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.

If Ye Lack Wisdom ...

When it comes to serving an LDS mission, sometimes the problem isn't lacking wisdom, but having it. Them rather. Wisdom teeth that is.

I never had my wisdom teeth out. Neither did Grayson. We really aren't even sure if we have them or not. We didn't know about Landon either. But in the prep for submitting his papers, he went in for a dental checkup and yes. Wisdom teeth. Two impacted, two under the gums. Dang ... we were actually hoping he lacked wisdom. Teeth that is.

So ... we looked up an oral surgeon and booked a date. Grayson took the afternoon off work to come help (if I needed it). They had us into the office for a Q&A, then took Landon in and put him under. Then Gray and I waited, and it was done.  I know there are a ton of funny videos, and we did film a bit, but it wasn't anything really post worthy.

At home, we set Landon up in the family room watching TV. I had to leave to pick up Keaton, and Gray was laying down for a nap himself. I asked him to stay awake just until I got back, just in case Landon wandered around or something. Gray got up, followed me into the kitchen and ... no Landon. He had wandered off. Actually, he had just ducked into the computer room hiding from us. He thought it was pretty funny.

He really wasn't that bad puffy wise. I stocked up on soft stuff to eat. Pudding, jello, yogurt ... he was back to normal in no time. Except now ... he lacks wisdom. Teeth that is.

No More Brace Face

Yea ... Callahan FINALLY got his braces off! He was sure counting down to the day (Oct 8). He did have them on longer than most kids. He got them on Feb 2010 (Hello Brace Face). It was a little early, we were trying to use up some flexible spending money that we would have otherwise lost. But for poor Callahan, it meant that he had braces on for over three years. If I had to do it again, I'd definitely wait until he was ready for sure (as it was, we had to wait until certain teeth came in to be able to get the work done).  He's got retainers now ... so if he talks with a little lisp, don't tease him!

Tooth Trouble

During our last off-track time, we had our semi-annual visits to the dentist. Cooper didn't have any cavities, but he did have a couple of his permanent teeth attempting to come down, with some baby teeth which were staying stubbornly in the way. So he needed to have two teeth extracted, and then a space maintainer put in to help things stay as straight as possible.

Cooper was nervous, but brave (and visibly relaxed when the laughing gas kicked in). He came home with his two troublesome teeth in a little box, and was rewarded with $10 ($5 for each tooth) from the tooth fairy! I guess she pays extra for brave little boys.

As the holes healed, the dentist told Cooper he couldn't have anything sharp or pointy, which might poke into  the extracted area and make them bleed again. Sharp and pointy foods being things like Doritos and Ruffles ... you should have seen the look of dismay on Cooper's face when he heard this news. Cooper LOVES his chips!  He did manage to make it a couple of days without eating any, and then I think there has been enough healing that he could indulge for Easter.

Colton lost ANOTHER tooth (his other front one) ...playing soccer out front. He took a ball to the face and the tooth was gone (it had been very loose anyway). It was literally lost ... somewhere in our front lawn. Colton wrote a big note for the tooth fairy and still did get his $2 ... although he wasn't very impressed with this compared to Cooper's $5 payday!

Toothless

Colton had been wiggling his front tooth for a while. It had wiggled enough there was a gap between it and the next tooth over, so even before it was out, there was a space there. I was glad when it actually came out! He was at school when it happened, but brought it home in a little bag. The next morning he said "When I first looked, the tooth fairy hadn't come, but I looked again and there was my money." Now ... I admit that with our flakey fairy that does happen a lot, but I happen to know that she was actually on the ball, and that money was there all night long! (She gets it right for ONCE and then still didn't get proper credit!)

Baby Teeth

Colton has been VERY anxious to lose his first tooth! Well, he was anxious for the tooth fairy to come and leave him money anyway. It seems like all his friends in kindergarten had lost a tooth or two, and he was feeling left out. Then ... one wiggled, it wiggled for a while, until he happily came home from school and stated it had fallen out ... finally! In fact ... now tooth #2 is wiggling. It's already wiggled enough there is a gap to the side, so it looks funny all alone there on the bottom with empty space on either side.

I'm glad Colton's first experience with the tooth fairy was a good one ... I always stress a little about our "flaky fairy".  AND (UPDATE) ... sure enough, that other tooth didn't last long at all! It was out by the evening. Colton LOVES the little gummy gap there on the bottom of his mouth! Although he's already excited for whichever tooth is going to come out next. I've told him there is no hurry, he's growing up quickly enough as it is!

Fairies and Facebook

So ... Cooper lost another tooth. It was one of the top, front ones ... it had been hanging on for a while (much to Mommy's chagrin ... "Wanna look at me twist my tooth Mommy?" .... no thank you!) Anyway, as mentioned in previous posts, we've had a little trouble with our tooth redemption. We have one flaky fairy! She forgets, puts the money in wrong places ... really, I'm not sure what her problem is. This time however, she actually delivered! Not only money ($1) but also a pack of basketball cards! How did she know that Cooper loves those? Now ... I happened to post on Facebook the evening of the lost tooth. I wonder if the Tooth Fairy has Facebook, and if that is what helped remind her of her job that night? Hmmmmmm .... *Ü*

Dental Days

In November, I took the three youngest in for a checkup and cleaning and they all did GREAT... but, Cooper and Keaton did need to come back for a little work, which I scheduled for their next off-track time (this past week). Now when Keaton first had work done several years ago, he was NOT cooperative. We had to opt for oral sedation, which had some extreme negative side-effects afterward (he was screaming at me, throwing things, very unusual for my little boy). He has since had some work done with just the usual helps (a little laughing gas and a numbing shot) so I was fairly sure he'd do ok. I was really worried about Cooper though (he's had so many fear issues in the past) ... but he surprised me and was an absolute angel. I'm SO relieved to have this behind us, and while we have a good dentist, I hope we don't need to see him again for work any time soon! Keaton had a tooth extracted and he placed it under his pillow that night with the usual expectations. The next morning, he called for me, lifted up his pillow and the tooth was still there ... nothing else ... his words? "Well this just sucks!" I cannot express the frustrations with our flaky fairy! Now, our boys ARE constantly changing their sleeping locations, so it can be a little difficult for the tooth fairy to always get it right, when she's never sure where the kids will be sleeping. Almost always after the initial disappointment, when MOM looks around, she finds a little tooth money under a different pillow. Such was the case ... Keaton got his cash ... what will he spend it on? That is a topic for another post ...

And They're Off ...

Landon finally got his braces off! He had them on for over two years. Now it's time for a retainer on top (and bottom) ... we paid a little extra to get a cool logo on it.

Here's an earlier shot from July 2009 ...

Bye Bye Baby Teeth

Cooper lost his FIRST tooth. It's been wiggling and loose for a while now. Early Saturday morning he excitedly told me it had fallen out. We put it under his pillow and he got $2 from the tooth fairy (I'm glad the tooth fairy was on top of things ... I can't TELL you how many times she's flaked out on our kids!).

Hello Brace Face ...

Callahan has braces! Just a few to start as things get moved into position and a few more teeth come out (he lost TWO just last week ... does the tooth fairy have an age limitation?). Just as we're concluding Landon's monthly visits (he should be getting his off in the next little bit) we start at the very beginning with #2 ... I think he looks cute!