Another Brace Face

Now there are two brace faces at my house. I got braces on my bottom teeth today.

I won't have to wear them long, just a few months or so. In May I'm getting a dental implant in the back of my mouth, and if I want my bottom teeth straight, they have to be set before the crown is placed on my implant in August or September. So, the only way to move them fast was braces.

Leyden said I should get clear rubber bands since I am a "professional," but since all we had was gray when I had braces as a child, I decided to have fun with it and got Caribbean Blue rubber bands.

So far, so good with the braces. I've only had to use wax once, and they don't really hurt. Of course, I started taking ibuprofen before they were put on and have taken it every four hours. Because I'm on the "fast track" for treatment, I will have to go back to the orthodontist more often than Leyden, and the wires will get tighter and tighter every time, so I'm sure there will be some pain somewhere in this journey. But, if I'm gonna spend the money on an implant, I want my smile to look good!

When the braces come off, he will put in a bonded retainer, which is a wire that is bonded to the back of my bottom teeth. It doesn't come out, so I won't have to worry about remembering to put in my retainer, and my teeth won't shift anymore.

I use the same orthodontist as Leyden, and she was in the chair beside me when I went to see him about our plan for getting my teeth straight in time for the implant. Who would have ever thought I'd be in the orthodontist chair beside my child? That was wild!

So, I'm back to looking like a teenager again. Too bad I don't have the energy of one!

Brace Face

Well, I still haven't had time to get those pictures from the SD card to the computer. But, I know a lot of you who read my blog haven't seen Leyden since she got braces, so I thought I'd post a picture we took the day she got her braces (March 5th).


It is amazing how quickly the gap between her front teeth is closing. She will have to wear braces for 18 months, but we're grateful that it's not 24 months or more. Yet another rite of passage... she's growing up! :-(

I'm Still Here!

I'm still here... just haven't had much time to blog. I was out of town three of the four weekends in March, and Leyden has started softball, so we've been at the ball field quite a bit. I've also survived a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a professional development conference, and I weathered Legal Professionals Week with my local legal professionals association. They even honored me with the Member of the Year award! I was so surprised, and so happy to receive this honor.

A couple of weeks ago, Leyden and I went to Birmingham to visit my Buckner/Grigsby cousins, and we stayed with my cousin Emily. We had such a good time! Emily took us to the zoo and we went shopping at the Vera Bradley store, and ate cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory. (Can you believe that I asked if they have dessert there? I meant to ask, "Can you get just dessert?") We read my grandfather's diary and laughed until we cried. We were there the day Twilight came out on video, so our first stop that day was Target to buy two copies - one for Leyden and one for Emily. They stayed up late that night to watch the movie - I went to bed. We had dinner with our other Buckner/Grigsby cousins at a fun Mexican restaurant, and then we went to my cousin Claire's house for cake. It was fun, I tell you - good fun!

I promised Emily I would post the pictures from our trip, but I haven't slowed down long enough to get the pictures from the SD card to the computer. Emily, as soon as I can, I'm going to post those pictures!

Well, I must go... duty calls!