The moment I've dreaded
The date has been on my calendar since mid August--Anna's orthodontist appointment on the 27th of September.
Last November, Anna's dentist had her see an orthodontist. It was time to correct her underbite while her mouth was still developing. Since this seemed early to me, I checked into it, but this kind of thing can be fixed relatively simply while the mouth is still developing.
The first orthodontist did not work. There is actually a long story involving tears and desperate prayers.
Another long story short: the lady who I buy fruit and vegetables from at the market recommended a kind orthodontist whose office is just down the street.
We saw her. She and her office staff were patient and kind, and Anna eventually got two simple retainers. The top was attached to bands on two back teeth and the bottom was to be taken out for meals. These were not to stay on for long--six months. June 1st to December, and then we would see.
From the occupational therapist's report, we know now that Anna's oral sensitivities are severe, so you can all imagine how this whole process went, and you would be about right. Anna was very brave, and usually brought a stuffed animal, but it was not easy.
Anna played with the bottom retainer constantly; it made a funny clicking noise when it clicked in. When she had a hard time wearing it, I let it go since I figured we had six months anyway, and we could go easy the first few weeks. She eventually got used to wearing it, but moved it around in her mouth constantly.
By the time we had her first appointment back, she had broken a wire off the top retainer. So it was taken out to be repaired, and we scheduled an appointment ten days later to have it put back in.
In the meantime, on a day when we went up to have a barbecue with friends out of town, we lost the bottom retainer. We have gone over the day over and over...she had it in her mouth in the car, not in the swimming pool, etc. Gone.
When we went to have the upper retainer put back in, I braced myself to inform the orthodontist that we lost the bottom retainer. But she wasn't there; she had a replacement. However, Anna would have none of it, and we had to reschedule for a few weeks later when our orthodontist would be back from vacation.
The second week of August we had our appointment and the appliance was put back on with a minimum of fuss. The orthodontist did not chastise me about the loss of the bottom one. She even said that we may not need it at this point because the bottom teeth looked like they were in good position.
After about ten days, one of the wires was broken off. Then a band around a back tooth came off (not magically by itself, mind you). We traveled to England for our orientation conference in Gloucester where eventually half the upper retainer was hanging from one side of her mouth. Another long story involving tears, desperate prayers, and a very patient and kind British orthodontist, and what was left of the retainer ended up in a ziplock bag.
So, the date for our next official appointment with the orthodontist was today. I wanted to talk to our occupational therapist for her opinion on how to move forward, which I did a few weeks ago. We both agreed that it may be better to wait six months and work on exercises to desensitize Anna's mouth in the meantime.
I practiced my little speech about all of this in my head. The orthodontist is always pleasant and understanding, but I was afraid of her reaction to seeing the mangled, dental appliance in a plastic baggie instead of in Anna's mouth. And, as always, I like to be the cooperative, not difficult person--two broken appliances and a lost one within four months qualifies as difficult, not to mention the difficulty involved in just getting my kid to sit in the chair, put her head back, and open her mouth.
The doctor was, as always, kind and understanding. She said we were probably right, then had Anna get in the new pink chair to see her teeth. This was not done without some difficulty, but finally Anna was seated with her mouth open.
And, get this, she said they are fine. Anna's teeth. As in, no underbite. She actually used the word miracle. In a few years, Anna will probably need braces to straighten out her top teeth, but that's it.
So, I feel, of course thankful, and somewhat bemused about the whole thing. It's been such a difficult thing since the whole process began last November. And now this chapter is closed for a while.
I'll end with the mangled appliance...
Last November, Anna's dentist had her see an orthodontist. It was time to correct her underbite while her mouth was still developing. Since this seemed early to me, I checked into it, but this kind of thing can be fixed relatively simply while the mouth is still developing.
The first orthodontist did not work. There is actually a long story involving tears and desperate prayers.
Another long story short: the lady who I buy fruit and vegetables from at the market recommended a kind orthodontist whose office is just down the street.
We saw her. She and her office staff were patient and kind, and Anna eventually got two simple retainers. The top was attached to bands on two back teeth and the bottom was to be taken out for meals. These were not to stay on for long--six months. June 1st to December, and then we would see.
From the occupational therapist's report, we know now that Anna's oral sensitivities are severe, so you can all imagine how this whole process went, and you would be about right. Anna was very brave, and usually brought a stuffed animal, but it was not easy.
Anna played with the bottom retainer constantly; it made a funny clicking noise when it clicked in. When she had a hard time wearing it, I let it go since I figured we had six months anyway, and we could go easy the first few weeks. She eventually got used to wearing it, but moved it around in her mouth constantly.
By the time we had her first appointment back, she had broken a wire off the top retainer. So it was taken out to be repaired, and we scheduled an appointment ten days later to have it put back in.
In the meantime, on a day when we went up to have a barbecue with friends out of town, we lost the bottom retainer. We have gone over the day over and over...she had it in her mouth in the car, not in the swimming pool, etc. Gone.
When we went to have the upper retainer put back in, I braced myself to inform the orthodontist that we lost the bottom retainer. But she wasn't there; she had a replacement. However, Anna would have none of it, and we had to reschedule for a few weeks later when our orthodontist would be back from vacation.
The second week of August we had our appointment and the appliance was put back on with a minimum of fuss. The orthodontist did not chastise me about the loss of the bottom one. She even said that we may not need it at this point because the bottom teeth looked like they were in good position.
After about ten days, one of the wires was broken off. Then a band around a back tooth came off (not magically by itself, mind you). We traveled to England for our orientation conference in Gloucester where eventually half the upper retainer was hanging from one side of her mouth. Another long story involving tears, desperate prayers, and a very patient and kind British orthodontist, and what was left of the retainer ended up in a ziplock bag.
So, the date for our next official appointment with the orthodontist was today. I wanted to talk to our occupational therapist for her opinion on how to move forward, which I did a few weeks ago. We both agreed that it may be better to wait six months and work on exercises to desensitize Anna's mouth in the meantime.
I practiced my little speech about all of this in my head. The orthodontist is always pleasant and understanding, but I was afraid of her reaction to seeing the mangled, dental appliance in a plastic baggie instead of in Anna's mouth. And, as always, I like to be the cooperative, not difficult person--two broken appliances and a lost one within four months qualifies as difficult, not to mention the difficulty involved in just getting my kid to sit in the chair, put her head back, and open her mouth.
The doctor was, as always, kind and understanding. She said we were probably right, then had Anna get in the new pink chair to see her teeth. This was not done without some difficulty, but finally Anna was seated with her mouth open.
And, get this, she said they are fine. Anna's teeth. As in, no underbite. She actually used the word miracle. In a few years, Anna will probably need braces to straighten out her top teeth, but that's it.
So, I feel, of course thankful, and somewhat bemused about the whole thing. It's been such a difficult thing since the whole process began last November. And now this chapter is closed for a while.
I'll end with the mangled appliance...