Appointment: February 23, 2010

Today I had my ortho appointment at 10:30 AM. I had biology lab until ten, but didn't leave school until like 10:15 AM because the ortho is close to my school, but still, I got there like 10 minutes late (oops). I waited until they called my name, almost like 30 minutes, but I finally got in.

Guess who was there? You got it! Cute boy. Except I took a good look at him and I realized that he isn't that cute... Haha, I insist, I'm not a creepy girl.

It got to my turn to sit on the chair and the asistant came over and did the usual: removed my wires and sent me over to brush and floss. I came back to the chair and waited for the orthodontist. When she came over, she greeted me and started checking my teeth. "Open big. Close. Open. Close", she said while holding that mirror tool inside my mouth. She took it out and slid back a little on the chair and said: "Good, your braces are coming off in the next visit". Then she told me to keep wearing my rubber bands.

I couldn't believe what she said, and all I could manage to get out was: "Yay!", to which she laughed. She got up, said bye, and went to the other patient. I was left on the chair with a huge smile on my face. The assistant came over and she asked me which color chain I wanted. I asked: "Which colors do you have?". I know I always ask the same thing, but I don't care, haha!. She opened the drawer and showed me the colors. Lots of blue, greens, yellows and oranges. A couple of pinks and purples. I stared at the tray with the chain rolls for like three minutes. The assistant said: "Actually, you can choose two colors if you want, because you're getting them on the top and bottom". "Yay!", I though to myself, "now my decision shouldn't be as hard!". I kept on staring at the colors for a couple of minutes, and the assistant laughed, and I said: "Sorry, I'm very indecisive". I finally concluded on a hot pink on top, and purple on bottom (the same purple from my first chain). She put in the wires, and then the chains, asking me to confirm which color went where. She also gave me a new pack of rubber bands. The, she sent me to wait in the hallway, and I looked at my teeth in the mirror, and I actually liked the color combo.


This made me happy because it was going to be my last couple of chains, and I really liked the colors. The assistant came to meet me and said: "Ok, you're good to go. Just wait for your appointment. Oh, do you know you're getting them off next time?, to which I answered: "Yes!", with a huge smile on my face. She said okay, and then dismissed me. I sat down and waited, I was just so happy of the news. They called my name and the lady said a couple of dates in late March, but they were conflicting with my school schedule, so she set my appointment for April 1st, at 7:30 AM (sucky time, but I probably won't be able to sleep the previous night at all, LOL!).

I went to the restroom before I left, and then headed to my car with a smile that wouldn't go away. And I filmed the rest of the video that is in the post before this one. So check that out :]

Next (and final) Appointment: April 1, 2010

Exciting news!!

So excited!! Hopefully my accent isn't too annoying ^-^ Oh, and I was squinting and blinking a lot because the sun was very bright and was on my face.

In case you don't want or can't watch the video, or if you can't understand what I'm saying, here's what I said:

"Hey everyone! So today I'm going to take my braces off!... Actually no. It's actually just an appointment. So, to let you guys know how it goes. Bye!
Hey guys! I just got out of my appointment, and they told me that I'm gonna get my braces off on the next visit which is actually on April first! So I'm really excited, I'm all smiles, and uh *girlish shriek* I wanna scream! And... I just wanted to let you know, and, talk to you soon! Bye!
I hope it's not an April's fools joke, it better not be... just kidding. I'm really happy! So anyways, I'll see you guys soon, bye!"


Originally posted on March 24, 2010

Appointment: January 6, 2010

Today I had an ortho appointment! Yay. So I went in for the usual. Cute boy was there too, haha. And while I was brushing my teeth, he came over the sink and rinsed his mouth, and then he left. He's dreamy...

Anyways... Haha! I might seem like a creepy girl now, I promise I'm not!! Okay, so the assistant took my wires off, and she had trouble taking the bottom one off. It was a bit painful and I feared my bands would come loose :[ But they didn't. Then I was sent to brush and floss, and then I waited for the orthodontist to come with me (which took a while).

She checked my bite with a little mirror-tool-thingy, and told me to: "Open big, bite. Open, bite". She did this a few times, and I could feel she was unsure. Then she asked: "Have you been wearing your rubber bands?". To which I answered: "Yes... but not all the time..." "I knew it!! I knew it!!", she said. Then she told me that I had to wear them because she had to see if they were coming off. Then she told me to wear them all the time. I asked if I should keep using the right one during the day, and both at night; but she said I had to wear both full time. Then I was done and was left with the assistant.

