So I got my crown replaced today.  As I noted on FB... I would get a crown replaced on Mardi Gras.  Crowns, kings, all that jazz.  My brain does not work right I swear.

As I suspected, there was much amiss under the old broken crown.  My dentist was able (after 3 shots of numbing stuff) to get it all cleaned up, get a new crown made and installed.  Now my gums just have to heal up since they don't take well to all the poking and prodding.

***

There was a big story today about a shooting in St. Louis - Deputy Marshalls and police.  When I read the story I looked at the street name and thought "I know that name".   Then looked it up on google maps.  It turns out this is a couple of blocks down the street from where my cousins lived when we were kids.  My mother's sister and her family.  It wasn't a bad neighborhood not affluent, but not poor.  Huge old brick city houses. I used to wish for a big house like they had because the size was intriguing to me (we lived in a ranch house in the burbs).

***

I see the Prez decided to grace Boston with his presence today.  Wonder how many flights were delayed into and out of Logan so he could come visit a school. 

***

I checked again - no I can't get an iphone until my contract expires at the end of May.  Of course by then I may want to wait until the iphone 5... we'll see.

***

After sitting in the dentist chair for about 2 hours or so watching CNN, I can say without a doubt there are far too many people who wear clothes all the wrong color.  Anchor chick was wearing a "coral" color dress today.  I think she was looking to be all springlike.  Sadly it was just exactly the wrong color for her skin tone (at least on tv).  Then some other woman graced the screen wearing a purple top and a maroon jacket... seriously it made my eyes cross.

***

Oh well, that's it for now.  Yesterday I was buried under an email server and other fun things. I have clawed my way out, but I think it's time for a glass of wine to unwind.

More later if I can work up the energy.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 06:41 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 404 words, total size 2 kb.

1 I think you've accomplished enough for one day. That glass of chilled adult beverage might be just the thing. Enjoy, T - the world will just have to stagger along without you for one evening.

Posted by: Rev. Paul at March 08, 2011 07:27 PM (Oo5Fg)

2 Gotta take care of your teeth...can't grow new ones. The Juju Woman was having major sinus headaches a couple of weeks ago, turns out it was a tooth, and she has perfect teeth., she had to go see an Endodontist for a root canal. This molar appeared to be healthy, never had a filling...it apparently just went wonkers. The tooth never hurt, and it took awhile for my friend, our regular dentist, to determine which tooth it was. Anyway, she goes to the Endodontist and he puts the numbing stuff (four shots) to her and begins the procedure. She wasn't as numb as they both thought. So he apologizes, and said he was gonna have to inject some numbing stuff directly into the nerve. A direct pulp injection. He told her it was gonna hurt, and he was right. She said that was the greatest and most severe pain she had ever experienced, for one second...and he was using the high test caine. You know people think a root canal is the worst thing in the world, but in reality, afterward you're just sore from the shots and having your mouth jacked open for so long. No tooth has the same number of roots...some root canals take longer than others.

Sorry to babble...rinse with saltwater...it really does help the healing process.

Posted by: Yabu at March 10, 2011 07:10 AM (RDdNW)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

First off my daughter was able to pick up her cat from the vet last night.  They had shaved the side of his body to put the "pain patch" on him.  they had shaved a paw for an IV and he has a little gap in the front of his mouth where the tooth used to be.  

Of course she got him home and her other cat (Chase) freaked because Bailey smelled funny and started growling.  She ended up having to block Chase out in the living room for the night and keep Bailey in with her.  Hopefully after a day or two Chase will settle down. 

Ah the joys of cat ownership!

Second update.  So far I'm really loving this Kindle thing.  Way more than I expected. I think they said this new one is 50% clearer than the last gen.  I was reading last night and a couple of times forgot it wasn't a book until I tried to turn the page!   I also like that the keyboard on the bottom is one less row - the form factor works a bit better for me than the previous version did.  Many thanks to Cin for the links she put in the comments of my other post.  Some Kindle keyboard shortcuts - excellent to know these things.

