Day 22: Bite Me?

I've noticed my bite doesn't line up. As my muscles draw my jaws together the bottom jaw wants to meet the upper jaw so that my incisors line up. The feeling is a little like trying to set my teeth on edge. Then the bottom jaw slides back until the rear molars interlock.

The fact I can bite, even in this obtuse way, is huge improvement over the first week of my life with braces. But the lack of natural alignment explains why chewing can be so ungratifying. It takes a lot of work, it's not happening automatically, and I have to bite carefully so that I'm not in fact chewing on the edges of my teeth.

Definitely an issue to take to Dr. W. He had mentioned earlier he might need to shave some of my teeth to compensate for my physiological inability to have a perfect bite. (BTW, when he does this I think I will figure out a way to send in my teeth without me having to be there.) But the lack of alignment I'm experiencing now is more than a little shaving can fix. I presume things have to get worse before they can get better. More shall be revealed.

Day 21: Can We Talk About Flossing?

I've definitely adjusted to the braces, as best as one can adjust. Eating a hamburger remains a challenge; it feels like more of the bun gets caught in the braces than I actually eat. Chewing soft foods, such as bread, is really odd. I kind of move the bite to my molars and have at it until it's reasonably ready to be swallowed. I don't get the taste sensation I'm used to. Rather, I'm experiencing a facsimile taste, a reminder-of-bread taste.

In a dark moment, wondering what health problems lie in store for me as I age, it occurred to me braces are a voluntary modification to my body. It turns out Vicki's aunt, with whom we are staying while vacationing in Salt Lake City, had braces in her 50s. She held out the promise that when it's all done it will well be worth it. The cynical part of me could only respond, 'That's what they keep telling me.'

And I still haven't gotten my mind around the real reason why I'm doing this: the jaw device that will open the back of my throat so I can breath better at night, reducing my mild sleep apnea. What if that device is terribly uncomfortable? Yet another adjustment I'll have to make.

On the bright side, I've gotten really good at re-using my floss loops. I've used one loop for 4 days now. That could make the 8 I have remaining last nearly to February. Maybe my goal should be to make them last to my next appointment, when I can pick up more.

Another thought. The flouride rinse bottle holds 532 ml. I use 10 ml per night. So the bottle will last for 53 rinses. I'll need a little more than 5 bottles for my 270 day treatment. I'll keep tabs on how many bottles I use to see if I'm right.

And I do need to give myself credit. 3 weeks down, and I've done the hygiene routine every single night. Also, I can hardly wait until Dr. W or Alda takes out my wire. I am going to insist on flossing all my teeth!

249 days to go!

Day 16: No. 4 May Have Moved Into Place

Just a quick thought. I think No. 4 (if I'm counting correctly) on the bottom left moved into place. it doesn't feel wiggly so much as it feels a little spongy. Like it's where it's supposed to be but hasn't gotten perfectly solid yet in that spot.

Made through Chinese food for dinner. The noodles were a little too thick to eat easily, but I made it through.

Stopped by the office of Dr. W and the gang to pick up floss threaders. Want to make sure I have enough for my out of town trip (Salt Lake City until just before New Year's). Ania said I'm a great patient. And she noted I row crew. Not much more she could say to make my day!

254 days to go!

Day 14: WIll It Ever Stop Being Weird?

14 days in and I still can't get over the feeling of having this wire sticking out from my teeth. Or that when I smile and my top lip pulls back over my braces, I feel like I'm essentially plugging in a neon sign that flashes, "Braces! Here!"

Or how about the way food finds refuge everywhere: under the wires; above the wires; and, below the wires. Or that I have to just get used to kind of mawing at my food. If chewing went by legal standards, I've been reduced from "masticated beyond a reasonable doubt" to "masticated by a preponderance of the evidence."

I did, for a blessed moment, get a glimpse of the prize. The picture Joanna took of my bottom jaw last week (see "Two Reasons I Really Need Braces," below) showed how much I needed to straighten out the choppers. Today I saw in my mind's eye how nice it will be when I have the best smile I can have. An internal, emotional calculus of, 'do I really deserve this' computed and I felt a sense of new confidence that I would be putting my best self forward. I'll leave for future wonderings what it will mean to sleep a little more apnea-free, after I get the Somnodent appliance.