Being good, with my rubber bands on ;]

The assistant asked me which color chain I wanted. DUN DUN DUN DUUUUN!! And I asked: "What colors do you have?". And she opened the drawer and I saw turquoise. YAY!, so I told her I wanted that one. But she said she could use it because the chains were too separated... I felt disappointed yet again, but continued looking through the colors. I said: "How about that neon pink?", but she told me she couldn't use it for the same reason as the turquoise. I glanced at the greens and oranges and yellows, but I quickly thought that it would look like I had salad on my teeth, or that my teeth were yellower than they are. So I ended up choosing a metalic blue, which I actually like alot :]

The chain does look like it's turquoise in the pictures, but it's a darker blue.

So then I was told to wait by the door, in the little mirrored hallway. The assistant came a few minutes later and told me that I would have my next appointment in 5 to 7 weeks, and that in my next appointment they would evaluate if I was going to get my braces off. I got excited, but she tried to cut it by repeating: "Only to evaluate, not to take them off". But still, I was excited!! I might be getting them off 6 months earlier!! Can't wait till I have a retainer, haha :]

Next Appointment: February 23, 2010

PS> I'm sorry every post is like a freakin' novel. You don't have to read it all, it's just that I like remembering every little detail :]

Appointment: November 11, 2009

Today I had an ortho appointment! Yay! :] This time was especially special (LOL) because it was the first time I went by myself, in my own car!! Very exciting, right? I loved how my mom got to stay home and not wait for and hour in a room full of crying kids, I hated that she had to do that...

Anyways.

This time, they made me keep the same top wire, and changed to bottom one to a stronger wire. I also had some of my teeth filed! Really! Remember how I told you my middle bottom two teeth were kind of separating? Well the ortho did some more filling in between those, and maybe the ones next to them. She used this little machine that completely freaked me out. First she called the assistant: "Jocelyn, bring me the jdfbdufdk", or whatever it is called. And I was wondering, "What could that be?". And the assistant brings a small box and starts assembling a small machine. Then she asks the ortho to check to see if it's ok. The ortho takes it, and that's when I can take a look at it:

[picture has yet to be found]

She then turns it on, and it makes a loud noise (maybe not so loud, but loud enough to scare me), and puts it between my two front lower teeth. Did it hurt? Not one bit. Which was surprising because I though I was going to cry in public and scare the rest of the 7 year-old patients. That was done in less than a few seconds and the ortho was about to leave when I asked her if I needed to keep using my rubber bands, to which she said: "Yes. The same way I told you last time: all day on the right, and the left only at night". I wasn't surprised about this, since I had been bad and didn't really wear my rubber bands...

Then the ortho left me with the assistant to put in my wires. Then she opened the drawer and said: "Pick a color for your chain". Hallelujah!!! And if you read my previous post, you know that I said: "Do you have turquoise?". Which, to my disappointment, she answered: "No... this is the only blue I have", picking up a navy blue chain. So I said: "Which colors to you have?", and I took a peek into the drawer and looked at the colors. I said, "Which pinks do you have?", and she picked up a neon pink and a pastel pink. I though the neon would be too crazy, so I chose the light pink. She put it on, with a little trouble, and told me I was done and to wait for her at the door.

In the little hallway by the door they have a mirror, and I took a look at my teeth, trying to see what they had done with the machine, but I couldn't really see a difference. And I also looked at my pink chain. I regretted the choice instantly. I feel it looks like I have gum stuck in my teeth, and that it makes my teeth look yellow. But oh well, I guess this is a trial and error situation; and you can't really see my bottom teeth unless I smile creepily, so it's not a big deal. Before I left, I asked her what they had done with the machine and the assistant said that the orthodontist had filed my teeth a little to make more room. Cool :]

So here's what my teeth look like:



Thanks for reading, and send in your questions! I will be glad to answer them. And I might even make a post about it here in the blog!

Next Appointment: January 6, 2010

Appointment: September 23, 2009

Today I had my orthodontics appointment at 9:20 AM. I woke up around 8, but somehow I didn't manage my time correctly because my mom and I were out the door at 9:10 AM. And it takes us about 20 minutes to get there.

So I got in late (9:35 AM), and waited for them to call my name. When they did, I got in and I waited inside again. There was this really cute guy there, which was surprising because most boys I see there are.... well, boys. So, moving on...

