PDA

View Full Version : Braces Trauma


Joelle
June 26th 03, 02:18 AM
Took the kids for a free initial consult with the orthodontist today. O my,
the trauma and pathos for my 13 year old girl.

Bottom line, they both could use them. But my son, forget it. We are still
working on teeth brushing everyday.

My poor daughter. So self-conscious about her teeth, won't smile with an open
mouth. But she's also self-conscious about braces. And she plays the flute
and has heard it's harder to play with braces. The thing is, it's not just
cosmetic. She has a couple of permanent teeth that are not coming down and she
is either going to have to have braces, or get them pulled and put in false
teeth, or have spaces in the front of her mouth. Poor girl. What a dilemma.
She cried, she yelled at me that I didn't know anything.

So now she thinks she will have them IF, she can get the clear brackets, if she
can only get the top and if she gets a different doctor because the one we went
to is a jerk (Poor guy is a jerk because he's the one who delivered the bad
news)

Oh let's not talk about the cost. Suffice it to say, I had a little
life-insurance money. Lost half of it because I was advised (and stupidly
followed) to put it ALL in mutual funds. I plan on taking the kids to Italy
for a big trip next year. Between the trip and braces (for both), I might have
a little left over for emergencies. :-0

Can I just encourage anyone who is married here and is resenting the checks you
make out for life-insurance, to not only stop resenting it, but go out and buy
about twice as much as you have now?...

Joelle
If you want to make God laugh, tell him what you are doing tomorrow
Father Mike

Joelle
June 26th 03, 03:24 AM
>And if she thinks flute
>is hard with braces...try piccolo

NOOO, don't tell her that!! Her plan is to graduate to the piccola in high
school!

>Just let her know it's not the end of
>the world

Well you know, she's 13, anybody but her mom can tell her that.

joelle
If you want to make God laugh, tell him what you are doing tomorrow
Father Mike

turtledove
June 26th 03, 03:37 AM
"Joelle" > wrote in message
...
> Took the kids for a free initial consult with the orthodontist today. O
my,
> the trauma and pathos for my 13 year old girl.
>
> Bottom line, they both could use them. But my son, forget it. We are
still
> working on teeth brushing everyday.
>
> My poor daughter. So self-conscious about her teeth, won't smile with an
open
> mouth. But she's also self-conscious about braces. And she plays the
flute
> and has heard it's harder to play with braces. The thing is, it's not
just
> cosmetic. She has a couple of permanent teeth that are not coming down
and she
> is either going to have to have braces, or get them pulled and put in
false
> teeth, or have spaces in the front of her mouth. Poor girl. What a
dilemma.
> She cried, she yelled at me that I didn't know anything.
>
> So now she thinks she will have them IF, she can get the clear brackets,
if she
> can only get the top and if she gets a different doctor because the one we
went
> to is a jerk (Poor guy is a jerk because he's the one who delivered the
bad
> news)
>
> Oh let's not talk about the cost. Suffice it to say, I had a little
> life-insurance money. Lost half of it because I was advised (and stupidly
> followed) to put it ALL in mutual funds. I plan on taking the kids to
Italy
> for a big trip next year. Between the trip and braces (for both), I might
have
> a little left over for emergencies. :-0
>
> Can I just encourage anyone who is married here and is resenting the
checks you
> make out for life-insurance, to not only stop resenting it, but go out and
buy
> about twice as much as you have now?...
>
> Joelle
> If you want to make God laugh, tell him what you are doing tomorrow
> Father Mike


Sigh....braces...yeah, I remember that. Tell her that I had the head gear
and had to wear it for 12 hours a day....and I was 13 when I had mine.

Her flute playing will be fine. She'll just need some extra practice to
adjust her lips properly, I"m sure that she'll get so used to having them
on, she'll have more problems when she has them taken off.

Give her a big hug, and start stocking up on Motrin now (ibuprofen)...she's
gonna be really uncomfortable every time they get tightened! But they are
so worth it. The head gear was even worth it. No more overbite and
straight teeth!


hugs,
*bri

June 26th 03, 03:40 AM
In ,
Joelle > typed:
>> And if she thinks flute
>> is hard with braces...try piccolo
>
> NOOO, don't tell her that!! Her plan is to graduate to the piccola
> in high school!

By the time she gets to high school, she should have mastered the art of
pursed lip playing with braces on. I remember all the airy sounds, no pure
tone. Then the braces came OFF, and same thing again. The more she does it
the better she will be. It won't be that hard.
>
>> Just let her know it's not the end of
>> the world
>
> Well you know, she's 13, anybody but her mom can tell her that.

Don't I know it. My son's 12. Sometimes I just wanna scream!!
>
> joelle
> If you want to make God laugh, tell him what you are doing tomorrow
> Father Mike

Betsy
--
Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with
ketchup.

