You can tell it's near the end of June over here where we live. For the past two weeks there has been a frenzy of public-works activity: crews have been installing signs (I was clued in by jack-hammering across the street early one morning), digging up sections of uneven concrete and replacing them (more early-morning noise), repainting lines and crosswalks, trimming trees, and other general civic beautification and maintenance. Just a little while ago a work crew was filling a pothole in the street in front of of our driveway.
Municipalities are like businesses: they have to make sure that the budget money is spent by the end of the fiscal year, or they don't get as much the following year. And don't misunderstand; I am not complaining. I am happy to see our city making sure things are tended to. It's part of what makes this a nice place to live.
Showing posts with label Fixing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fixing. Show all posts
22 June 2012
20 July 2010
Unbraced
Yesterday the braces came off my upper teeth, after about 17-1/2 months. This felt a lot more significant than when I had the lowers removed a few weeks back, probably because the uppers went on first, and because the major phase of the process is now over.
My palate did not open up quite as much as I'd hoped, so I don't think I'll be experiencing any remarkable end to my snoring, but the alignment problems that plagued my teeth my whole life are gone, which was really the more important goal, and most of my cross-bite has been eradicated.
Now come several months of fine-tuning, starting with wearing clear, molded plastic temporary retainers. I'll go back in a month and the dentist will look at how the teeth are settling in, and what sort of adjustments he might want to make.
Eating is now much easier than it's been in quite some time, since I don't have wires trapping bits of food. I also have a new appreciation for proper brushing technique, and I've acquired a Sonicare gadget, which is supposed to be the cat's pajamas for keeping your teeth ultra-clean--we'll see.
My palate did not open up quite as much as I'd hoped, so I don't think I'll be experiencing any remarkable end to my snoring, but the alignment problems that plagued my teeth my whole life are gone, which was really the more important goal, and most of my cross-bite has been eradicated.
Now come several months of fine-tuning, starting with wearing clear, molded plastic temporary retainers. I'll go back in a month and the dentist will look at how the teeth are settling in, and what sort of adjustments he might want to make.
Eating is now much easier than it's been in quite some time, since I don't have wires trapping bits of food. I also have a new appreciation for proper brushing technique, and I've acquired a Sonicare gadget, which is supposed to be the cat's pajamas for keeping your teeth ultra-clean--we'll see.
25 June 2010
Halfway Done
Yesterday my bottom braces were removed. They were put on in May of last year, three months after the top teeth. They were originally supposed to come off four weeks ago, but the dentist wanted to tweak the position of one tooth, and what difference does a few weeks make?
The Mrs. asked me if it felt weird. Only for a few minutes, then I didn't even notice that they were no longer there. Of course, now I have the pleasure of wearing a retainer, but as with the braces, science has improved this too. It's just a mold of clear plastic that fits right over my teeth, so it's not even noticeable.
The best part is that the top braces will probably be coming off in three more weeks--again, this is so some adjusting can be done to one top tooth. I had expected the top braces would need to stay on another two or three months, so this is great news.
The Mrs. asked me if it felt weird. Only for a few minutes, then I didn't even notice that they were no longer there. Of course, now I have the pleasure of wearing a retainer, but as with the braces, science has improved this too. It's just a mold of clear plastic that fits right over my teeth, so it's not even noticeable.
The best part is that the top braces will probably be coming off in three more weeks--again, this is so some adjusting can be done to one top tooth. I had expected the top braces would need to stay on another two or three months, so this is great news.
12 February 2010
Progress Report: Braces
Today marks a year since I got my braces. I was scheduled to go into the dentist's office a week from Monday to get my wires changed, but as it happened, my upper wire shifted a few days ago and the right end was poking me, so I went in yesterday after work. He went ahead and changed the upper wire, and now I don't have to go back for another month.
The dentist is quite pleased with my progress; he said my teeth are 90 to 95 percent of the way to where they ought to be, and he expects that I'll be able to get the braces off in four or five more months. That's actually a little sooner than I'd expected, but I will be happy when they are finally removed. Eating is still more challenging than it used to be.