So far 2 thumbs up! 

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 10:53 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 231 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Glad to hear that Bailey is mending!

Posted by: Pam at September 02, 2010 07:32 AM (i3Kno)

2 Thanks Pam! 

Posted by: Teresa at September 02, 2010 10:31 AM (TeQXy)

3 I adore my Kindle, which is hilarious seeing as it's something I never would have bought for myself. It is by far the best and most used gift I've ever received.

Posted by: Omnibus Driver at September 05, 2010 08:13 PM (Rgb5b)

4 LOL - Leslie, I figured I would buy one when the price dropped enough.  Because I do love to read, I just don't want all those books - especially those that turn out to be so-so laying around my house.  That's the best part of the Kindle.  If I really really fall in love with a book I can then buy the hard copy.  I do love books - the feel the smell all of it - I just don't have room for them.  

Posted by: Teresa at September 06, 2010 09:49 AM (TeQXy)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

It's been quite a while since I blogged about the Invisilines.  Oh yes, they are still making my life fun and interesting.  I hadn't realized that the entire thing had been going on for so very long until I looked back at my category about teeth. 

If you really don't care about "the teeth" no need to read more - I put the rest below the fold.
more...

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 07:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 828 words, total size 5 kb.

I was just off to bed when I remembered I wanted to post this little tidbit from my Friday dentist appointment.

I was there for 2 reasons. The first to get my teeth cleaned, the second to have a new bracket put on yet again when the 3rd bracket broke off the week before.

Whenever the hygienist cleans my teeth, I get a goody bag with all the essential stuff - new toothbrush, tiny tooth paste, dental floss... the usual. So, this time, she's putting the bag together for me and she picks up the sample toothpaste and...

Her: You'll really like this new toothpaste, it's just great!

Me: Is it for sensitive teeth? I really have to have stuff for sensitive teeth.

Her: Oh yes, there's lots of fluoride in this, it's great for sensitive teeth.

(*** note that I already know that fluoride is good for sensitive teeth - another dentist told me this years ago when I complained about my teeth hurting so much... sorry we'll continue now)

Me: Oh good and samples sizes are so great for travel.

Her: Besides, this one is better than the other brand, the other brand uses a "chemical" for the sensitivity, this one uses "fluoride".

Me: Um... yeah... thanks I'll remember that.

No, I didn't laugh in her face although I was sorely tempted to.

And yes, the bracket has lasted up to tonight - I make no promises for the future, but so far things are okay. The new bracket is one the dentist "made" directly on my tooth instead of sticking on a separate piece. I'm just hoping the back bracket holds since it's a separate piece. Fingers crossed.

Now I MUST go to bed. We have workmen arriving tomorrow and I have to be up early. More on that later.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 06:03 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 307 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Wait... is fluoride a naturally occurring substance?

Posted by: pam at July 23, 2007 02:48 AM (l6NIn)

2 LOL - toothpaste itself is one huge chemical compound - just read the ingredients. Gotta love the "natural" approach though - it's so fun.

Posted by: Teresa at July 23, 2007 02:57 AM (gsbs5)

3 I use the sensitive-teeth toothpaste too (my teeth are incredibly sensitive), but I've noticed that if I take vitamin A when my teeth start hurting, that helps a LOT. If I took it 3 times a week, my teeth would probably feel good all the time. You might try it if you're not already taking A for your teeth.

Posted by: sarahk at July 24, 2007 12:57 PM (QLpkT)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Pixy has started the big move to Minx!!! (check out comment #10) While I'm sure there will be some buglets because there always are with this kind of thing... this should take care of so many problems that we have using MT. Hang in there - I am really happy to see we're finally getting there! The posting interface on Minx has so many many bells and whistles it will be forever before I figure them all out. But it will be soooo cool! Not to mention all the cool things that can be done with comments. Wheeeeeee!!!