256 days to go.

Day 13: Eating Pretzels!

They lay there on the shelf, forlorn in their yellow bag, visible through the small, clear plastic window. Everytime I saw them in the pantry I felt a little, melancholy tug inside. Someday I'll get to eat them again. But when? When will the pain abate, so I could actually munch something as hard and crunchy as pretzels?

Tonight I decided to try them. I haven't felt real mouth pain in a few days. Eating can still be a delicate, slow experience. I still need to cut my foods, especially something like beef, into small pieces. Even soft foods like bread don't go down with the same ease they used to. But at least I can eat most anything.

So after a bout with the checking account -- adding missing transactions in preparation for the year end summaries -- I decided to splurge. I fixed up a Rob Roy and, throwing caution to the wind, went for the pretzels. As a precaution, I broke them into small pieces.

And guess what? They sure are good!

257 days (34 shabbatot) to go!

Day 10 And the Teeth Moved

I swear when I bite on my left side my number 4 tooth, bottom, moves. It wiggles! I felt it a little on the right bottom, same tooth, too. I guess that's supposed to happen. My theory: the teeth are getting pulled slowly, loosening up, and between now and the next visit to good Dr. W my gum and whatever holds the tooth in place will grow to hold the tooth in its new position.

Not much more to say, and it's late. I need to call the office and see if they miss me.

260 days to go!

Two Reasons I Really Need Braces

On the 8th Day the Braces Stopped Hurting

It's true. Sometime around 11 this morning I had a startling realization. "Hey, I don't think my teeth hurt any more." I didn't so much feel a sense of relief as a sense of, 'I knew this day would come.'

I did.

Even though my last 7 days of posting have consisted of me squealing and complaining. In the back of my mind, I got through those 7 days -- mostly the first 2-3 -- by focusing on one day at a time. And knowing that this too shall pass.

But it has been an eventful day. When I awoke I felt strong enough on my right side to try my granola breakfast. Which went great, as long as I took small spoonfulls and chewed slowly. And then, just as I was finishing, I felt something poking the inside of my cheek. "Dang. I popped out my wire."

So it was back to Dr. Waldman's. I don't know if it's a record for a patient to return 3 business days in a row. I was proud of myself I didn't have a problem over the weekend -- that would have been really annoying. But I was ashamed to have to go back to the office.

Dr. W was his usual ebullient self. He didn't blame me or belittle me at all. He talked about how lucky I was to work close to his office, but he was sure it was bad for my daily schedule to have to take time to have to keep returning. So he cut the wire off of bracket no. 7 on each side and bent it back. Now that sucker is locked in there. Took him about 30 seconds. He made it clear it would not effect my treatment at all. (He didn't even bracket the no. 7s on the bottom, so the 7s at the top are a bonus.)

We talked a little shop about what I had discovered when I realized the wire was not anchored at the back, as if it were the suspension wire on a bridge. Instead, it merely slips into a hole. That means the force the wire exerts is in the wire itself, pulling the teeth towards the wire.

Dr. W compared this wire to the kind I had way back in the 70s, (remember, those days when they'd evolved just past 'get-in-there-with-a-crowbar' or something). He said then the wires would get bent out of shape by the teeth, and the orthodontist had to really tighten them up to get the treatment effect.

Of course everyone in the office was super nice. I may have to call them tomorrow just to say I miss them.

Some of the Nice People at Dr. W's

From top and moving l-r: Dr. W and patient (who didn't know he was in the picture until after I snapped it); the lovely and competent front office team of Ania and Jessica posing with their fun tooth pens; and, Alda, the wizard of wire and all-around cheery and adorable assistant.

Day 7: 75% of You Can Stay

I would say I became 75% pain free today. That means the only place it hurts is on the lower left jaw, and particularly when I bite. But I can chew pretty well on the other side, and even on the painful side I can choke down some vegetables. Croutons were no problem at dinner tonight, if I kept them to the right, for example.

