Drivel, because that's where my head is.
I took my baby girl to the orthodontist this morning for the first of many steps in the installation and maintenance of braces. Due to my teeth genetics, she is later than most people in getting her adult teeth. As a consequence, all of her peers have already finished with the having of braces.
This is a two year process so she will be heading off to college with braces. Poor baby. She has a great attitude about it all, but it's still not much fun. Of course, it should make for fairly effective boy repellant, so there are benefits.
The money that we will be paying for this tooth torture could purchase a small car. Our health insurance covers less than 1/5 of the cost. I am glad we can afford this, but braces should be a right for all children, not just those with money.
I went for a walk while Em was "in the chair." Man, we litter alot. It's so depressing. Next time i will go with a large plastic bag and pick up all the recyclables. But i did find another Bott's Dot. If anyone wants it, let me know. I'll send it to you.
The insincere niceness in doctor's/dentist's offices always sets my teeth on edge. Just give me a People magazine and leave me alone, i don't want to chat with the staff. Especially at 8 in the morning. Bah!
30 comments:
It's just that time of year - at least here in the Northeast it is - it's so dirty until they do the street sweeping in the (late) spring.
Orthodontia. I had the nicest dentist in the world, but he recommended an orthodontist who was all reputation and no people skills. I ran in hysterics from his office at one time. (I was eight, I think. I had to have a palate expander, thus, I had braces really early.)
No, thirty years later, I can just mention his name to any oral care provider in the area and they nod with recognition and sympathy. Gah. Shudder. But it made me tough. I can handle any dental work now withou breaking a sweat.
My beloved Teri grew up with very bad teeth, and got them fixed as an adult. It made such a difference to her to have teeth that matched her beautiful smile. She also believes orthodontia should be available to all.
"sets your teeth on edge" Ha! They do that on purpose so you'll come back for a custom made bite plate!
I also know a friend who got braces at 39!
I hate the dentist! I always come away with a sore back from wrenching myself up to spit and rinse! The chairs are not great...I keep my knees up to protect my back some.
I never got braces - I had a lot of preliminary stuff done, tho. Teeth pulled, expanders, retainers. It will be so worth it for her. I hate my teeth with a passion!
I have an inordinate fear of dentistry due to recent root canal activity. I just get gassed now anytime I have to have a procedure other than cleaning done.
Gah! I was at the ortho with the Eldest today! If there weren't a continent inbetween us, we could have met for coffee -- or collected trash!
We kept moving and each dr. seemed to start all over again so I think I had braces for about five years.....
oh! lord, braces! In college! My heart goes out to her even though you say she's taking it in stride...
I want the Bott's Dot. I promise I won't litter with it.
And you'd think people working with the public would be able to find one sincere thing to say to you, wouldn't you? I always try to at least say something sincere because honestly, I suck at small talk. If you start sincere, you can at least have a pleasant conversation.
My siblings and I were very lucky to have inherited my mother's straight as an arrow teeth. We shall see who the little ones take after. I'm rooting for my mother for once, ha!
yikes! it takes xanax just to get me to the dentist. i too am extraordinarily grateful for having pretty normal, straight teeth. and not looking forward to what will most likely be inevitable for my kids... i've seen their dad's teeth! (post braces!)
de, they must be waiting for the snow to be finished before cleaning your streets. At least Em doesn't need a palate expander. Yikes! You are a trouper.
moi, i know several people who got braces as adults. It's funny because i always noticed when they got them, and then i got so used to them that i didn't always notice when they were removed. A real faux pas.
qt, she knows that she will be happy when it's over. But 2 years is a life sentence for a 16 yo. I love nitrous. :)
amusing, coffee sounds like much more fun than picking up trash. % years really is forever, at least it feels like it.
caro, i think i feel worse about it than she does. I'm sure i'm just projecting.
sari, if you really want it, e-mail me your address, which will be held in strictest confidence, and i'll send it on. menoblog@gmail.com. As far as sincere conversation goes, "Good morning" would have sufficed nicely.
maggie, goooooo MOM! I never had braces either, but both my brother's did.
liv, i should probably take Xanax, if i had any, before i go too. Start saving your money, Sheesh it's expensive.
Ten just had impressions taken and will get his braces on in less than two weeks. He is so excited.(He's ten...what does he know?) He will likely wear braces for 1-2 years, have them off for 1 year and then need them again, once all his adult teeth grow in...have no idea yet what this will cost in money...have a pretty good idea what it will cost in time. Fortunately, the office staff are genuinely nice so it's not too bad going for the appointments. (sigh)
I am lucky to admit I never had braces. Although our family dentist hinted I had a few misaligned teeth, he made my parents happy by suggesting I was not a candidate for orthodontia. That certainly saved them oodles of money (even back then) but I do remember him saying that someday, as an adult, I might need braces and the fear of that possibility has haunted me through the years. No wonder I cringe every 6 months when it's time for my semi-annual dentist visit.
I'm still going through the process of dental crud. (Eventually, they'll all be pulled and I'll have dentures but they're dragging it out.) Being British heritage, my teeth are horrible! Never had braces. There wouldn't have been any sense in it.
Of course, I agree completely that all sorts of dental care should be available to everyone.
Peace,
~Ch
Not gonna talk about the 'evils of dental professionals' due to the fact that I will have flash backs! That said...
Never new anyone collected Bott Dots! I hate those damn things, every time I try to multi task and sleep while driving, they wake me up!