On a different note. I just got back from the dentist. Now my teeth are clean and she actually made a bracket for my tooth instead of trying to attach a new one. We will hope that this one holds and cross our fingers that the back bracket (which is an attached bracket) actually stays on for the week. (that's what I need - one little week... geeze is that too much to ask???)

Posted by: Teresa in Weblogs at 06:47 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 174 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Thank GOODNESS you keep track of that stuff. If it weren't for you...well, let's just say at some point I won't be able to access my site and it'll be my own darn fault. ;-)

But shoot.....now I gotta figure out somethin' new. THIS could get real interesting!

Thanks for the heads-up!

Posted by: Tammi at July 20, 2007 08:05 AM (PesK3)

2 I don't think we have to change much of anything. The idea was to import things as they are now. I'm not sure about the login and how that will work, but I'm pretty sure that the site is supposed to look pretty much the same.

I am getting pretty antsy because people tell me all the time they don't comment because munu kills it. So I'm hoping this works. I can handle some odd posting bugs - I hate it when spam kills us.

Posted by: Teresa at July 20, 2007 08:14 AM (gsbs5)

3 I saw some really cool templates they were working on; ya'll should really love it!

Posted by: pam at July 20, 2007 10:32 AM (l6NIn)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

If you read through my exhaustingly long and excruciating post about Chicago, you will have noticed at the very end I talked about teeth and brackets...

Well, I finally got through all the sets of Invisiline braces. Except that while my teeth look rather straight now (compared to what they looked like before) they also don't "fit" together quite right. I guess it's time for fine tuning. Ah what fun. The first thing to be done is that one tooth needs to be moved "down" into place.

In order for that to be done, the dentist put brackets on the front and back of the tooth and is using a rubber band stretched over the Invisiline to do the work.

The only problem is - the brackets.

They are plastic. (*big huge sigh*)

So the first day about 4 hours after the dentist visit, I want to remove the rubberband as I am partial to the occasional meal. I'm trying to pull the rubberband off gently when the damned front bracket snaps off! This was on Wednesday - the dentist is not in on Thursday - so I had a new one cemented in this morning. She was amazed... saying, "Usually it's the back bracket that breaks." Famous last words... heh.

Once again I decided I needed to eat. I went to take off the rubberband and this time - the BACK bracket broke off! Oh yeah, it's Friday the 13th... Luckily, she is in tomorrow, so I'm off in the morning to have the other one fixed.

I'm trying to decide how many times I should let this happen before insisting on trying something different. So far I haven't worn the rubberband longer than 4 hours. At this rate I'll spend every other day at the dentist and the tooth will never move.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 07:13 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 306 words, total size 2 kb.

I know I haven't done any Invisiline blogging in quite a while. Mostly because I forgot... and because there's not much to say. I am on set 12. Although "set" in this case is not quite right. Set 11 had the final bottom portion. Now I'm only moving the top teeth while wearing the same bottom set.

There is still one tooth on the bottom that is overlapping another. I don't know if that's correctable or not. On the whole my bite is still all wrong - I still have only 2 teeth meeting in the back when I take these things out. Because I have 2 more top sets to go - I'm hoping this changes.

One thing I did find out last time I talked to the dentist... there might be more sets done if things aren't right once we get to the end. Not that it matters much, but it would've been nice if she'd mentioned that in the initial consultation. It's my one pet peeve with professionals. I wish they'd write it down - go with a script so they don't forget to tell you things. They deal with it all the time, I don't. I like to know what's ahead. It didn't occur to me that my bite would change so much that my teeth wouldn't meet in the back or I might have asked about it. As they are the pros they should be able to give a heads up so you're mentally prepared.

Right now, I'm totally bored with the whole thing - they certainly are quite a lot of work. Yet I persist. I have spent quite a bit of time and money... and yes my teeth are much straighter. It remains to be seen how it all ends though. At the moment I'm not very optimistic that there will be enough movement to fix my bite in only 2 more sets. I might be wrong about that, but it just feels that way.

