HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

Seeing as how Halloween is on a Monday this year, and being a college student, I typically spend my Halloweens playing with friends a lot later than I did when I went trick-or-treating, I now celebrate my Halloween on the weekend before :) So Saturday night I got dressed up and went out with my friends, dressed as a pirate :) I had SO much fun.

Look at how different I look from this Halloween to last. WEIRD.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween !

I had a dentist appointment the other day to check on the issues with my left front tooth. The tooth is very discolored, and it's so frustrating because I don't remember what on earth happened to make it that way.

I am going to get fitted for whitening trays, and work on whitening just that one tooth to see if it is possible to whiten it. Otherwise, I am going to have to get a veneer to make it match. Which sounds like the absolute last thing I want to do. If the tooth DOES whiten, I will end up paying the extra money to get ALL of my teeth whitened by the trays. I didn't go through all of this to not have perfect teeth, so every penny is worth making them look better!

I have to call Monday to make an appointment to get the trays made... I will keep you all posted!

My dentist mentioned something about me having a cross bite... ugh, shut up. I do not have a cross bite, my midlines are perfect and both my surgeon and ortho has said I have a perfect bite. WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT?

HEY GUYS!

I DON'T HAVE BRACES ANYMORE!

NONE. NOTHING. NO BRACKETS. NO RUBBER BANDS. NO FOOD STUCK IN MY TEETH. NO ULCERS ON MY CHEEKS. NOOOOOOTHING.

Best.Day.Ever.

My ortho gave me a bag full of candy. And if there is any girl who LOVES candy more than anything ever, it's this one. As if they thought I didn't eat all these yummy things with braces. Could you ever go over a year without STARBURSTS? Yeah, right.

I am already annoyed of my retainer (gosh, can I EVER be satisfied? :-P ) I have a clear plastic one that I am to wear all the time for 2 months. I love that no one can see it, but I don't love that it stains easily and I LOVE to drink coffee. I am one of those people who is an all-day-long type of coffee drinker. I slowly sip on my thermos of coffee throughout my classes and work. Well, now every time I want to drink my coffee, I have to take my retainer out so that it doesn't get stained. Kind of annoying... but I think I'll live :)

I have a dentist appt tomorrow to get my left front tooth looked at. It's been a darker color than the rest of my teeth for the last few years, but there wasn't much they could do prior to braces/surgery. There are signs that the tooth is dying. Tomorrow we're going to come up with a plan of action to see if we can get that tooth whitened at all, or if I am going to have to go the veneer route (I pray to god this isn't the case).. Most of my teeth pictures have been in black and white because I hate how the front tooth looks.

You can only tell a TINY bit in this picture (right tooth in the pic) but it's really quite noticeable in person.. the flash just makes it look a lot whiter than it really is. If it can actually be whitened, I may be brave enough to post a picture of how dark it really is.. but until then, I am fooling you with this one because I'd rather have you think my teeth are so shiny and white and pretty :)

After hearing that Obama will be getting his Thanksgiving turkey from Willmar, MN, which is just west of where I live, I decided to do a little research, and came upon this video.

I certainly am not trying to sway anyone either way. I am not a vegetarian and could never live without meat, but my family has agreed to forego turkey this year upon my request.

Please watch this video.

ONE WEEK. as in SEVEN DAYS. and SIX SLEEPS. and FIVE FULL days with TWO partial days

until I get my braces off.

I saw Dr. M, my surgeon, yesterday. It was a super quick appointment. He gave me his blessing to get these babies off my teeth! He also said that over time the little gaps between my molars will disappear as the teeth come together on their own. I honestly do not even care any more. I just want my braces OFF!

WEE!!

Prior to surgery, I made a video talking about all of the things I had collected to make my recovery process easier.

After going through the whole process, here is my updated list of recommended surgery supplies

Things To Buy:

