My 30th Year - Rachael S. Dunn Gets Braces

An adult braces journal (among other things)

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Appointment Change

I got a call from Atlanta Orthodontic Specialists this week. Dr. Stewart is out of town the week of my next scheduled appointment and they wanted to see if I could move the appointment forward or back one week. The ortho has 2 offices, but he's only at the one closest to my house one day every week. I always prefer to see him at the office if I can.

Anyway, I opted to move the appointment forward one week. That means I'll have seven weeks between appointments -- thus potentially shaving one week off my treatment time!

Yeah, I know, not likely......

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

First Braces Check-Up

Saw Dr. Stewart at Atlanta Orthodontic Specialists yesterday for my first check-up. I'm pleased because I got the clean braces award. He said he's never seen cleaner teeth and braces -- which might not be quite true -- but I was glad to hear it all the same. I've been trying very hard to take really good care of my teeth and it's good to know my efforts are paying off. He was very surprised when I opened my mouth. Even quizzed the assistant about what was different about my braces. Made me worry there really was something wrong.

His comment perplexes me though because surely other adults with braces take care of their braces just as well. I can see the average 12 year old not doing such a great job, but surely adults worry about keeping their teeth as clean as possible. I'm not the only adult he's ever had with braces though so maybe the average adult is just as lazy as the average kid. Who knows.

I didn't really get any new information about what's next in the treatment plan. He said the teeth are moving nicely and according to his original plan, and that I earned brackets on the top 12-year-old molars. They also upgraded the wire to the next gauge.

So far, very limited tenderness with the new wire. Either it's not putting much pressure on my teeth, or I'm not feeling it anyway. There is a little soreness from the new brackets, but it's not as severe as when I got the first brackets installed.

I have my next appointment scheduled for 8 weeks from now.

I now need to post new pictures so I can show off the new wire!

Monday, October 03, 2005

Braces Photos Week 8





Here are photos after 8 weeks in braces. Changes are definitely noticeable. Still a ways to go though.