One byproduct of this process is that I am now much more attentive to how long and how thoroughly I brush my teeth, and I'll continue that after the braces come off.
The dentist is quite pleased with my progress; he said my teeth are 90 to 95 percent of the way to where they ought to be, and he expects that I'll be able to get the braces off in four or five more months. That's actually a little sooner than I'd expected, but I will be happy when they are finally removed. Eating is still more challenging than it used to be.
One byproduct of this process is that I am now much more attentive to how long and how thoroughly I brush my teeth, and I'll continue that after the braces come off.
13 May 2009
That Bites
I know I haven't posted anything this week. Things have been a little bit pressurized at work, which is unusual, and it's distracting me from my ongoing mission to deconstruct the concept of productivity.
However, I find myself with a bit of time at the moment. I had my lower braces put on last week, and a slightly thicker wire put on the top ones. No problems so far, other than the end of the bottom wire giving the inside of my mouth a good gouging, but a quick visit to the dentist's office yesterday took care of it.
But he also put a block behind my two front upper teeth to prevent my bite from closing all the way, so as not to hit the bottom braces with the top teeth. This has made eating weird all over again, because I can't use my front teeth to bite into things like I normally would. Very frustrating, and it's also more difficult to chew food as thoroughly as I should. Consequently, I'm trying to eat soft foods whenever possible, and to avoid sandwiches and things that require biting, but there's no way I'm giving up Anna's burritos.
However, I find myself with a bit of time at the moment. I had my lower braces put on last week, and a slightly thicker wire put on the top ones. No problems so far, other than the end of the bottom wire giving the inside of my mouth a good gouging, but a quick visit to the dentist's office yesterday took care of it.
But he also put a block behind my two front upper teeth to prevent my bite from closing all the way, so as not to hit the bottom braces with the top teeth. This has made eating weird all over again, because I can't use my front teeth to bite into things like I normally would. Very frustrating, and it's also more difficult to chew food as thoroughly as I should. Consequently, I'm trying to eat soft foods whenever possible, and to avoid sandwiches and things that require biting, but there's no way I'm giving up Anna's burritos.
26 March 2009
Brackets
Ha! You probably thought I was going to talk about the basketball tournament. Screw that noise, because I couldn't care less. When I heard that some of the games were going to be played here in Boston, my first thought was, "Great, traffic and crowds--stay away from the Garden this weekend." Now that might seem harsh, but there's no point in being dishonest about it: basketball just doesn't interest me.
The brackets I'm referring to are the ones the dentist put on my teeth six weeks ago. For the most part things have been fine, except for two that refuse to stay attached. I went back the day after they were first put on to have them redone, and they came right off again. I went back the following week, and that time they lasted three days. After that I didn't even bother calling or going back; I decided I'd just wait until this week's visit, the main purpose of which was to change the wire to a slightly thicker one.
I thought eating was causing the brackets to dislodge, but the dentist said he could see that the adhesive was still on my teeth, so the failure was between the adhesive and the brackets. On my way home from his office on the T, approximately 30 minutes later, I felt one of the troublemakers pop off, and the other one did the same thing about an hour later. So I've dutifully put in the call to the office, and I'll probably have to go back in a couple of days. Fortunately the office is only a 20-minute walk from where I work.
Otherwise, the braces are doing what they are supposed to do. He compared my teeth to the models he had made before the braces went on, and said that my upper bite has widened slightly more than 1.5 millimeters in the past six weeks, which is right on target for expected progress. It might seem hard to believe, but I can feel the difference, and my sister, who works for a dentist, said that she thought she could see a slight difference. In six more weeks the lower braces will go on, and I'll have another progress report.
The brackets I'm referring to are the ones the dentist put on my teeth six weeks ago. For the most part things have been fine, except for two that refuse to stay attached. I went back the day after they were first put on to have them redone, and they came right off again. I went back the following week, and that time they lasted three days. After that I didn't even bother calling or going back; I decided I'd just wait until this week's visit, the main purpose of which was to change the wire to a slightly thicker one.