• Bed Buddy Hot Pack: My lifesaver. Buy this, or you will seriously regret it. It smells funny, but it seriously is a god send. When your face is really achy and tingly, this is the only thing that will make you feel better. I used one for weeks. Found at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I bought some aromatherapy similar heat pack, and the thing was no where near as amazing.
• Jaw Bra: This thing saved me the first 3 days, prior to switching to the Bed Buddy. I got mine from the hospital- ask your surgeon if you will be getting one from your hospital, otherwise buy it. I put frozen veggies in plastic bags and slid them in the sides, much more comfortable then ice cubes and stayed cold longer.
• Food Tray Table: I had a mattress on the floor in my living room and I set this next to me with all of my meds and water bottle on it, so everything was close by at all times. It was so handy, and depending on how you're being set up to sleep, I highly recommend this
• Aquaphor: Found in the pharmacy section of Target, near the Carmex. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have this. I literally used to dozens of times each day, and continued using it months after surgery. It was my addiction, and it made me feel so much better. I've finally weened myself off of it, but I cannot imagine how anyone would get through surgery without Aquaphor. I tried Vaseline, it just wasn't as good.
• Children's Motrin
• Bromelain: Helps reduce swelling
• B-Complex: Boosts immune system
• Fiber in any supplemental form: Trust me.
• Baby Toothbrush
• Den Tek Easy Brush: Found in toothbrush aisle
• Q-tips: I went through an ungodly amount of these cleaning out my nose/applying Aquaphor
• Moist Facial Cleansing Towelettes
• Saline Nasal Spray: Prescribed by my Dr
• Boogie Wipes: Found in the baby section
• Kleenex with Aloe or Lotion
• Wisp Brush: Used for the first day or two after surgery when brushing hurt too much
• Kids mouthwash: Used after I finished the prescribed mouthwash
• Dry Erase Board: I didn't use mine at all, because I was only banded with 2 elastics, but I know it was helpful to a lot of other bloggers, so get one just in case.
• Notebook to write down meds/times
• Magic Bullet: I used a different brand than the bullet, but it was seriously the best thing to have. I ate SO many smoothies through a syringe.
• NutriSqueeze Bottle: Drank water out of this all.the.time.
• Baby spoons: I highly recommend these
• Best Rest Pillow
• Entertainment: I was so sick from the meds I didn't watch tv or have the ability to read for probably a soliod week. I suggest buying a book or two and maybe picking up a new movie to watch after surgery if you're feeling up to it. Gossip mags were my go-to!

Food:

• Go Go Squeeze: Found next to applesauce at Walmart. I ate these babies like they were going out of style. SUPER easy to fit them in your mouth and squeeze WITHOUT making a mess. Applesauce is really awesome when you can barely stomach any food. Seriously, buy these. I went through nearly 3 boxes
• Ella's Kitchen Organic Baby Food Similar to above, but found in baby food aisle
• Naked Juice
• Ginger Ale + A scoop of sherbet ice cream
• Gatorade
• Beef or Chicken Broth: If you can stomach it. I drank it once and couldn't drink it ever again.
• Jello: This was my 'go-to' food item constantly due to nausea from the meds
• Spaghettios- Chop the O's up a bit with a fork
• Mac and Cheese
• Mashed Potatoes
• Eggs
• Ensure Drinks

Things I didn't use/didn't purchase/didn't need:

• A sippy cup with a straw. What was I thinking? I couldn't drink out of a straw for WEEKS.
• Tongue scraper.
• Water Pik - Everyone RAVED about the Water Pik, but every time I tried to use it, I got water EVERYWHERE. I didn't feel like it was cleaning or doing anything but making a mess. Maybe I just don't quite understand how to use it, but there are only two buttons so I couldn't be that far off.
• Chapstick. It just doesn't cut it. Get Aquaphor.
• Arnica Gel: Didn't buy it
• Baby suction: Pointless
• Baby bibs: I didn't spill all over myself when I used baby spoons, and I drank everything for probably 3 weeks + out of syringes.
• Button up pajamas. I just wore a tank top and zip up sweatshirt.

Prior to surgery, I felt like I needed to have SO much stuff, because the more stuff I had, the better prepared I would feel. Surgery sucks, and yes, there are a few things that make it easier, but don't go all out and buy everything in sight because you think it'll help.

Three things I could never, ever have survived without: Bed Buddy, Aquaphor, and my momma.

Old pictures of me are weird. Like, really, really weird.

I notice my no-where-near-visible chin in pictures even more NOW than when it was actually my face.

The pictures of myself that I thought I looked pretty (you know, the 'this is definitely facebook profile pic worthy) now make my face all scrunchy and make my brain confused. I used to love certain pictures of myself (see the picture of Jackson on my shoulders) and now I think I look odd.

Enjoy the totally random hodge podge of pictures I've put together....

BEFORE SURGERY:

AFTER SURGERY:

I think the whole attitude of 'I will wear my elastics however I please' probably was not the right one to have, because my teeth were not fitting together properly on the right side. The left has always felt secure, but the right side has given me more trouble. Since being told my debracing date, I have been obsessing about every little thing, because I want them to be PERFECT before getting my braces off. I started panicking because the right side was not fitting together properly. There was a visible gap between the upper and lowers; the teeth just weren't meeting up right. I am now wearing my elastics as originally advised, as much as possible, in a triangular configuration. My bite is already feeling so much better!

Don't try to be smarter than your orthodontist. If you're feeling like the elastic configuration you're given isn't working correctly (it's making your bite feel worse) let them know. Don't try to mess with things on your own, because I did, and it DID mess with things.

I am on the home stretch!