Today is a good day!
Today I got braces put on - woot!
I thought today would also be the day the "torture device" - i.e the expander - would come out, but I thought wrong! The expander has to stay in and help hold the teeth in place while "Fang" moves into position. Once it gets there, then the expander can come out. Dr. Mai said it should be by the next visit, so I'll be anxious for November to come along!
This whole process has just amazed me in how the body works to help itself! Seeing the jaw move to a wider position was amazing; and now, I get to watch Fang move to where it's supposed to be. It's crazy! Crazy cool, that is!
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Look Ma, no teeth!
Well, this past Friday was pretty uneventful.
Woke up.
Went to the Ninja's office where he pulled out 4 premolars.
Went home.
No biggie :)
It really was an easy day. The worst part was the waiting! I got called in to the Ninja's office a little after 8:45am (appointment time). The nurse hooked me up to everything but the anesthesia and then I waited almost 30 MINUTES before the Ninja came in! He said his usual, "Good to see you, now open." Then he said "I'm going to put in your IV - this will take about 15 minutes." "15 minutes to put the IV in??" I asked. "No, for the procedure." Duh. Next thing he said was he was going to start the IV and to tell him when I started to feel different. I said, "The last time I had IV anesthesia I...." and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room! I remember trying to talk but not being able to do so very easily - must have been those 50 pieces of gauze in my mouth! Luckily Ann, my ride that morning had a notebook so I was able to write a few things (Lord knows what I put!). I do remember when the Ninja came in I wrote "You rock" - because he does. After a while I felt good enough to leave so Ann took me home. I did ask her to take a picture of me in the recovery room - not sure if I asked her to send it to anyone but I DO know that I posted to Facebook. OMG. Oh well :)
The anesthesia really didn't last too long in my system. I literally took a few short naps during the day, but for the most part I watched the US Open tennis tournament and did some knitting. My goddaughter took frosty to me in the evening so that was helpful :) I took Saturday off from work and was back at it on Sunday!
So now I have A LOT of room in my mouth If my feet don't fit, by golly I don't know what I'm gonna do!!
(bottom - looks the same on the top. It's hard to take pictures of the roof of your mouth!)
Woke up.
Went to the Ninja's office where he pulled out 4 premolars.
Went home.
No biggie :)
It really was an easy day. The worst part was the waiting! I got called in to the Ninja's office a little after 8:45am (appointment time). The nurse hooked me up to everything but the anesthesia and then I waited almost 30 MINUTES before the Ninja came in! He said his usual, "Good to see you, now open." Then he said "I'm going to put in your IV - this will take about 15 minutes." "15 minutes to put the IV in??" I asked. "No, for the procedure." Duh. Next thing he said was he was going to start the IV and to tell him when I started to feel different. I said, "The last time I had IV anesthesia I...." and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room! I remember trying to talk but not being able to do so very easily - must have been those 50 pieces of gauze in my mouth! Luckily Ann, my ride that morning had a notebook so I was able to write a few things (Lord knows what I put!). I do remember when the Ninja came in I wrote "You rock" - because he does. After a while I felt good enough to leave so Ann took me home. I did ask her to take a picture of me in the recovery room - not sure if I asked her to send it to anyone but I DO know that I posted to Facebook. OMG. Oh well :)
The anesthesia really didn't last too long in my system. I literally took a few short naps during the day, but for the most part I watched the US Open tennis tournament and did some knitting. My goddaughter took frosty to me in the evening so that was helpful :) I took Saturday off from work and was back at it on Sunday!
So now I have A LOT of room in my mouth If my feet don't fit, by golly I don't know what I'm gonna do!!
(bottom - looks the same on the top. It's hard to take pictures of the roof of your mouth!)
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
2nd "Procedure" Coming Up!
I guess it could be worse...
This Friday I'm having my pre-molars extracted to make the last bit of space needed for this "new mouth." Again I ask myself "What have I gotten myself in to??" But at least it's not major surgery; although, I do have to have IV anesthesia which is kind of a bummer, BUT, that's what The Ninja said would be best, so be it. At least it means two days off from work?
Anyway, what are pre-molars? On the chart below, they are teeth numbers 5, 12, 21 and 28:
This Friday I'm having my pre-molars extracted to make the last bit of space needed for this "new mouth." Again I ask myself "What have I gotten myself in to??" But at least it's not major surgery; although, I do have to have IV anesthesia which is kind of a bummer, BUT, that's what The Ninja said would be best, so be it. At least it means two days off from work?
Anyway, what are pre-molars? On the chart below, they are teeth numbers 5, 12, 21 and 28:
I only have two "concerns" with this procedure and yes, these are in order:
I wonder if I'll be able to get back to running a few days after the procedure?
and
NOW what am I going to look like?? As if looking like Goofy and sounding like Daffy Duck wasn't enough...ho hum...we shall see.
It's temporary, it's temporary...
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Another Date!
Ok, ok...not "that" kind of date...darn!
The next date I have is to have 4 teeth extracted - 2 on top, 2 on the bottom - to create the last bit of space needed for my teeth to fit into. This procedure will be a piece of cake compared to the surgery! This happens next Friday (Aug. 30) - nothing like being drugged up and looking like a blowfish at work! I'll take the Vigil Mass off, but then I'll be back at it on Sunday morning - good thing we have a welcoming (and a forgiving!) community!
The next date I have is to have 4 teeth extracted - 2 on top, 2 on the bottom - to create the last bit of space needed for my teeth to fit into. This procedure will be a piece of cake compared to the surgery! This happens next Friday (Aug. 30) - nothing like being drugged up and looking like a blowfish at work! I'll take the Vigil Mass off, but then I'll be back at it on Sunday morning - good thing we have a welcoming (and a forgiving!) community!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Steps in the right direction!!
It's been while since the last post. Not a lot regarding the mouth has gone on, but a little bit has...
Saw The Ninja (Dr. Quaroni) last week and he said my gums are healthy, everything looks okay and that the bone was good. He even said the bone could take on braces now instead of wait a few more months! I see Dr. Mai next week, so hopefully she'll have some good news for me like, "hey, let's take out that dumb expander and put some new 'jewelry' on you!" A girl can dream, right?
Anyway...the BEST news that came from The Ninja is that he said it was OK for me to start running again!! YYYEEEESSSSS!!! He said I could do all activities (not using my face, of course!) like normal. Those were the words I have been waiting to hear! My body has definitely missed running and oddly enough, my spirit has, too. Running has really done a lot for my life, so not being able to do so has been a little difficult. Not that I'm a fast runner or run races all the time - the point of just being able to be out and doing it matters a lot.
So, I'm happy there have been positive steps (pun intended!) in the right direction. I'll keep hoping for more!
Saw The Ninja (Dr. Quaroni) last week and he said my gums are healthy, everything looks okay and that the bone was good. He even said the bone could take on braces now instead of wait a few more months! I see Dr. Mai next week, so hopefully she'll have some good news for me like, "hey, let's take out that dumb expander and put some new 'jewelry' on you!" A girl can dream, right?
Anyway...the BEST news that came from The Ninja is that he said it was OK for me to start running again!! YYYEEEESSSSS!!! He said I could do all activities (not using my face, of course!) like normal. Those were the words I have been waiting to hear! My body has definitely missed running and oddly enough, my spirit has, too. Running has really done a lot for my life, so not being able to do so has been a little difficult. Not that I'm a fast runner or run races all the time - the point of just being able to be out and doing it matters a lot.
So, I'm happy there have been positive steps (pun intended!) in the right direction. I'll keep hoping for more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)