Getting there!

I saw Dr. Kunik today. It seems as though that really awesome band that I've had to wear across the front for the last five weeks worked. My midlines are lined up perfectly. So, now I just have to wear it at night to keep things that way. I'll have to go back to wearing it during the day if I notice that its slipping. Other than that, I just have one heavy band on the left side in triangle formation to get my teeth to touch a little more. I go back on October 20. If things look good, then they will take molds for my retainer and I'll get these things off two weeks after that. That would put me right at four months post op. Not too shabby. Just in time for the holiday parties!! So, I'm back to the countdown clock. Tentative de-bracing...t-minus six weeks. Keep your fingers crossed that my teeth comply with that!

Back to Dr. McCarty

I saw my general/cosmetic dentist Dr. McCarty yesterday. I haven't seen him since my first appt when I asked the question that started the downward spiral..."do you think you could do something to reduce my gums?". Oh, if I only knew how loaded that question would be. He told me that he strongly recommended braces because of my crossbite and narrow mouth. That's when I went to see my ortho Dr. Kunik who informed me that I needed jaw surgery. Ha, all because I hated how much gumminess I saw when I smiled. Anyway, yesterday's appt was meant to be for taking the mold for my crown/implant. However, it wasn't so easy to do since I still have my braces on. After some consideration, he decided to put in a temporary crown and then have me come back when the braces are off so he can do a proper mold and get one made with a perfect fit. The temporary is great and its nice to have that gap finally filled in. He also wanted me to wait since I will definitely need some whitening done after de-bracing and wants the crown color to match the new whiteness. There is also the issue with my tooth that sits between my front big tooth and canine on the right side (#7). It is really small from being squished for so long. Anyway, there is quite a bit of space around it right now since it where its supposed to be but not big enough to fill the space. Dr. McCarty told me that if he put a veneer on it the way it was, it would like a Chiclet stuck to my tooth. Even though I had 6mm removed from the top during surgery, I still have quite a bit of gum covering up my teeth. He suggested that I have laser contouring done to remove more of the gum to show more teeth. The teeth would then be elongated and would balance out the wide space. I'm so ready for all this to be over, but I think that would really be the icing on the cake. I don't think it hurts that bad and it definitely couldn't be worse than anything else I've had done, so I'm all for it. Here's an example of it:

Also, I have to apologize for my lack of blogging. Things aren't very interesting once you get past the hard part of surgery and recovery. It's basically a waiting game for the feeling to come back in your gums and for your braces to come off. Life has been pretty quiet except for the new puppy. Ruby is a handful but her and Bruiser are best of friends now. Bruiser didn't win the Austin Boston Terrier contest but thank you to all that voted for him. I must say that winner was ugly, but oh well! We are all bracing for Hurricane Ike here in Texas. Austin isn't going to get that much weather out of it but we are being flooded with evacuees. Please keep all those near the coast in your prayers. I can't imagine what those families are going through. I hope you all have a great weekend and I promise to take new pics!