Or it could just be this rotten mood I'm in tonight is making me cranky... there's always that.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 06:30 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 352 words, total size 2 kb.

1 well, you don't really know at the beginning if it will work the way you plan.....

Good luck with the last few top sets!

Posted by: caltechgirl at May 02, 2007 08:15 PM (r0kgl)

2 I went to the dentist the other day for the annual exam and the hygienist told me it is "routine" for "most" kids to get orthodontic work these days, even for MINOR imperfections. I was shocked and felt really old again. Then of course I had to have one of my "When I was a kid at the dentist" reminiscences, which included references to how they had the little sink with spinning water you spit into and the dentist himself gave you STICKY CANDY SUCKERS after your visit for being a good patient. Well I'm not totally oblivious, so I could see the hygienist glazed over behind her debris-field-rated particle mask and she just wanted me to STFU so she could finish violently flossing my teeth and make my gums bleed before I left the office. They love me there.

Posted by: dogette at May 03, 2007 04:12 AM (q/UVc)

3 CRANKY WOMAN ALERT!

*leaves chocolate*

*flees*

Posted by: Harvey at May 03, 2007 04:43 AM (L7a63)

4 "There is still one tooth on the bottom that is overlapping another. I don't know if that's correctable or not."

Everything is pretty much correctable...although not everything can be corrected by Invisaligns. Between SWMBO and the Mistress of Sarcasm, there were some pretty complicated things that needed fixing...and everything worked out perfectly. All it takes is a good orthodontist, a lot of time and patience, and a buttload of simoleons.

Posted by: Elisson at May 03, 2007 04:52 AM (ska3l)

5 CTG - yeah I guess if I'd thought about it a bit more I would have figured this would happen.

Dogette - ROFLMAO!

Harvey - you're a wonderful blog-daddy.

Elisson - I should've been a bit more clear in that I was wondering if the Invisilines would be enough to move this one tooth - or should I even care... it's not really a big issue. I know it can be done with regular braces - I was trying to avoid those. *grin*. And they definitely love your money when it comes to ortho work. Right now I'm way more worried about getting the "bite" right. It's difficult to eat when your teeth don't like to meet in the back... not impossible - just difficult. Heh.

Posted by: Teresa at May 03, 2007 05:40 AM (gsbs5)

6 I luv Dogette and all your commenters!

Posted by: Sissy Willis at May 03, 2007 01:34 PM (Q6JEL)

7 May you molars meet up in the end. Peace out... I just wish I had molars, or incisors for that matter.

Posted by: RedNeck at May 03, 2007 02:18 PM (IqSuW)

8 WEll... i shall consult the resident expert and get back with you! He's out of town at the moment, so I'll try to catch him either tonight or when he gets home.

They can only estimate how many its going to take, but they should have told you about that.

I'll ask him about bite and about that tooth.

Posted by: Bou at May 03, 2007 02:34 PM (2zVEj)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

I'm a little late this week... usually I blog about this on Wednesday as that's the day I switch to the next set. Unfortunately, this has been such a screwed up and busy week, I just didn't get to it. Haven't gotten to much of anything for that matter. Then I forgot.

I guess I forgot because so far, this has been the easiest set I've had to wear. Not that they weren't very tight on the first day - they were. Just that after I got them on, they haven't caused much of any discomfort. Nothing is rubbing, they aren't bothering any tooth in particular when I remove them.

One thing I am finding, the upkeep is getting more annoying with the passage of time. The 9th set means these are weeks 17 and 18. I happen to get bored fast, but the alternative is to stop - which would be a HUGE waste of money (not to mention all the time invested so far). It won't be much longer and I don't have to wear them all day every day. When I can leave them off during the day, I'll be much happier. It's just the constant upkeep of pulling them out to eat, brushing, putting them back in... should I wait and eat later... can I drink "this" and then put them back in without brushing... yada, yada, yada.

