Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Brace Yourselves!

Whew! My little Madison has had quite a few days! Last Thursday the school was administering the flu mist to any kids whose moronic, gullible, uninformed parents OK'd it being done. I tried contacting Jimmy before-hand to get his input, but as usual, he didn't answer his phone. The paperwork was due that morning, so I signed my name to it. Little did I know I was agreeing to the administration of a live flu virus to my 8-year-old!

Okay, I'm probably making this sound much more dramatic than it actually was. She was fine until Saturday. It was the day of our block party and Madison kept coming inside to tell me that her head hurt. At first I figured it was just from the heat and all the running around she was doing. Later that night her head was still hurting and she looked pale but was playing with cousin Alexa and still having a good time.

Sunday morning she woke up with a fever of 102! I immediately gave her Tylenol, then after having breakfast and a shower I went out and bought Motrin to give her as well. By the time I got home from the store her fever was almost normal. I gave her the Motrin and the fever never came back. I thought that was pretty damn weird, being that it was fairly high that morning.

I kept her home Monday with all intentions of canceling the appointment she had with the dentist to extract her super numary snaggletooth. What is a super numary you ask? It's an extra damn tooth, that's what it is. An extra tooth that was growing smack dab in the middle of her real two front teeth. Here's a picture of it that I took months ago. We referred to it as her snaggletooth because of the odd, pointy shape.

Would you believe her dentist misdiagnosed this as being a peg lateral... a tooth that was just in the wrong place? It was the orthodontist they recommended us to that said, "No! That is not a peg lateral. That is literally an extra tooth that has no business being in her mouth!"

Here's a scary shot they took at the orthodontist's office last week. I swear, she had just brushed her teeth but you'd never know it looking at this picture!

See that sideways tooth to the left of the snaggle? That's her front tooth that matches the one on the other side of the snaggle. And you'll notice to the right is a tooth that's kind of dangling there? It fell out right after this picture was taken.

Anyway, our pediatrician gave us the go-ahead to have the tooth removed since she was no longer feverish. And wow, this was an adult tooth with a big ol' root on it. She did fabulous though. The dentist told me he was very impressed with her and that she didn't complain at all. Way to go, Madison!


The very next day she had her orthodontist appointment to have braces put on. This is not usually recommended for a kid so young, but because of that huge gap she now had, plus how bad her teeth were growing in, it was now a necessity.

She was supposed to get 4 brackets on the top front teeth, but there were only 3 teeth there (one that hadn't yet grown in) and one of those teeth was not in a good position for a bracket. So, she only got two. The other two brackets will be put on in coming months.

I'm ready!



Let's prep those teeth!

Another one of those scary pictures. The blue stuff is a special cleaner that goes down into the pores of the teeth.


Then the tech put some other stuff on and had to use a blue laser light to completely harden it.



She's prepped and ready for brackets. Here comes the sweet and handsome Dr. Ossi to put those suckers on!



Once that is done, Miss Kim comes back to put in the wire and the bands that will keep the wire in place.



Because of how far apart those two front teeth are, they decided to use the colored bands to span between the two teeth for greater tension. Good idea, maybe, but it looks funny! Shhh... don't tell Madison. I let her know how funky and beautiful it makes her look!






Let me tell you, she's milking the soreness for all it's worth. I even let her stay home again today since she can't chew on anything yet. It's been yogurt, ice cream, soup and mushed-up cottage cheese for her!

Thi$ i$ only pha$e one of her treatment. $ix to 8 month$ of thi$ and then in a couple more year$ $he'll probably need full brace$.

Eh, she's worth it!




Pssst! If you love me, you might love my sister more. Go visit her at Jill's Believe it or Not, and tell her I sent you!


21 "Sister" Lovin' Friends Said:

  • Life on the Edge

    I will be forever grateful that my parents made me get braces when I was younger. I have them to thank for my straight teeth. I hope that Madison thinks they're cool! They will be worth the pain, and yes, even as an adult I remember how much they hurt when they first went in.

    Kady

  • Ann Harrison

    I'm counting all of the dollar signs you have posted. YIKES!

    She sounds like one brave little girl. I don't think I'd handle teeth-pulling as well as your daughter did!