Don't think I'm ready to be the poster child for happy bracing. The no. 6 bracket on the upper left is a real annoyance. Sharp, and it seems to jut out a little. I can't sleep on the left side without wax. The no. 7 bracket on that side is also in the rogue's gallery. Very pointy where the wire ends. That's also the one that popped out twice. I'm giving it wide berth. I did manage to floss the gap between 6 and 7 tonight.

I tried having Vicki, my wife, take a picture of my jaw. Couldn't get close enough to see anything. Macro feature didn't work too well on the camera. I'll have Joanna at work try a photo tomorrow morning. Everyone at the office of Dr. W raves about the Internet guy who took a photo every day and made a video out of it. Here's an 11 year old girl whose mouth transforms in 18 months. (WARNING: there is inappropriate language in a comment someone posted about the video.) So I want to try doing a weekly shot. That would be only about 36 photos.

263 days to go.

Day 6: We're Stuck With Each Other

I managed to keep my wire in the bracket. I did this by cheating a little bit; I'm not flossing the back tooth, so I have no chance of popping out the wire. I'm making sure to get that space with the intermodal wire and brushing.

Hygiene is going better over all. Took less time tonight. But I can't say we (braces and I) had a shabbat shalom. More of a day of putting up with each other than a day of peace. I mawed my food, cutting small bites of my chicken, eating soft bread, avoiding my granola breakfast. I got brave and mixed some granola crumbs into soy yogurt this morning.

Pain has reach a kind of static level of discomfort. As long as I don't bite I'm fine. And overall, this is a great diet. My stomach is already looking flatter. Just can't eat as much as I need to!

Oh, must say that my gin & tonic helped the pain a bit. Dr. W might want to recommend that to all his patients!

264 days to go.

Day 5: Shabbat Shalom Braces?

It's nearly My People's Sabbath. First one with the braces. I'll let you know if it is a 'shabbat shalom' -- a day of rest of peace. Things are feeling a little better, as long as I don't really bite down.

265 days to go!

Day 4. Pain Easing, But We're Still Not Getting Along Well

Things are starting to feel a little better. I can bite down just a touch harder before I feel that ache/shooting pain. And bringing them together is bumpy. As the teeth draw together things feel disjointed, and then my jaw slides a little so the pieces fit and I can fake an actual bite.

Don't get the idea just because I can lay off the Tylenol the braces and I are getting along. I just finished by hygiene routine. Getting better at it; cutting the floss shorter so it doesn't get as gross and salivatorily viscous and smelly when I pull it through my mouth. But I popped the wire out again. Will have to darken the Dr. W door step at 8.20 tomorrow morning. Alda's going to think I am just doing it on purpose so I can go back to see her. She's so patient and understanding, can you blame me if I am?

Regarding that non-bite bite of mine, Dr. W informed me this morning my bite will never line up properly. I'm doomed by too many years of an uncorrected bite. "But you had braces," I hear you cry. Yes, but either the adolescent treatment didn't solve my bite problems, or there was only so much they could do in the stone age. I guess I'm lucky they had evolved past moving the teeth around with a crow bar. Add in 30+ years of bad oral genetics and, well, I guess I'm lucky I don't have to puree my solid foods.

Oh, I also learned I'm going to get my teeth shaved. Yee-ha! As I understand it, they're too triangular - wide at the top, narrow at the bottom. Horizontal bone loss at the base hasn't helped. So Alex is going to have to shave the tops a little to make them narrower, so they can be pulled closer to their dental neighbors. And that bite problem? He may may need to smooth out where the teeth fit together to improve it. All I can say is, bring on the drugs, because I sure don't want to be awake for that appointment.

266 days to go!

Day 4 - Still Pain, Thank You NASA!

The deft and cheerful Alda rescued me from loose wire purgatory this morning the way a good car mechanic tightens a loose hose. She put me up on the wrack, had me open the hood, and with a couple of tugs with her pliers had me running in no time.

I then had a long talk with Alex about the actual physics of orthodontia. Remember my awe at how he placed the brackets so adroitly? Well, in fact, he intentionally DID NOT place them in a straight line. He had to place them strategically, based on the direction each tooth needed to move - and with an accuracy of less than 1mm.