And so it continues. OTOH - unlike the younger girls in the dentist office I am sticking to the program. I can't understand why someone would want to do things to drag out the process even longer. Seems ridiculous to me.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 11:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 277 words, total size 1 kb.

Yesterday I started my 8th set of Invisilines. This time I had a slight change of routine.

Because I knew I would be at a seminar all day and not doing my usual thing (lurking about my house... typing on my computer) I decided to wait until I got home before putting in my new set for the next 2 weeks. Generally, I start the day with a new set. I put them in while I'm still nearly asleep and by the time I wake up sufficiently, I can feel the pressure on the teeth. But I'm generally too tired to remember how tight they seem immediately.

Ah the haziness of a near-sleep experience.

In any case, I didn't think it was such a great idea to start a brand new set when I would be doing something completely out of the ordinary. This means I put them in about 6pm when I finally got home and got a chance to change things.

I think I like changing them far better in the morning. Maybe it's because I was up and about for most of the day, but this set seemed very tight from the moment I put them on. More than usual. I figure that's because my teeth and I had been up all day and we were used to the status quo - not really wanting to have it changed so late in the day.

Otherwise this set has been remarkably free of irritants. Slowly, slowly, the teeth are moving. My bite is still off, but as long as I can eat, I'm happy.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 07:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 270 words, total size 1 kb.

Buy Ibuprofen stock. Lately I've been eating the stuff like candy... too bad it isn't chocolate flavor.

So after 4 days of an annoying headache lingering in the background of my head, today I wake up headache free, but it's time for the next set of Invisilines... Oh goody. It's set number 7 the half way point! And, as usual, they're back to being very tight.

For the first time I found out that the lower portion of the Invisilines only have 11 different molds. The top has 14. So, I'm more than half way through getting the bottom teeth straight. Interesting. I can't figure out why I didn't know that before. I'm also having a difficult time believing the bottom teeth will be straight by then - they have a ways to go... so we'll see.

Now I'm back to a few days of teeth moving. Of course adding travel on top of it just makes things more fun. I leave for Chicago tomorrow. I hope the clothes I packed are warm enough... or maybe I should save time and start shivering now.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 07:30 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 186 words, total size 1 kb.

Today I started my 6th set of Invisilines... nearly half way done!!! Yay! In 2 weeks I have another appointment, but so far things are going okay. This set seems to be pretty smoothly finished (unlike the last set). And this time the most crooked front tooth is being moved - I can feel it. Up until now, the other teeth have been slowly moved out of the way. Progress is being made, slowly but surely. As per usual, the teeth will feel weird for a few days and then things will settle down for the most part of the 2 weeks.

Since I had a minor migraine going earlier, I can't tell if my teeth are sore because I'm popping lots of Ibuprofen... I guess that's a good thing.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 06:41 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 135 words, total size 1 kb.

I started on my 5th set of Invisilines today. The dentist gives them to me in sets of 3 so I have to go in every 6 weeks to pick up the next set. Set #4 and this set have been much tighter than the first 3 sets were. The first day of wearing these two sets, I had to work a bit to get them on my teeth correctly.

I've also noticed that there are differences in finish between sets. Some sets are smoothly finished and others have some rough edges on them. This set has edges and I have a feeling I'll end up with some sore spots after wearing these a few days. Annoying, but doable.

In other news I got new contacts at the end of last week. They upped the bifocal part so it's at the highest it can be before I have to switch and go to glasses full time. I like these - they're very comfortable and I can see small print again. The last prescription wasn't quite strong enough - I could do my computer work just fine (I use an 18 inch monitor and up the fonts), but menus in restaurants, newspaper print, small print on anything was difficult. Now I can see most everything - YAY!

I'm also getting new lenses in my glasses. I only wear the glasses at night after about 10pm when I take out the contacts. The place I go to get my eyes done, doesn't do 1 or 2 hour service - it's over a week to get the replacements. I thought it would be okay since I don't wear them much. But have such a routine, I can't seem to get the hang of not having glasses available.

