June 2009
3 posts
I’ll post a more detailed story tomorrow but just a quick update:
Therapy went well and I think it might actually help.
The elastic hurts like hell. I can’t open my mouth. And laughing with elastics is next to impossible.
It has been a crazy week and shaping up to be even crazier this week. I have two points to discuss in todays post. One dental related the other not and a preview of things to come (ohhs and ahhs happen now for impending news…)
First the dental stuff. On Friday I went home early (I work at a university and commencement has all but shut us down, which is sorta nice). As I was taking the T...
May 2009
10 posts
Wanna fight about it?
Yesterday I was at the gym (which I have been frequenting! Yay!). All was normal. Except at some point during my eliptical machine workout I cut my bottom lip on my bottom braces. You see, there are these little hooks on a couple of the brackets where the elastics will eventually clip too and they tend to get caught on my lip (think vampire fang protruding). I could taste the blood, as one...
If Demi can laugh at herself....
Demi Moore (whose Twitter I do not follow) apparently posted some pictures of herself missing a tooth.
Demi’s Twit Pic from the Daily Mail
So, If Demi can laugh at her tooth problems and put superficiality aside I guess I can too. This week has done nothing but give me reasons to NOT feel bad about my teeth so I better take all these good vibes and use them!
I used to teach children. This was before I decided I needed to get my masters degree and get a job that would support my education habit. So, that’s where I am now - in an office. Well, not right now, but philosophically speaking, you smart internet peoples know what I mean. Anywho, this weekend while out and about I ran into some of my former students (now in the 8th grade! I had them...
My Cartoon Alter Ego
While google’ing around for some braces related material (google searches always make me rethink google searching) I came across something awesome. My cartoon alter ego. There is a Nickelodeon cartoon called “The Fairly Odd Parents” about a young boy with two crazy/odd fairy god parents (I know this because I used to teach children…). Apparently there is a new (or at...
“I heard your girlfriend is trying to spread swine flu because she wants to wear...”
– From http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/ - really funny site where people post (you guessed it) texts from last night. I’m amused for 2 reasons, 1) I am known for my inebriated texts and 2) When my bottom braces went on Swine Flu/H1N1 was at its peak in the media and I was almost considering...
Stop messing with my face!
Just got back from my yearly eye appointment and everything is helathy except my vision has gotten worse and i now need…wait for it….Bifocals. WTF!!!??? So now my face has been subjected to jaw surgery, braces, more braces, impending jaw surgeries and now bifocals*!
Can I get any more dorky?! Maybe if I am lucky I will develop a case of severe acne.
My mother suggested we do Lasik...
Gripe # bajillion with having braces
Working at a university everyone mistakes you for a student/student worker and calls you “cute”.
I’m not cute- i’m dangerous, can’t you see all this metal I’m sporting?!
In line for some soft serve frozen yogurt, yum, and what did I see? Not one, but two (!) adults with braces in front of me. It seems as though I have found the unofficial meeting place for adults with sore teeth.
J.P. Licks in Harvard Square…delicious and full of braces.
Q: Which of the seven dwarves are you? A: Grumpy!
So it has been about 4 days since the braces went on and they still hurt like hell. I’ve woken up at least two times every night since they went on with searing mouth pain as the ibuprofen wore off. Due to this pain I haven’t been able to eat solid food. I am on easy mac, mashed sweet potatos, oatmeal and an occasional egg diet right now. This kind of sucks a lot.
As for public...
April 2009
13 posts
“After a bout with braces brought her fabulousness to a stand-still, Gwen...”
– the jerks over at The Fab Life seem to think that Gwen Stefani sporting braces totally halted her career and “fabulousness” and only after they were removed did she regain it all - ugh, whatever, add it to the list of things I didn’t want to read this particular week.
Why this week!?
Not only am I super discouraged over adding MORE braces to my face but it seems like everyone of my fellow braces bloggers are getting theirs OFF. WTF.
Ugh.
Anxiety Building
Thursday is the day my bottom braces go on. Mentally I am prepared for the soreness and pain and general discomfort that will occur (can’t be any worse than when the top ones went on right?!). I am even prepared for the elastics, got my ibuprofen all ready.
The thing that is really freaking me out about the impending brace addition is the aesthetics of it all. Superficial or not I am...
Unrelated to my teeth
I discovered a full bottle of Maple Syrup broke and spilled all over the inside of my refrigerator. A lovely sticky mass has settled at the bottom of the fridge in a perfect circle. Thanks to the refrigeration it is still sticky and not hardening. It is also emitting a sickeningly sweet odor. The one good thing about never food shopping/having no food in my fridge is that only the appliance is...
My Own Version of the Cave
I’ve become fairly used to the orthodontic additions to my face in the past couple months. So much so that sometimes while getting ready I will completely forget they are there, turn the bathroom light off get ready to leave, only to remember (who knows why) that I should do a “braces check” before I leave (I am so paranoid of lipstick/gloss on my brackets, food, or some random...
