Monday, September 17, 2007

No Hardware!

This is it! The day I've been waiting for.

My ortho debraced me today, right on schedule.

Wires cut. Brackets removed. Glue scratched off. Scrub scrub scrub. Buff buff buff. Holding my breath. Big sigh of relief - NO stains on the teeth. Phew! No need to rush to Brite Smile anytime soon. Thank goodness!

Ribs and corn on the cob for dinner, washed down with the congratulatory bottle of Martinelli's Sparkling Apple-Cranberry, compliments of my orthodontist. Isn't she nice?

It's far from over, though. For starters, I gotta wear a removable metal retainer across my upper teeth for eight months, 24/7. The bottom retainer has been built in.

I also will ask my ortho to tip in my upper teeth a little bit. Right now there's simply too much space where my upper overlaps my lower. My ortho said it's because they had to compensate for my missing tooth on the bottom (it just never came out in the first place), but they can adjust it with the retainer if I prefer closer contact.

My upper and lower gums both feel numb. But other than that, everything feels the way it should. :) Posted by Picasa

12 comments:

Brandyleigh35 said...

Looking good Kristen! So, how come we can't click on your pic an see how things look up close? It's hard for my old eyes to get the full effect LOL!

How exciting to finally have your teeth be free again! Did it hurt getting them off?

Brandy

Maggie said...

Ah I didn't notice - thanks Brandy. You can click on the photo now and it'll enlarge.

Only three or four teeth hurt when they removed the brackets. Maybe a 2 or 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. Not bad at all.

You got a debracing date, too, right?

Mrs. Shanton said...

You look so different without the braces! Quite stunning, actually. Less young, in the juvenile sense, more sexy young woman-ish. Good going, girl! Congrats! I love your after-braces meal. Who wouldn't love the "typewriter" foods, ribs and corn, but only a person who just had their braces removed would love it as much as you must have!

Casey said...

Congratulations kristen!! You look terrific....what a fantastic smile you have! Some people can have really nice teeth but still have a fairly dull smile but yours is lovely. Without doubt the hard work has paid off! Ribs!!! so jealous... 7 days post op now.

Bill said...

One word - Gorgeous! It could be a factor of the light or that you're leaning slightly forward in the "de-braced" photo, but your cheeks actually look a bit thinner without the braces.

Wonderful outcome ... congrats!

Brandyleigh35 said...

Ahh....so much better! Now I can really take in the full effect of those pearly whites.

You look soo great! and I agree with the "ever elusive Steph" that you look more mature, not so teenagerish! (is that even a word?) Anyway, you must be so happy to finally be free of the oral prison, and with such great results too! WoW!

I don't have a debracing date set yet. I go back Oct 4th, and supposedly we are going to set a date then. I can say that I actually feel now like things look ready to come off. Before I could see some things that needed to be fixed still. Right now my second right incisor is rotated ever ever so slightly, but other then that things look just about perfect! So hopefully it will be soon! I'm planning for like the second week of October if all goes well. So about 1 month from today!

Anyway....flash that million dollar smile proudly! You worked hard for it, and it definitely was worth the aggravation don't you think?

Mary said...

What a beautiful smile! Congratulations!! Mary

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Graham said...

Agh, I'm late chiming in here, but wow, you look fantastic! I definitely agree with Steph's comment. Congratulations Kristen!

Aimee said...

Yay! Congratulations! You look beautiful.

Melissa M. said...

I am so beyond happy for you! You look amazing; I feel like crying. :)

I hope you'll still be around for moral support (my braces go on in exactly a month)!!

congrats, kristen!

Erin said...

Wow Kristen! You look awesome! (And I am so jealous! It still feels like there's no end in sight for me even though I am post-surgery!)