I'm leaving the contacts in until I go to bed - but I forgot to take them out one night! Didn't even realize it until the next morning. That's because, unlike the other contacts I've been wearing - these don't seem to dry out so my eyes don't get gritty in the evening. When I don't stick to my routine, I forget they're there! Very odd. I've worn contacts for years and this is the first time that has ever happened.

I won't complain. It's nice to have contacts this comfortable. I just don't want to end up hurting my eyes by leaving them in too long. It's always something.

My blog sis Sissy is looking into Lasik - so she's having fun with glasses too.

Now I have to get back to work.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 05:16 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 433 words, total size 2 kb.

Today was supposed to be my first checkup (6 week return) on my Invisilines. So far they've been running a 2 weeks cycle like clockwork. Very tight the first 3-4 days, then moderately tight for the next 4-5 days, then pretty loose feeling until I hit the 2 week change to the next set.

The dentist who takes care of the Invisilines had a baby on Christmas day (congratulations to her). When this appointment was made, we knew that would very likely be an issue as her due date was January 1st. So, they made the appointment and it was decided that the other dentist would have a look when I came in today. (apparently no one passed this information on to her *sigh*)

Well, it didn't happen quite like that. I only saw the hygienist. I went in to one of the rooms, took out the old set, she gave me the new set, and then said "Okay, that's it". I said, "You mean that's all there is today?" She said, "Yes, you'll need another appointment in 6 weeks".

I didn't raise a fuss because I get my teeth cleaned next week - and I can wait a week to chat about this. Besides this gives me some time to figure out how to pursue this problem. But I wasn't very happy about it. I'm going to have a word with my dentist when she's done cleaning my teeth. This is not the first time we've had a miscommunication about what the plan was. The same thing happened when they did all the in-lays on my back teeth. We sat down, the dentist told me the order they were going to do the work... then it all changed once the work started. Not that this made much difference, the work all got done.

As for this checkup - the thing that bugs the hell out of me is the fact that I waited 20 minutes after my scheduled appointment time (and I was there early!) before the hygienist took me back to simply hand me the new set!!! WTF? I could've walked up to the desk, picked up the next 3 weeks worth, paid my next installment, and been out the door in 3 minutes flat. They're wasting my time and I don't like that!

So, we will have a heart to heart, the other dentist and I, next week. Life's too short to sit in waiting rooms.

This probably wouldn't have bothered me so much, but after years of sitting for hours in doctors waiting rooms, I've lost my tolerance for it. If I added it up, I'd be willing to bet I've spent several years of my life sitting in doctors waiting rooms. I don't want to do that unless I can be convinced it's necessary. This time it was totally unnecessary.

But what we really need to get straight is the communication thing. So, next week's appointment should be interesting.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 05:08 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 496 words, total size 3 kb.

Some short teeth blogging. Started my third set of Invisilines today. So far these have been the most difficult to fit, but with a little finessing I was able to get them properly placed on my teeth. They aren't hurting, but they are very tight.

Since the outgoing set is always so loose, I have to wonder if they change shape along with moving the teeth. Interesting thought. In any case. Nothing really new today. In 2 weeks I see the dentist for the first checkup and I get my next 3 sets of liners.

I'm still brushing and flossing like mad. So far the most annoying thing is that I have to change my style of eating. For Christmas I made a lovely Cranberry Pecan pie - a recipe that Jill was gracious enough to send me. Usually I eat dinner and then wait a while to eat any dessert. But now I face a dilemma.

I can eat dinner and not have pie.

I can eat dinner and then run up - brush and floss, put the Invisilines back on, take them out to eat pie later and do the brush/floss thing again.

I can eat dinner, leave the Invisiline's out then eat pie later.

Or I can eat dinner, eat pie, then go brush/floss.

I'm going with the last one because the first 3 just don't work for me - especially the one that has me leaving them out for several hours. I don't like eating that much food at once, but there it is.

Good thing I don't make dessert very often.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 12:46 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 272 words, total size 1 kb.