  • "Blossom"

    I also heard the swine flu shot was live virus. Does she have to take another dose? I'm so worried about the shots and spray. I glad that she is ok; and she looks cute with her braces.

  • Kristen

    Aww. She looks so stinking cute. Please tell me that was paint or a red tattoo on her cheek.

    I was so happy to get my braces off. My poor sis had them from 2nd to 10th grade...hee hee! Sucks to be her.

  • Ginger

    That is pretty unusual to see a tooth that doesn't belong right smack in the middle of her mouth.
    I'm glad the tooth fairy was so generous to her for being so brave.
    Way to go Madison!!
    My daughter thanks me all the time for getting braces on her teeth when she was younger, as she has a beautiful smile now. My boys...well not so much. They won't even wear a retainer and their once straight teeth are starting to get crooked again.

  • cindy

    What a trooper! I know how painful it is to have dental work...(I had teeth pulled and braces too!) Not quite as extensive as Madison's though! Good luck to her!

  • Pamela Waterman

    Good for both of you - it's tough to watch all that hardware going on. All three of our girls needed braces; the youngest needed three phases over more than six years - I think they used every possible crank, screw, wire, spring and elastic, but the results are beautiful! I had teen braces, too, but back then they did not emphasize the retainer, especially after I had my wisdom teeth out. Wrong! Everything drifted, and I ended up with such a gap between my lower front teeth that I went back last year for adult braces (at age 53). It was so worth it! But I'll wear my retainer every night forever. If you need ideas on soft foods for Madison, check out http://www.braces.org/JustForKids/Recipes.cfm, the website of the American Association of Orthodontists.

  • Anonymous

    Hi Justiney! Poor little Madison. sorry that flu shot/mist made her sick like that! I'm worried because they say pregnant ladies need to take it and you know my daughter is pregnant!
    Madison looks cute with her braces! Our daughter had too many teeth and had to have four pulled before her braces.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

  • Secondary Roads

    Brave and beautiful Madison. My hero! I'm more, "No pain, no pain." She'll thank you later. Although staying home and eating ice cream sound like good compensation . . . :)
    -- Chuck
    (Tomorrow I'll have a link to you on my blog.)

  • Grand Pooba

    LOL, that la$t $entence wa$ the be$t!

    She's such a cutie! Poor thing! At least she's getting it done early! I didn't lose my last tooth until I was a sophmore in high school! I ended up having to get braces because my tooth was growing in sideways so they had to connect a chain to it and attach it to the braces.

    I was one ugly mother effer!

  • MJ's doghouse

    wow she is such a brave little girl...i am scared to death of the dentist...i could never sit so still...

  • Liz Mays

    Milk nothing, that's real pain! You give that girl everything she wants!

  • Anonymous

    She looks so brave.........then when you see the doc working, she's so little. :)

    Of course she should be spoiled now!

  • wendy

    HOLY CRAP your daughter deserves a medal for having to go through all of that. and she has a beautiful smile despite it all.
    Braces are the "vogue" thing nowdays. Not shunned like when I was a kid (a trillion years ago)
    My daughter got braces when she was 28. and she is gorgalishious.

  • Anonymous

    Ouch. My mouth is having sympathy pain.

  • Tootsie

    oh what a brave young lady!! and they look wonderful....just a little B-L-I-N-G for her beautiful smile!!!

  • Cathy

    What a week for her.. poor thing had a bit of everything done.. good thing she didn't ask for a boob job ...that's coming. Well tell her that her braces look awesome and to thank her mom for good before and after pics.. something to remember forever.

  • Amy @ Keep'n The SunnySide

    I'll say she's been through a lot.. she does deserve a couple days off! My girl needs them also, but they are waiting for a few more adult teeth to break through.

    Tiney, I LOVE your new background, but girl, I am having the hardest time reading those white words.. LOL!

  • Michele

    Madison is such a cutie pie! Ugh...I didn't have my braces put on until I was 22..now, let me tell you...you can't find a guy at that age with braces on!!!

    Wow...what a tooth that snaggle one was! Isn't it amazing how much this pieces of wire cost??

    Hugz,
    Michele

  • aimee

    I'm glad she's not sick anymore (I told you it was a live virus, silly!) and hope her teeth aren't too sore for long!

  • Unknown

    What a trooper! I don't think I could handle it.