July dentist-free!

3 months 19 Days

July is a beautiful month teeth wise. Why? You ask. Because I don’t have an appointment this month!! Do I hear a WOHOOO!!?

My next appointment is next month on the 8^th  .

Meanwhile, my braceface life continues to fall into a predictable routine. I can’t complain. Much better than sudden scratches, pain and general discomfort.

One time this month, I think, my gums got a little sore and I couldn’t floss. From then on I’ve been flossing every other day instead of every day as I did before.

I don’t see much change in the open bite that my orthodontist says, I guess I should stop focusing on this, maybe that’s when things will really start to move.

Today blogging is not coming as naturally. So let me end here until the craving (to blog) kicks in.

Attack: Hook, in Canine and Sinker

3 months 15 Days

I have to say I am quite pleased with how my bottom left canine has moved. It almost seems like it has been like that my whole life. My bottom teeth are well aligned..well aligning.

This makes me hopeful that I’ll do less than the two years my orthodontist has threatened.

With canine’s movement comes a new problem. The hook on that tooth is now attacking my inner lip. It’s brutal. It even hurts when I talk, so I have to open my mouth wider. It’s the classic hook on canine sinker assault on innocent inner lips.  And this gives me a strange accent, not quite a lisp, but lispy nonetheless.

Someone has just suggested I put gum. I think it’s a brilliant idea. I know I am forbidden to eat gum but desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ll try the gum thing and see how it goes. I’ll go hunting for sugar free gum to avoid adding cavity to an already grave (well, I have a propensity for heavy words) situation.

Other than this, I have continued to get used to my braceface life. Many times I forget I have them on. My life pretty much goes on as usual. I go to parties, eat out, run, work …life basically.

Meanwhile the open bite seems unchanged. I decided the other day, that the day I get fed up, I’ll have them removed…but that will be after a year, because even after all the scratching, wounding and discomfort, I am not overwhelmed quite yet, or feeling ‘ I can’t take this anymore.’

So, for now soldiering on!

XYZ  Months more to go!

Brand Ambassador

3 Months 4 Days

It’s been a week (end) of festivities from weddings to parties and concerts.

Mercifully, the food has either been very soft or there has been fork and knife to help chop it,..so I have been able to indulge in chicken and fruit salad and not have to eye them longingly because biting is not allowed!

My pal took us out for Pizza one Saturday night after a wedding. I still remember the writing in my List  Do’s and Don’ts after I got braces, ‘Do not bite into Pizza’ was one of them. Thank heavens there was a knife to help slice it as everyone else took bites.

This was my first pizza since I got my braces, not that I am into pizza much anyway, but it was nice being able to eat something that I was forbidden to bite into :) . Please note that I didn’t bite into it. I chop chopped it into sizable pieces and ate it—which is allowed.

So where was I going with the brand ambassador thing. Well, so here goes:

On one of the many weddings I attended, one lady (older than me) and me (*and I) , got talking.

Then the braces topic found its way in, as it often does:

              

           “I have always wanted to have braces,” she said. She then confessed that her dad had offered to pay for her when she was younger but she was too scared. He promised her that she will eventually pay for herself when the craving struck.

           “ I do feel you,” I said to her. I know the pain of paying for braces. But in a twisted way it doesn’t feel like much pain, if it is something you really truly wanted to do.

          “So how much was it?”

I told her.

“Oh wow! That’s a lot,” she gasped.

“It is, yes, but you won’t get any cheaper in Nairobi. Trust me, I looked everywhere.” 

I went ahead to explain that what I needed for them to ‘install’ them was half the amount and then on the monthly visits I would pay a certain small amount, for the next 18 months or so to make the difference.

                “So you need just half to get started?”

                “Yeah, “ I reassured her.

                “That’s not too bad actually.”

I gave her directions to my out-of-town mission hospital dental clinic.

                “Be prepared to travel for your monthly visits, “ I cautioned her.

                She seemed unperturbed by this. “I think I’ll do this. My dad was right, I’ll have to pay for them myself now.”

                I can’t quite remember what I said to this, but I remember her concluding remarks. 
             “It is encouraging to see someone almost my age, in braces.”

I felt the wind lift up my wings. (Of course I have wings!)  And for that moment I was a brand ambassador.