I thought eating was causing the brackets to dislodge, but the dentist said he could see that the adhesive was still on my teeth, so the failure was between the adhesive and the brackets. On my way home from his office on the T, approximately 30 minutes later, I felt one of the troublemakers pop off, and the other one did the same thing about an hour later. So I've dutifully put in the call to the office, and I'll probably have to go back in a couple of days. Fortunately the office is only a 20-minute walk from where I work.
Otherwise, the braces are doing what they are supposed to do. He compared my teeth to the models he had made before the braces went on, and said that my upper bite has widened slightly more than 1.5 millimeters in the past six weeks, which is right on target for expected progress. It might seem hard to believe, but I can feel the difference, and my sister, who works for a dentist, said that she thought she could see a slight difference. In six more weeks the lower braces will go on, and I'll have another progress report.
12 February 2009
Brace Yourselves
On Tuesday I took the first step on a journey that is going to have a profound impact on my life. This is something I have wanted to do for many years, and I finally decided it was time to act.
I got braces. Yes, at age 45, I'm a metal mouth.
When I was a child, braces were not financially feasible for my parents. When I was a teenager I went to a parochial high school, and it was made clear that tuition took precedence over elective cosmetic dentistry, which was perfectly understandable, and at that age I didn't much care how my teeth looked anyway. But as I got older, even as I grew less self-conscious and more comfortable with my overall appearance, I was bothered more and more by the state of my mouth.
I'm very fortunate to have healthy teeth, but they have always been terribly crooked. The bottom teeth are extremely crowded in front, my canines protrude something awful, making me look a little like Spike, and my upper molars are angled inboard of the lower ones, which is called a cross bite. My dentist made molds of my uppers and lowers a couple of weeks ago, and it was kind of shocking to see just how badly messed up my mouth is.
I've been going to the same dentist for more than 15 years, and I think he and all his staff are fantastic. My comfort with and confidence in them is a big part of why I chose to do this. My dentist has spent most of his career learning how to do new stuff, and when he showed me the Damon System braces, which were designed specifically for adult mouths, I could see how excited he was about them. They achieve results faster than other types of braces, and they are not painful.
The upper bracess went on first, because my cross bite needs to be opened up somewhat before the bottoms can be fitted. Little metal brackets were glued to each of my upper teeth, a wire was fed through them, and the brackets were then snapped shut to hold the wire taut and in place. In six weeks I'll go back to get the wire changed to one that is slightly thicker and will thus put a little more tension on the teeth. Six weeks after that, the dentist should be able to put on the lower braces. After that, I only have to go in about every three months to get the wires changed.
It took me only about four hours to dislodge two of the brackets, so I had to go back to the office yesterday to have them reglued. The doc said he didn't do a good enough job attaching one of them, and the other was knocked loose by one of my lower teeth while I was eating, due to my cross bite. To prevent that from happening again, he had to glue pegs onto a lower molar on each side to create some space between the upper and lower teeth. (Fortunately, if a bracket comes loose, it's still on the wire so it can't go anywhere, i.e. you don't need to worry about accidentally swallowing it.)
Eating is now profoundly strange, and awkward, and a little gross. Food feels completely different in my mouth. Chewing is almost an alien activity. Even taking bites has been affected, because the pegs mean my teeth don't quite come together in front the way they used to, and they are a little tingly from having brackets glued to them. As a result, I have to take smaller bites and chew much more slowly and carefully. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as I've always eaten too fast and knew that I needed to slow down. Between that and the various snacky things (nuts, caramels, chips) that are now either off-limits or suddenly much more difficult to eat, I have a feeling I'm going to end up losing a few pounds, which again is okay.
Another ancillary benefit is that, as my upper bite is widened, my palate will also be opened, which will help me breathe better when I'm asleep, which may cut down on my snoring. Obviously there's no guarantee, but any gain achieved in this area will make the Mrs. happier.