1 My vote is to eat dinner, drink beer.

Posted by: Contagion at December 27, 2006 02:19 PM (MsT2U)

2 Eat dinner, eat dessert, drink beer.

Posted by: pam at December 27, 2006 02:48 PM (l6NIn)

3 Or just eat dessert and drink beer. Got your B vitamins, fruit, antioxidants, and nuts. Who needs dinner

Posted by: Jill at December 27, 2006 03:11 PM (fXJVE)

4 Make that wine and you're all on! LOL.

Posted by: Teresa at December 27, 2006 07:01 PM (gsbs5)

5 For dessert, Invisilines be damned, lmao!!!

Posted by: Gigi at December 28, 2006 06:23 AM (MGlM/)

6 They don't change shape. It's your teeth moving. I'll check just to make sure, but I'm pretty darn sure they do not move.

I'd be all about eating the pie later. You gotta eat the pie... ;-)

Posted by: Bou at December 28, 2006 12:59 PM (KkohC)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

It's the end of week 3 of Invisiline fun and games. And in an effort to promote foolishness and imbecility, it's time for teeth blogging.

Invisilines sets are changed every 2 weeks making this the start of week 2 of set 2. This second set seems to have loosened up considerably faster than the first set, or I got used to this set faster. New this week: the inside of my mouth is not too happy, it's a bit sore. This is my own fault as I can't seem to stop myself from constantly messing about with them.

Well, you know, they are on my teeth and my brain refuses to accept that they are necessary, so I tend to create a vacuum in my mouth - this causes the one unanchored side to move around a little bit. It also causes some rubbing on the inside of my mouth. Can't wait to hear what the dentist has to say about that. I can almost hear the "don't do that" now. Uh - sure - just remind me every 10 seconds or so.

Dinner time is the only time I leave them off for an extended period (about an hour) so I can eat and then have a cup of tea. I notice they take a few minutes to settle back into place after that length of time. Otherwise there are no fitting issues.

When I have them out now, my teeth are so weirdly aligned I can't close my mouth properly. I prefer to have them in giving me a proper "bite" when closing my mouth. When they're out I'm afraid I'll hurt a couple of teeth on top and bottom that now clash against each other. This shall pass, but it's a bit awkward for eating.

I do find a little trouble talking sometimes. My tongue occasionally gets things wrong and I stumble over a word when it sticks to the bottom set. After a few "blah,blah,blah's" I can carry on talking. (we'll leave off trying to decide whether I ever have anything of more value to say than "blah,blah, blah")

I have noted one interesting thing this week. I switched toothpaste. Well, I do that in any case, I am not wedded to a single brand, or I should say I wasn't. I do have to use toothpaste for sensitive teeth. Last time I went shopping for a tube of toothpaste, the only Sensitive tooth type they had was Crest for Sensitive Teeth with added scope. I picked it up while I was thinking about it.

I started using it and the tube itself was being very annoying. There is no way with the material they used to make the toothpaste tube, to squeeze the stuff up from the bottom. No matter how I try, the tube squishes every which way. I hate that!

Therefore, a couple of days ago, after being aggravated once too often, I went to another store and picked up a tube of Sensodyne. This one does not have an insane design that keeps me from squeezing the paste out of the tube. That's when I discovered an interesting side result. (the Crest tube is only half empty and has been relegated to another drawer for emergencies) Now I don't have a bad taste on my teeth when I remove the Invisilines for eating or to brush before bed.

Maybe I should rephrase that, it wasn't a "really bad" taste. Stale... might be a good word. Rather like your mouth in the morning. In this case, it was easily rinsed away, but it was always there when I took the things out. I'm not finding that with the Sensodyne toothpaste. Maybe it's my mouth chemistry at work and someone else might have a different result. In any case, I think I'll stick with the Sensodyne.

So, that's tooth blogging for the week. We aim to be a total entertainment blog here.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 06:45 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 665 words, total size 4 kb.

