first appointment

I just had my first orthodontist appointment after 5 weeks of first getting my braces on. The OA told me we would only be changing my bottom wire, and the top wire would be changed at my next appointment. I was able to brush and floss my teeth without either of my wires on, and it felt so good! I also finally asked my orthodontist when he predicts I will have my surgery. I have been in a pretty big panic about it, because I have two summer field courses that I have to take up in northern Minnesota, and will be gone for three weeks to complete them in August. If I had the surgery too late in the summer, I couldn’t do the courses, delaying my graduation a year! Otherwise, I would have had to delay my surgery by 6 months! Anyway, Dr. Sletten told me that it was ‘very, very, very, very, very likely’ that I would be having my surgery in JUNE! Ah! I don’t have a date but at least I have a month! He said something big would have to go wrong for this to change, and he said I am right on track with my progress. I can’t believe it is only 9 months until my surgery, I anticipated it being much longer than that!

One thing that I think is helping speed up my progress is the system of braces I am using. I have self-ligating braces, which don’t use the ties around the brackets, but rather open up like a door to let the wire in and are closed behind it. I have read a lot about these, and have found that they are much less painful and are also a more accurate system. Dr. S also uses a new technology called SureSmile. This technology allows you to input all of your xrays and information about your teeth, and it creates the wire for you. This eliminates any guess work for the orthodontist, which allows him to be much more precise with keeping me on track! My next appointment is in late October, but I may post a few pictures before then.