalign style wasn’t an option for me. I continued going to ortho consults, hoping for a different opinion, but four consults later, the verdict was clear: I definitely needed braces, should start as soon as possible, and had to use traditional metal brackets.
Between myself and Nia, I’ve now visited six different orthodontists in Bend. It has been very eye-opening, but what’s surprised me most is how many different approaches there are and how much artistry is involved in the process. My quotes ranged between six and seven thousand, with timelines ranging from 14 to 18 months (18 was the most common). Two wanted to widen my smile so that even more teeth were visible when I smile and to create a curvature in the upper teeth that mirrors the curve of my lower lip. Another wanted to force my teeth upward into my jaw bone to minimize all the gum showing between my upper lip and teeth. And the fourth took a pretty conventional approach but would do metal braces on the top only for six months, followed by Invisalign for 12 months. Crazy how different they all were, huh?
Come back tomorrow to find out what I chose and see the big reveal!
TOE UPDATE
My foot surgery was four weeks ago today! My healing seems to be progressing at a normal pace. Last night I changed the wrap and was able to get a few pictures for you. Here’s what it’s looking like these days.
I’m still feeling nervous that my stitched toes could come apart if I caught them on something while walking around, so I’m still keeping them wrapped together for piece of mind. I’ve had a LOT more swelling and pain this last week after getting the stitches off last Monday. Nightime was often the worst, even though all I was doing was laying in bed! It felt like a setback to me but Nick thinks it’s just part of the normal healing process. I’m pretty mobile within our house but still not venturing out much. The end does not feel in sight yet and it feels like I’ve been cooped up FOREVER.
HAND SURGERY UPDATE
I am desperately trying to get my hand surgery scheduled so I can heal my foot and hand at the same time, but no one is returning my call or emails. Grrrr. I will keep trying and hope to have a surgery date in late March or early April!