June 26th 03, 03:42 AM
In . com,
turtledove > typed:
> "Joelle" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Took the kids for a free initial consult with the orthodontist
>> today. O my, the trauma and pathos for my 13 year old girl.
>>
>> Bottom line, they both could use them. But my son, forget it. We
>> are still working on teeth brushing everyday.
>>
>> My poor daughter. So self-conscious about her teeth, won't smile
>> with an open mouth. But she's also self-conscious about braces.
>> And she plays the flute and has heard it's harder to play with
>> braces. The thing is, it's not just cosmetic. She has a couple of
>> permanent teeth that are not coming down and she is either going to
>> have to have braces, or get them pulled and put in false teeth, or
>> have spaces in the front of her mouth. Poor girl. What a dilemma.
>> She cried, she yelled at me that I didn't know anything.
>>
>> So now she thinks she will have them IF, she can get the clear
>> brackets, if she can only get the top and if she gets a different
>> doctor because the one we went to is a jerk (Poor guy is a jerk
>> because he's the one who delivered the bad news)
>>
>> Oh let's not talk about the cost. Suffice it to say, I had a little
>> life-insurance money. Lost half of it because I was advised (and
>> stupidly followed) to put it ALL in mutual funds. I plan on taking
>> the kids to Italy for a big trip next year. Between the trip and
>> braces (for both), I might have a little left over for emergencies.
>> :-0
>>
>> Can I just encourage anyone who is married here and is resenting the
>> checks you make out for life-insurance, to not only stop resenting
>> it, but go out and buy about twice as much as you have now?...
>>
>> Joelle
>> If you want to make God laugh, tell him what you are doing tomorrow
>> Father Mike
>
>
> Sigh....braces...yeah, I remember that. Tell her that I had the head
> gear and had to wear it for 12 hours a day....and I was 13 when I had
> mine.
>
> Her flute playing will be fine. She'll just need some extra practice
> to adjust her lips properly, I"m sure that she'll get so used to
> having them on, she'll have more problems when she has them taken off.
>
> Give her a big hug, and start stocking up on Motrin now
> (ibuprofen)...she's gonna be really uncomfortable every time they get
> tightened! But they are so worth it. The head gear was even worth
> it. No more overbite and straight teeth!
>
>
> hugs,
> *bri
Headgear? Try the elastic bands. I had not only an overbite, but a cross
bite as well. I had two rubber bands from back molars to front teeth on
each side, and then two from lower left to upper right...in front. Made it
hard to talk. Every time I opened my mouth to speak inevitably one would
come flying off. Talk about EMBARRASSMENT when it was in front of a BOY!!
Glad that it's over. And YES it was worth it!!!

Betsy
--
Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with
ketchup.

turtledove
June 26th 03, 04:03 PM
> wrote in message
. com...
> In . com,
> turtledove > typed:
> > "Joelle" > wrote in message
> > ...
> Headgear? Try the elastic bands. I had not only an overbite, but a cross
> bite as well. I had two rubber bands from back molars to front teeth on
> each side, and then two from lower left to upper right...in front. Made
it
> hard to talk. Every time I opened my mouth to speak inevitably one would
> come flying off. Talk about EMBARRASSMENT when it was in front of a BOY!!
> Glad that it's over. And YES it was worth it!!!
>
hehe...I'll top your elastic bands and give you Head Gear AND Elastic Bands.
The elastic bands were worn 24/7 for 12 months. The head gear was worn 12
hours a day for 12 months. But hell, like I said, it got rid of the
overbite, the funked up positioning of my jaw, and my crooked teeth. I
actually had a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth until I was 21. My
bottom teeth were really crooked and the orthodontist wanted to make sure
that they didn't move back into the crooked position while I was still
growing up. The retainer was attached to my bottom canine teeth with a bar
that was behind the teeth and a way to attach rubber bands in front of the
teeth at night (again the 12 hour deal).

Oh yes...the memories of trying to talk with rubber bands. I would have to
take them out while I was taking singing lessons due to the fact I couldn't
open my mouth wide enough to sing properly....
and the memories of trying to get the band attached to the back teeth...

ugh...my teeth hurt now!

hugs,
*b

turtledove
June 26th 03, 04:46 PM
"Joelle" > wrote in message
...
> >You tell her that Tom Cruise had braces about 2 years ago.
>
> Bri Bri Bri, you are so out of it. Don't ya know according to my
aughter -
> Tom Cruise is OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> Joelle
> If you want to make God laugh, tell him what you are doing tomorrow
> Father Mike


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

and ya know? The other day at the University a guy asked me "do you know
where the physics building is MA'M?" MA'M???

sigh.....

