Braces Beginning ~ Ortho END

 

It's the end of orthodontia for the Blackham family, as Colton wrapped up his braces saga. It started in September of 2019, soon after he switched schools to Joel P for his 8th grade year.  The monthly appointments are always a bit of a struggle during the school year, as getting after-school visits aren't always possible. Then came Covid ... which shut down schools AND dental/ortho offices for several weeks (postponing appointments). 

When the office started accepting appointments again, they would only allow one other individual with the patient, and masks were required. Our ortho office is very close by (walkable even, under a mile) but has no right turn (off 7800) which makes it a bit of a pain to get out of and turned around for home. I got in the habit of just dropping off Colton at the end of the neighborhood (by the Maverick Church) and having him walk the short distance. This had been common practice with the older boys too. Then afterward he'd start walking home, I'd often go grab him so he didn't have to walk the full distance home, meeting up in the neighborhood. With Covid, as Colton started his 9th grade year, he was only at school in person for three classes in the morning, and leaving before lunch. The rest of his classes were online (although he was going to the high school for basketball class on A days in the afternoons) and so his schedule was much more flexible for ortho appointments. At the very end of his ortho journey, he was able to drive himself to appointments!

I remember a funny exchange in May of 2021 ... 

• Jen: The orthodontist said your son should be getting his braces off soon.
• Grayson: That's good. Which son?
• Jen: Ummm, the ONE who has braces?

"Soon" apparently has different meanings, as the removal ended up months away. Finally, in March of 2022, Colton got his braces off. He has a permanent retainer on the bottom, and a clear retainer for the top. Hopefully his teeth will remain pretty and straight. I wonder if he'll show teeth in his smiles for photos now :)

I was glancing back on the blog about the other boys ortho (I had a "teeth" label, which hits baby teeth and wisdom teeth too). I have Landon's "done" picture, and a small post as Callahan started up and finished up. I didn't have anything for Keaton. I looked and found an "after" picture, but no before ... really none with a smile showing braces! His ortho experience mirrored Colton's. Getting them on in 8th grade, and getting them off halfway through sophomore year. I remember the orthodontist saying that Keaton had small/few teeth (unlike so many who have to get teeth pulled because of overcrowding). The opposite end can be an issue too, as they can only pull them together to a certain extent. The end result looked fine to me. Cooper ... didn't get braces! I'm sure an orthodontist would say there were issues, but doctor/dentist appointments are such a struggle, and his teeth are really pretty straight, so ... Grayson never had braces either.