The (figurative) Emancipation of my Teeth
For the most part this blog has been a secret that only a select few people knew about. Like a domino effect more and more people are finding out about it either through my own telling or it has been passed along. If you had asked me when I started this project I would have wanted to crawl out of my skin and hide knowing that people were reading this - but I’m finding the complete opposite...
WatchI LOVE this woman. Not only is she adorable (with or without braces) and has the warmest laugh ever but she makes me almost excited about getting those elastics in a couple weeks - I’ve never been musical before!
It is reassuring that they don’t look as bad as I was imagining in my head (any surprise there? Hands? Anyone?)
Missed Connection
You: approx. 4”, green apple, covered in dripping caramel, you had a bow on your skewer (which only added to your appeal). I saw you today. Sitting there so coyly near the checkout. I tried to look away but my gaze kept gliding back to you. You don’t even know how amazing you really are, do you? All at once you were tangy and sweet, beckoning me over with your crisp inside and...
Word of the Day: Odontophobia
The fear of all things dental. “it has been suggested that the term “dental phobia” is often a misnomer, as many people with this condition do not feel their fears to be excessive or unreasonable and resemble individuals with post traumatic stress syndrome, caused by previous traumatic dental experiences.” (Wikipedia, not the most reliable…but oh well).
[True, I...
I just have them on for fun.
I had my yearly physical today and told my doctor all about my anxiety with the dentist and the conversation was as follows:
Dr: “How much longer do you have them on for?”
Me: “Until 2011”
Dr: “Really!? But your teeth look so beautiful!”
Me: “blah, blah, blah, I know they LOOK fine…jaw surgery…..hate life”
ugh. That is my least...
“We were called to a dental college just now, for a woman whose blood pressure...”
– Urban Paramedic is a great blog by a Boston paramedic. This one just happened to hit close to home…luckily no ambulances have been called on my behalf…trying to keep it that way too! Also nice to know that I’m not the only one who freaks out this badly.
...
Recently I have shared my blog with a few more people that I personally know. Not that i’m ashamed of it but I’ve been hesitant to show/tell a lot of people about this blog because…well, I guess it’s a vulnerabilty thing. Anywho, my recent upswing in blog posts and sharing inspired me to take a trip back to the beginning and see where it all started.
The biggest surprise...
March 2009
8 posts
My life has hit a new low.
While sitting home on Saturday night watching “RuPaul’s Drag Race” I laughed really big and sort of buried my face in my decorative couch pillow only to realize that I had become attached to said couch pillow. I had to walk to the bathroom, pillow firmly stuck to face to carefully remove the pillow without breaking both teeth and pillow.
So yea…Watching RuPaul, alone on...
there's something about Mary.
No, really. There is something about my new dental hygenist, Mary. I went in this morning for a routine cleaning with my usual apprehension. When she called my name I gave her my usual “i hate the dentist, nothing personal” speech that I generally give as a warning to my impending tears and hysterical fit. I don’t even know what she said or how she said it but she put me at...
Things I will do Post-Braces
Food Related:
Eat nachos, crunchy, cheesy nachos.
Eat a burger/sandwich by biting in from the front (no more cut up sandwiches)
Eat an apple not sliced up
Smile without fear of colorful and conspicuos food stuck in my teeth
Eat meat and other chewy things without having my jaw get tired after 2 bites
Eat Corn on the cobb
Non-Food Related
Smile without instilling fear into children
Go more...
::Hangs head in shame:: So, I cried the entire visit. Sort of more than I should have. I cannot shake this fear! It is really frustrating. Rationally I know it’s riddiculous and that my ortho is a lovely person, but in reailty I walk into that office and I literally feel like the hands of death are around my throat. By the end of my appointment I was close to running out of the building...
blurgh.
As calm as I have been on the outside apparently my insides have a different opinion on the dentist visit today.
Went to bed at 8p last night only to wake up every hour on the hour due to horrible nightmares of teeth related horribleness. Now I am tired, cranky, and outwardly unhappy about it all.
Awesome.
Never fails
This Thursday I have an ortho appointment (should be the last one before the bottom braces go on, eek!). Chances are she will add more springs or other torture devices I have yet to think of but she has been plotting since my first visit.
Now, contrary to my recent history I am not living in fear for Thursday - pleading with God (any God that will listen) to make this all end and magically cure...
Back from a hiatus of sorts...
So, I’ve been gone for quite a while, 5 months to be exact - but for good reason! 2 main ones to be exact.
My first lame excuse is that I have been busy with my new job, which I love, and getting ready to go back to school (yay for grad school!). Honestly, I have loved every minute of it all but it’s kept me quite busy.
My second (and more calculated) reason is that I needed to...