That's astronomically small, to mere mortals like you and me. In high school I had a summer job pipetting in a scientific lab. That meant I had to inject microliters of liquid in test tubes. If I so much as bumped the side of a tube I would render the experiment invalid, because the few microliters that would stick to the side would effect the concentration of chemicals. Let's make a long story short: it was quickly determined my best function was photocopying articles from scientific journals. So I get the precision of which Dr. W is capable.

Speaking of astronomy, Alex told me the wires in my jaw are made of an alloy invented for the space program. It's designed to grow stronger in heat; in space it contracted in response to the sun's energy, opening heat shields or reflectors or something like that...I don't remember exactly. So sometimes Dr. W will tell people to drink tea or other warm beverages as a way to increase the forces exerted on their teeth. Good to know my choppers are an example of technology transfer. But it still hurts.

Day 3. Pain and then...maybe not so much?

Day 3. I gnawed my way through lunch. Salmon fillet, baked potato - no skin. Then I attacked an Israeli salad -- thank god for those little tomatoes cut into square centimeter-sized chunks.

Also made it through a blueberry muffin, though the harder ridges were tough (it was a bit stale).

Dinner of schnitzle did well. Rice was a little gooey - just my speed. And soup! Thank you, Vicki. I can almost bring my teeth together. Bite is not lining up. Pressure then becomes intense both up and down and side-to-side. But the genius move was putting wax on the sharp edges.

Here's the big news: popped the wire out of the bracket at the back -- number 7, I believe, on my left side. Got a little aggressive flossing my back tooth and that pulled it out. So I'll have to start the day tomorrow at Waldman's when they open. It's a little pointy on my cheek. Tried to wrap the point in wax, but it didn't stay on. I think I'll be able to sleep.

267 days to go!

Photo: Mark Getting His Braces On

Day 2. More Pain. Braces, you can leave now.

Day 2. Painful. Lingering sense of nausea, as if something were getting stuffed into my mouth I didn't want there. Overwhelmed with a thought around 11 a.m.: braces, you can leave my mouth now. Really. Thanks for visiting, but...

Could not bring my teeth together to bite. Teeth don't hurt so much unless I do try to bite. So dinner was torture: steak, which I cut into really small pieces. Still had to put some wax on some pointy parts on the metal brackets at the back of my mouth. (on the 6's on the bottom, I think is the technical term.)

Lunch was not fun. Sucked potato latkes; was overly ambitious in taking two carrot sticks and two celery sticks. I managed to nibble down one of the celery sticks by taking small bites. Grapes were ok. Forget the bagels, however. The Krispy Kreme donut (about 1/2) was fine though. Still hungry afterwards, so I heated some soup Vicki lovingly bought me.

Lived on Acetiminophen. Wished I'd had the wax with me during the day. Will bring tomorrow.

Don't ask me about hygiene. Went better, maybe because Eitan talked to me while I flossed. Used a shorter floss so I didn't have to pull so much through my teeth. Didn't get as smelly or slimy. Can't push the floss needle between my lower bottoms. I'm really in trouble down there, so I guess I really need these.

Only 268 days to go!

Day 1. Pain.

In a 2 1/2 hour appointment I got braces today. Amazing that Dr. Waldman placed each brace himself, by hand, without guidelines or measurements and they all line up! If I put them in they'd bob up and down like a boat in a hurricane. Alda, his assistant, was very careful, patient and great at explaining every step.

Had odd thoughts during the procedure. Could I really afford this? It's not cosmetic; long term goal is to use the sleep appliance to relieve mild apnea.

Another odd thought: this is so First World. Meaning, totally living on the high end of the planet's resources. Not easy on my carbon footprint.

Lunch was interesting -- ordered soup and soft foods (soba noodles at Real Food Daily). Odd having food get caught between the braces and my gums.

People at work said they weren't obvious.

Strange having this wire and these brackets attached to my teeth. Like an alien in my mouth. Started to get painful in the afternoon. Hard to eat dinner.

Only 269 days to go!