I got in the chair and the lady took of my purple chain. Goodbye chain! I was definitely expecting to get a new one, and I had already thought of the color: turquoise. I figured it would go great with my new pink streaks and the hot pink lip tint I've been rocking lately. The lady also took my wire and sent me of to brush and floss. I was a bit surprised of how big my teeth looked without the chain. It was pretty funny, I liked it!! I finished brushing and flossing and went back to the chair and waited for the ortho. When she came to me, we said our hellos:

Dr: "Hello! How are you?"
Me: "Hi! I'm doing good. How are you?"
Dr: "I'm good too. Just another day at the office..."

Which sounded like she meant she had a tedious job, but from the little times I've seen her and observed her, I know that's just her personality.

She then asked me if I had been wearing my rubber bands. "What? They told me I didn't have to wear them anymore. I SWEAR!!!", I thought. I told her that, and she told me that I would have to wear them again, and that I would then be over with them. I was happy, I knew I would have to use them again, but I didn't know I would ever be "over with them". Then she told me that I would have to wear the right one all day and all night, and the left one only at night. Apparently, my teeth didn't move evenly, haha. I was thinking how weird it would be to have just one rubber band on. Now it would definitely look like I had something stuck in my teeth.

Then the ortho wrote some stuff on my chart and said she was done with me. I waited for the assistant. She came to me and I had the word "turquoise" about to come out. But she didn't ask me anything. She grabbed something and started to put it on my teeth. It definitely wasn't the wire, I wondered if she was reusing my old purple power chain. That kinda made me sad, because I wanted another color :[ Then, she put on my top wire. Then she told me she was going to put a stronger wire on the bottom, and then she put it in. She cut the ends, and asked if anything was poking me. I checked with my finger (weird, haha), and told her "No". She then told me my new instructions for my rubber bands, which I repeated back to her. I definitely didn't want to forget and invert the correct way. She then asked if I needed more rubber bands, and I told her I did, even though I have one and a half packets (I don't want to run out). She told me to wait by the door, in the little hallway. There is a mirror there, so I looked at my teeth and saw what was going on:
They put that wire, criss-crossy thingy (which goes only on the four front teeth), which I don't know what is for. I really like the way my teeth look, I feel the braces are less noticeable now than with the purple chain. So even though I didn't get turquoise in my teeth, I was once again very, very happy.

Next Appointment: November 11, 2009

Emergency Visit

While brushing my teeth on Saturday night, I noticed something was wrong. The two bands around my bottom left molars were loose. I told my mom that we would have to go to the ortho on Monday to get it fixed. Monday came around and I woke up at my usual vacation schedule, 9:30 AM. I had breakfast and at 10:12 AM I called the ortho's office to tell them I was coming. They told me that they only accept emergencies before 10 AM. "This blows!" is what I though, but oh well, I didn't mind waiting.

So today I woke up at 7:50 AM and my mom and I where on our way by 9:00 AM. I signed in at 9:40 AM and waited for them to call my name. The assistant who helped me was very nice and friendly. She made small talk, complimented my eyeshadow, and kept telling me, "What did you do, young lady?". She seemed a bit confused on what to do, so asked the orthodontist for help. The doctor told her to go ahead and take the wires out, fit the bands, and to do the adjustment then and there, instead of at my next appointment in August 27th.

She fitted a smaller band for one of my molars, and the orthodontist glued them back on again, one at a time. Then she left me again with the assistant to put a stronger wire on my lower teeth and a new wire on my top teeth. "The usual", I thought. But I was wrong. The assistant then told me that she was going to put a chain on my top teeth. She opened a drawer, and told me: "Choose a color". This was cool, because my braces are the kind that doesn't need the little, fun colored elastics. So it was the first time I was going to have some color in my mouth. I chose purple, which I like, but I think I should have picked a hot pink. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. But hopefully I'll get to pick a different color every time I go :]

Another exiting thing: I don't have to wear elastics anymore! This is great!! No more grossing people out by taking them out in public, or "accidentally" forgetting them on the dinner table. I'm gonna miss those little things, but I'm sure glad they're gone. For now.

My next appointment was moved to September 23rd, but I will be adding some miscellaneous posts in the meantime.

Thanks for reading, take care :]

Welcome to my braces blog.

Hi there! I'm Ana and I'm also happy that you came across my blog. Let me tell you a little about myself:
-I'm 25 days shy of turning 19.
-College student
-Female (duh!)
-I've had braces for a year and two months.

So why the heck did I just start making a braces blog, almost halfway through my treatment? I have no idea. But I figured it's never too late to do anything. I do have pictures of the progress of my teeth, and I will be posting them eventually, so I hope that is interesting for you :]

Thanks again for coming, and check back soon for updates!

EDIT: I just figured out how to make a post with an older date. So that's how I will be uploading the pictures of my before and my progress so far. Cool tool! :]