*b

Paul Fritz
June 26th 03, 07:50 PM
Well you just trumped my palate spreader as well :-)

"turtledove" > wrote in message
. com...
>
> > wrote in message
> . com...
> > In . com,
> > turtledove > typed:
> > > "Joelle" > wrote in message
> > > ...
> > Headgear? Try the elastic bands. I had not only an overbite, but a
cross
> > bite as well. I had two rubber bands from back molars to front teeth on
> > each side, and then two from lower left to upper right...in front. Made
> it
> > hard to talk. Every time I opened my mouth to speak inevitably one
would
> > come flying off. Talk about EMBARRASSMENT when it was in front of a
BOY!!
> > Glad that it's over. And YES it was worth it!!!
> >
> hehe...I'll top your elastic bands and give you Head Gear AND Elastic
Bands.
> The elastic bands were worn 24/7 for 12 months. The head gear was worn 12
> hours a day for 12 months. But hell, like I said, it got rid of the
> overbite, the funked up positioning of my jaw, and my crooked teeth. I
> actually had a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth until I was 21. My
> bottom teeth were really crooked and the orthodontist wanted to make sure
> that they didn't move back into the crooked position while I was still
> growing up. The retainer was attached to my bottom canine teeth with a
bar
> that was behind the teeth and a way to attach rubber bands in front of the
> teeth at night (again the 12 hour deal).
>
> Oh yes...the memories of trying to talk with rubber bands. I would have
to
> take them out while I was taking singing lessons due to the fact I
couldn't
> open my mouth wide enough to sing properly....
> and the memories of trying to get the band attached to the back teeth...
>
> ugh...my teeth hurt now!
>
> hugs,
> *b
>
>

June 26th 03, 11:57 PM
Before I got the actual braces, I had a Frankel's (sp?) device to pull my
lower jaw forward. That thing filled my mouth and made me look like I
monkey lips. Let me tell you talking was IMPOSSIBLE!! Ah, the 'good old
days.' I am so glad that's over, and my teeth are straight. As for
retainers, due to some calcification on the back of my lower teeth, I
couldn't have a permenant retainer, so I had a removable one. Same deal
though, wore it for 2 or 3 years after the braces came off.

Betsy
--
Meddle not in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with
ketchup.
In ,
Paul Fritz > typed:
> Well you just trumped my palate spreader as well :-)
>
> "turtledove" > wrote in message
> . com...
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> . com...
>>> In . com,
>>> turtledove > typed:
>>>> "Joelle" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>> Headgear? Try the elastic bands. I had not only an overbite, but
>>> a cross bite as well. I had two rubber bands from back molars to
>>> front teeth on each side, and then two from lower left to upper
>>> right...in front. Made it hard to talk. Every time I opened my
>>> mouth to speak inevitably one would come flying off. Talk about
>>> EMBARRASSMENT when it was in front of a BOY!! Glad that it's over.
>>> And YES it was worth it!!!
>>>
>> hehe...I'll top your elastic bands and give you Head Gear AND
>> Elastic Bands. The elastic bands were worn 24/7 for 12 months. The
>> head gear was worn 12 hours a day for 12 months. But hell, like I
>> said, it got rid of the overbite, the funked up positioning of my
>> jaw, and my crooked teeth. I actually had a permanent retainer on
>> my bottom teeth until I was 21. My bottom teeth were really crooked
>> and the orthodontist wanted to make sure that they didn't move back
>> into the crooked position while I was still growing up. The
>> retainer was attached to my bottom canine teeth with a bar that was
>> behind the teeth and a way to attach rubber bands in front of the
>> teeth at night (again the 12 hour deal).
>>
>> Oh yes...the memories of trying to talk with rubber bands. I would
>> have to take them out while I was taking singing lessons due to the
>> fact I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to sing properly....
>> and the memories of trying to get the band attached to the back
>> teeth...
>>
>> ugh...my teeth hurt now!
>>
>> hugs,
>> *b

Cele
June 27th 03, 02:32 AM
On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 15:03:14 GMT, "turtledove" >
wrote:

>
> wrote in message
. com...
>> In . com,
>> turtledove > typed:
>> > "Joelle" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> Headgear? Try the elastic bands. I had not only an overbite, but a cross
>> bite as well. I had two rubber bands from back molars to front teeth on
>> each side, and then two from lower left to upper right...in front. Made
>it
>> hard to talk. Every time I opened my mouth to speak inevitably one would
>> come flying off. Talk about EMBARRASSMENT when it was in front of a BOY!!
>> Glad that it's over. And YES it was worth it!!!
>>
>hehe...I'll top your elastic bands and give you Head Gear AND Elastic Bands.

