dianaschnuth

Today was kind of a big day: I scheduled my extractions. After December 6th, there’s no turning back.

My orthodontist, Dr. N., told me during my initial consultation that I’d need to have four teeth removed. After doing some research online, it seems that these teeth (the first bicuspids, or “fours,” as the orthodontic staff call them) are fairly common extractions for adult braces.

Of course, after getting my wisdom teeth extracted a couple years back, I was initially fearing the worst: twice as much pain with getting four teeth extracted as for two. I took some time during a break in my work today to Google “tooth extraction braces” and discovered a site that’s going to be a go-to resource for me in months to come: Archwired.com. Specifically, Archwired’s guide on Getting Teeth Extracted for Braces. If my experience is like other adults’, this should be no big thing — not nearly as bad as getting my one over-erupted and one impacted wisdom tooth removed.

So, I have my extraction scheduled for Thursday, December 6, 2012. I’m leaning on my faith in Dr. N’s knowledge and experience, since he won’t have seen me since the braces went on, and so won’t have been able to determine how I’m responding to treatment so far. He’s just done this enough that he knows.

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I’ve always wanted braces.

Ever since my adult teeth grew in, awkwardly filling the gap that my baby teeth had long since vacated, I remember thinking how much I wished we could afford to send me to an orthodontist. My family could barely afford school clothes and Christmas presents, though, much less thousands of dollars of orthodontic work.

But my third grade teacher, Mrs. Wallace, was in her mid-fifties and got her braces off over Christmas break the year I was in her class. That made a huge impression on eight-year-old Diana: I realized that I could get my teeth fixed whenever I wanted — even as a grown-up!

Fast-forward almost thirty years, and here I am. Today was the day.

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