Yes, it's braces blogging time again. I've ended the second week with my Invisilines. Today the big excitement was... changing to the next set. This means I'm on set #2 of 14 - excellent!

The other set was getting very loose by the end of the second week. One side (upper left) was actually able to move around easily. I think those teeth aren't being moved much if at all, so this might be the case every two weeks until I'm done. Unfortunately, when things got loose, I kept messing about with it and moving it around. I was making myself nuts because I couldn't stop.

Today, at least for a few days, that all changed as I have put in the second set and they are tight. No real pain (Well, I should say I took Ibuprofen before things could start hurting badly. I already know I'm a wimp about teeth pain - yes I did mean to say it that way). There is some pressure on my front teeth which feels funny. Once again we're back to them being hard to pull out, especially the top set. Although this week I'm not having any pain while I pull them out - this is an improvement.

I'm still brushing and flossing like mad. I can take bets on how many cavities I'll have for my January checkup. I figure it will be at least one. In any case, I'm sticking with leaving them in the required 22 hours a day. I'm guessing things have moved just a tiny bit, but so far it's not very noticeable unless I'm chewing.

Ah my life is so exciting.

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 01:12 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 282 words, total size 1 kb.

Today is the end of the first week with my Invisiline braces. Oh you lucky people you get a once a week update so I can keep myself on track. Aren't you thrilled.

Like I thought, it's a lot of work. I've brushed my teeth more in the last week than I usually do in a month. Maybe I don't really "have to" (like right after I drink tea), but I have rotten teeth to begin with, they get cavities at the drop of a piece of chocolate. This means, with the invisiline covering them and holding in all those lovely cavity causing bacteria, I'm paranoid. That is, every time I eat anything at all, any time I drink anything that's not water, plus when I get up in the morning and go to bed at night (even if I haven't eaten since I brushed after dinner). So, I've been scrubbing and flossing. Maybe the teeth will wear out before I get them straight.

A few oddities, it's easier to put in the top set, but harder to take them out... just the opposite for the bottom set. I've taken to carrying one of those toothbrushes with me that have the brush and toothpaste in a case together - got it from an outdoor store. I haven't had to use it yet, but I heard the girls at the dentist excusing their lack of wearing their Invisiline because they couldn't brush when they were out. (I've always carried dental floss as it works for teeth and to do things like tie shoes in an emergency)

Otherwise, they don't hurt while I'm wearing them. The first couple of days they hurt as I was taking them off and putting them on. Right now I prefer wearing them because my teeth have moved slightly so my bite is off when I have them out, I expect this to change as time goes on.

And there you have it. In far more detail than you really wanted. Only 27 more weeks to go...

Posted by: Teresa in It's The Teeth at 05:18 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 343 words, total size 2 kb.

As a child I should have had braces. Unfortunately my parents couldn't afford it and as the dentist said my teeth weren't that bad, they skipped me and got braces for my sister because hers were much worse. (her teeth were straight in front but tended to a big overbite - so I guess they were right)

In anycase, after all these years I finally have the time and money to get these teeth (which have gotten progressively out of kilter - especially in the back of my mouth) pushed into some semblance of straightness.

Yesterday I got my first installment of Invisiline braces. These are the clear plastic ones that aren't easily seen. We'll see how it goes. So far there is only a little soreness, mostly when I remove the bottom set to eat. This morning I figured out how to take them out without causing pain... so far so good. There's a little rubbing from some of the edges in a few places - but nothing causing major issues.

Supposedly, seven months from now, the teeth should be aligned and I should only need to wear these things 3 nights a week to keep everything in place. The real test here will be that I can't eat or drink (well only water) with these things in my mouth, I'm supposed to wear them 22 hours a day, and I have to brush and floss before putting them back on after eating.

Good thing I don't go out much.

After all these years, I wonder what it will look like to have my front teeth not overlap slightly. Hmmmm...

Posted by: Teresa in Life Stuff at 08:47 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 276 words, total size 1 kb.