LOL Too bad my elder daughter's not here. She'll go your head gear,
elastic bands, extractions, AND retainer to 21. Well, okay, she's only
18, but the retainer's still in there and not coming out for at least
a couple of years.....

And at five flipping grand, those bloody teeth had better be
STUNNINGLY PERFECT.

>The elastic bands were worn 24/7 for 12 months. The head gear was worn 12
>hours a day for 12 months. But hell, like I said, it got rid of the
>overbite, the funked up positioning of my jaw, and my crooked teeth. I
>actually had a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth until I was 21. My
>bottom teeth were really crooked and the orthodontist wanted to make sure
>that they didn't move back into the crooked position while I was still
>growing up. The retainer was attached to my bottom canine teeth with a bar
>that was behind the teeth and a way to attach rubber bands in front of the
>teeth at night (again the 12 hour deal).
>
>Oh yes...the memories of trying to talk with rubber bands. I would have to
>take them out while I was taking singing lessons due to the fact I couldn't
>open my mouth wide enough to sing properly....
>and the memories of trying to get the band attached to the back teeth...

Oh yeah. D had all manner of hassle with hers when singing as well,
both in lessons and in performance. Now she only has the retainer so
it's not so bad. The flute was the instrument she really wanted to
play, too, but the band teacher made her do clarinet because of her
braces. She was some ticked. Now she's taught herself some flute,
'cause now she doesn't have the railroad tracks any more....

Ugh.

T and I were both lucky. Big mouths, no braces, naturally straight
teeth.

Cele

Cele
June 27th 03, 02:33 AM
On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 11:50:03 -0700, "Paul Fritz"
> wrote:

>Well you just trumped my palate spreader as well :-)

Hey, I forgot about that. D had one of those too. She said it really
hurt.

Cele

Paul Fritz
June 27th 03, 05:14 AM
"Cele" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 11:50:03 -0700, "Paul Fritz"
> > wrote:
>
> >Well you just trumped my palate spreader as well :-)
>
> Hey, I forgot about that. D had one of those too. She said it really
> hurt.

No kidding......they might have just as well wedged a 2 x 4 in
there.......plus all the crap that got caught on it, and it ripped up your
tongue as well.

>
> Cele

Cele
June 27th 03, 05:30 AM
On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 00:14:03 -0400, "Paul Fritz"
> wrote:

>
>"Cele" > wrote in message
...
>> On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 11:50:03 -0700, "Paul Fritz"
>> > wrote:
>>
>> >Well you just trumped my palate spreader as well :-)
>>
>> Hey, I forgot about that. D had one of those too. She said it really
>> hurt.
>
>No kidding......they might have just as well wedged a 2 x 4 in
>there.......plus all the crap that got caught on it, and it ripped up your
>tongue as well.

That's right! She said that too...I'd forgotten. I guess you can tell
it wasn't my mouth. :-) She *hated* the thing, and said it really
hurt a lot. She had it in quite awhile, as I remember. We started her
orthodontics when she was...hmm....13, I think. She's 18 now, still
has the permanent retainer in, and it's to stay for another two or
three years, as I understand it. She's already done her first year of
college, so I figure it's now up to her to manage the teeth stuff.

Ugh. Poor kid. Poor you. Poor everyone with mouth hardware. Blech.
You've all got my sympathies.

Cele

Paul Fritz
June 27th 03, 05:45 AM
I had it for about 9 months.......the worst part was ,being in Mexico with
that thing.....all the spicey foods (which I love) were exceptionally
painful with all the damn abrasions. The lesson from that was to avoid
perfectionist itlatian dentists.....LOL

"Cele" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 27 Jun 2003 00:14:03 -0400, "Paul Fritz"
> > wrote:
>
> >
> >"Cele" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 11:50:03 -0700, "Paul Fritz"
> >> > wrote:
> >>
> >> >Well you just trumped my palate spreader as well :-)
> >>
> >> Hey, I forgot about that. D had one of those too. She said it really
> >> hurt.
> >
> >No kidding......they might have just as well wedged a 2 x 4 in
> >there.......plus all the crap that got caught on it, and it ripped up
your
> >tongue as well.
>
> That's right! She said that too...I'd forgotten. I guess you can tell
> it wasn't my mouth. :-) She *hated* the thing, and said it really
> hurt a lot. She had it in quite awhile, as I remember. We started her
> orthodontics when she was...hmm....13, I think. She's 18 now, still
> has the permanent retainer in, and it's to stay for another two or
> three years, as I understand it. She's already done her first year of
> college, so I figure it's now up to her to manage the teeth stuff.
>
> Ugh. Poor kid. Poor you. Poor everyone with mouth hardware. Blech.
> You've all got my sympathies.
>
> Cele