October 2008
5 posts
An open letter to my teeth
Dear Teeth,
WTF!? Seriously, for the past two weeks I have done nothing but speak well of you, brush and care for you, take you to the dentist and how do you repay me? With a horrible tooth/mouth pain and a raging toothache induced headache which then lead to nausea. Why did you do this? I just feel like this relationship is dysfunctional. Ibknow you are straightening my teeth but can we...
Playing catch up.
whew, i am bad at keeping up. The new job is great but keeps me busy and gives me more free time that I am actually able to use because other people have those days off too (goodbye Monday, Tuesday weekends…hello Saturdays and Sundays). This past week I had my first cleaning with braces on. I chose a new hygienist from the same dental group where my ortho works. I scheduled it during my...
win some and lose some
3 braces encounters in one day! The first was a professor I work with had braces. He had metal with blue bands. He told me his daughter picks the color. Adorable.
Second a student mistakenly came to my desk (I apparently used to be student activities). He was a really good looking Indian guy with not only good hair but, you guessed it, braces! I didn’t speak to him about them, but I think...
Stronger than an F-22 Raptor
I am officially 6 weeks in to my braces (that’s it?!?! ugh, Only 90 more weeks to go).
I had my first braces adjustment today. She said my teeth are moving wonderfully (i’m awesome.) and that I don’t need to see her for another 6 weeks (YAY!). The bottom braces (which will be metal) are set to go on in early January. Not looking forward to that. I almost made it through...
Back and Fabulous!
Ok, So I haven’t written in…well, forever. I apologize. But truth be told a LOT has been going on, and honestly, not too many big braces events. But today, I am writing officially 1 month and 1 day into my braces journey (23 more months to go…ever the optimist). So the quick catch up on all the good things happening. The first and (by far my biggest happiness right now) is I am gainfully...
September 2008
9 posts
“Dude #1: Oh, The Spiderwick Chronicles is out!
Dude #2 (in awe): Dude, did you...”
– Overheard in New York posted this gem overheard inside a BlockBuster - now, am i to assume these are grown ups? I think not since they are talking about SpiderWick Chronicles - I am however slightly grossed out/offended by the caption for it (click the link to see what i mean.)
What not to say to someone in braces.
I haven’t posted in awhile – not because there hasn’t been stuff to write about but more because I was waiting for things that have happened to settle. I wanted to make sure that the knee jerk reaction I had to things was a true feeling and not just my crazy brain out to get me. There have been a couple instances with my braces where people have mentioned them in, let’s say, not the nicest or...
Co-Rumination, Regression & Missions
A day or so ago I read an article on Co-Rumination and teenage girls in the New York Times. Basically the article said that teenage girls tend to over talk issues to the point where they literally drive themselves into depression and crazy amounts of anxiety. Now, I am not, I repeat NOT, a teenager. However like most people (and I am stretching this to men too since almost ALL of my male...
I'll admit it...for now.
2nd day with the braces on, they hurt like a mo’ fo’ (slightly sad that i can’t call it a grill since it is not shiny…but then again, not at all sad.). BUT, capitol letters but, they are not that bad. Still want to rip my teeth out of my face but they aesthetically look ok.
P.S. the bar on the bottom that i’ve had since July hurts WAY more than the actual braces....
Drama Queen
I never said I wasn’t one – but I stand by it all. This morning I woke up got dressed, once again pretty-fying myself in the hopes it would make me feel better (also added mascara hoping it would stop me from crying – or look like a raccoon in braces). This plan did not work. I was hyperventilating to the point where I had to sit down for I was about to faint. While in the waiting room I was...
“Stranger: “Aren’t you a little young to be traveling alone?”...”
– Family Guy, “Road to Rhode Island” (and Stewie was always my favorite too…)
Faking it...
Once again Google is an enabler to my neurosis. I had the day off today (Yay for theatre schedules and the Monday, Tuesday weekend!) and inevitably found myself searching about for more braces info. Because you can never know to much about braces – besides, now I know…and
Anywho, I came across an article on CBSNews.com
Entitled “Crack Down on Fake Braces Fashion Fad”. First thoughts were,...
Minding my own business...
All I wanted to do was hang my (very heavy) mirror in my bedroom. I innocently google’d how to do so in the easiest manner possible. I found this helpful site and I am reading along when there it is…
“Hanging the mirror is easy…the two “lips” will interlock like two kids with braces (smack!!)”
Jerks. Here I was feeling semi-ok with about my impending...
August 2008
15 posts
Mama Mia! Here I go again...
My, my, why am I so crazy?! A couple days ago I had an anxiety attack because of, why else, my teeth. As my friend Dahlia put it, I generally think thoughts 2 steps ahead of where things actually need to be thought about and this causes issues. I decided to get a sandwich for lunch, tuna on a wrap, thinking this would be a good foray into solid food eating. About halfway through the meal my...