Damn! Just missed the Bott's Dot. I'm sure Sari will give it a proper home.
The Missus avoided braces as a child though I'm not sure how both her siblings had them. The Missus's sister did a few in braces and a few more in retainer. Two weeks after her mouth was sans orthodontia, she was in a wreck and lost three front teeth......what a waste.
lynn, i think if Em was 10 she might be excited too. At 16, not so much. Braces twice? That sounds odd. Eh, what do i know?
joan, you should ask your dentist. i would assume that the time for braces is past for you. I guess you never know.
chani, wow, that sucks. I didn't think there was any truth to the British teeth stereotype, Huh.
toni, we call it drving by the braille method. :)
patches, i'll keep my eye out for another Bott's Dot for you. It might make a great cat toy. Or maybe i could set the cat's food bowl on it and watch them try to eat with the wobble. Ha! I am mean.
what is all that litter about? i absolutely agree.
ahhh. braces. sweet braces.
I never needed braces, but two of my children did. Their father refused to contribute, even though they inherited HIS overbite, which I thought was quite unfair. It was a struggle, but so worth it.
High quality dentistry and orthodonture should be available to everyone.
I totally agree about it should be available to everyone. Crooked teeth, especially severe cases, can cause one to be prejudged in a HUGE way...and those who can't afford to have them fixed are really screwed when it comes to the better jobs, etc.
Here in Japan, there are a lot of folks with badly crooked and/or stained teeth...and though it doesn't seem to affect men as much, it can mean a huge difference in the job market for young women.
So sorry Em has to go through it, sorry you have to pay for it...but glad you're having it done.
be sure to get an orange reflector vest to go with your trash bag.
I HATE it when people litter. And my pet peeve is when cigarette smokers toss their butts on the ground, as if the world is their ashtray.
I feel for Em, but I am sure she will carry them off with inherited aplomb.
Jenny's orthodontist did quite a bit of free work for kids with really messed up teeth and no insurance. He showed me one day some of the forms - the before and after - It made Jenny's crowded and slightly crooked teeth look perfect.
Still, he convinced me of several 1000 dollars or work. her first day of braces was quite the surprise of pain. I will never forget how miserable she was, though she has erased it from memory. Like childbirth? No, I remember that too.
Afterward, her teeth are lovely BUT he used a tooth shaving technique that I would have objected to if I had seen it coming. I would suggest you not let yours do this.
seems like braces are not as ugly now as they were when we were kids.
hey, has anyone suggested putting little smiley faces on the bott's dot? i am sure it has been suggested, and done....I have a feeling those things are only in places that don't need snow plowing
Philip, our eldest, will be headed for braces. His second front tooth has emerged a good 1/4 inch higher than his first. I don't want my boy going through life like that.
One and possibly both our children will need braces, and I'm not looking forward to it. Although the kids seem to think they look like fun. HAH!
my poor cousin had braces all through high school and into college. She had the full headgear for six years. The Orth was a sadist.
jen, we are pigs it appears. In all the world of huge injustices, littering still pisses me off royally.
hearts, that IS unfair, especially if he could afford it. Poo! But you did the right thing for your kids to do it anyway.
carolie, especially these days when everyone sees whiter than white and straighter than straight teeth in all the media.
bob, i already have one from when i used to run in the dark. So i'm ready. I use my death glare on people who throw cigarette butts out of their car windows, but it doesn't seem to work. Pity that.
ac, tooth shaving? I am shuddering at the thought. I will be alert for that, thanks for the warning.
gr, we are paying a bit extra so that the top braces can be clear. The Dots are only in places that it doesn't snow much. It did snow here a few months ago and tons of them were pried up by the plows.
gordo, start saving your money now. No, you don't want him to go through life like that.
mona, hopefully they can get them when they are younger than Em is. Fun! They'll learn.
nancy, She must have felt like it was a life sentence. I sure hope her teeth are perfect after all that.
As a 33 year old woman, I am contemplating getting braces. My mom couldn't afford them when I was growing up. I am balking at the cost of them now, so I get it. I agree that they should be a covered item, rather than a vanity expense. I've always been self conscious of my snaggle tooth in the front, and now it's getting WORSE and it'th affecting my thpeech.
Oh. And...I hate it when smokers toss their cig butts on the ground too. At work, I turn them around at the door and make them pick them up and throw them away or put them in their pockets. I'm everyone's favorite!
I second the nay on the tooth shaving. Not good. From experience (I still can remember the smell, and I was 18).
I will say, as the proud claimant of the Bott's Dot, if Patches wants it, I will step aside.
I couldn't resist seeing photos of that as a cat toy.
Patches, it's in your corner. You let me know.
:-)
I got braces at 11. I fell on my face in a parking lot at 13, shitfaced on grain alcohol, (with 80-pound Teri, aforementioned by soberbriquette De, trying desperately to hold me up), undoing all the work that had been done. I then had a dentist, periodontist, endodontist, and orthodontist try to fix the mess that my father probably hadn't even finished paying for the first time. Ah yes.
Now both my kids need braces. Appointments at the end of the month. Payback is hell.
I had braces for 5 years. FIVE! But I have straight teeth now and not the crazy snaggletooth buckteeth I was destined for before they slapped some metal in my mouth.
It's worth it.
My brother had them too and needs them again. Now THAT would suck- having them twice...
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