All of this is going to cost about one-eighth of my gross yearly salary. Crazy, right? Maybe. But people pay far more for nose jobs, breast implants, liposuction, and any number of other cosmetic procedures. Everyone who chooses to do so has a reason, and most of them probably come down to self-esteem. I've never thought of myself as having low self-esteem, but I won't deny that a straighter smile will nonetheless make me feel better about myself. I could live the rest of my life with crooked teeth, but I have the opportunity and the means to correct them, so I'm doing it. Wouldn't you?
I got braces. Yes, at age 45, I'm a metal mouth.
When I was a child, braces were not financially feasible for my parents. When I was a teenager I went to a parochial high school, and it was made clear that tuition took precedence over elective cosmetic dentistry, which was perfectly understandable, and at that age I didn't much care how my teeth looked anyway. But as I got older, even as I grew less self-conscious and more comfortable with my overall appearance, I was bothered more and more by the state of my mouth.
I'm very fortunate to have healthy teeth, but they have always been terribly crooked. The bottom teeth are extremely crowded in front, my canines protrude something awful, making me look a little like Spike, and my upper molars are angled inboard of the lower ones, which is called a cross bite. My dentist made molds of my uppers and lowers a couple of weeks ago, and it was kind of shocking to see just how badly messed up my mouth is.
I've been going to the same dentist for more than 15 years, and I think he and all his staff are fantastic. My comfort with and confidence in them is a big part of why I chose to do this. My dentist has spent most of his career learning how to do new stuff, and when he showed me the Damon System braces, which were designed specifically for adult mouths, I could see how excited he was about them. They achieve results faster than other types of braces, and they are not painful.
The upper bracess went on first, because my cross bite needs to be opened up somewhat before the bottoms can be fitted. Little metal brackets were glued to each of my upper teeth, a wire was fed through them, and the brackets were then snapped shut to hold the wire taut and in place. In six weeks I'll go back to get the wire changed to one that is slightly thicker and will thus put a little more tension on the teeth. Six weeks after that, the dentist should be able to put on the lower braces. After that, I only have to go in about every three months to get the wires changed.
It took me only about four hours to dislodge two of the brackets, so I had to go back to the office yesterday to have them reglued. The doc said he didn't do a good enough job attaching one of them, and the other was knocked loose by one of my lower teeth while I was eating, due to my cross bite. To prevent that from happening again, he had to glue pegs onto a lower molar on each side to create some space between the upper and lower teeth. (Fortunately, if a bracket comes loose, it's still on the wire so it can't go anywhere, i.e. you don't need to worry about accidentally swallowing it.)
Eating is now profoundly strange, and awkward, and a little gross. Food feels completely different in my mouth. Chewing is almost an alien activity. Even taking bites has been affected, because the pegs mean my teeth don't quite come together in front the way they used to, and they are a little tingly from having brackets glued to them. As a result, I have to take smaller bites and chew much more slowly and carefully. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as I've always eaten too fast and knew that I needed to slow down. Between that and the various snacky things (nuts, caramels, chips) that are now either off-limits or suddenly much more difficult to eat, I have a feeling I'm going to end up losing a few pounds, which again is okay.
Another ancillary benefit is that, as my upper bite is widened, my palate will also be opened, which will help me breathe better when I'm asleep, which may cut down on my snoring. Obviously there's no guarantee, but any gain achieved in this area will make the Mrs. happier.
All of this is going to cost about one-eighth of my gross yearly salary. Crazy, right? Maybe. But people pay far more for nose jobs, breast implants, liposuction, and any number of other cosmetic procedures. Everyone who chooses to do so has a reason, and most of them probably come down to self-esteem. I've never thought of myself as having low self-esteem, but I won't deny that a straighter smile will nonetheless make me feel better about myself. I could live the rest of my life with crooked teeth, but I have the opportunity and the means to correct them, so I'm doing it. Wouldn't you?
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