TAA-DAA!!!

Here it is folks! My new smile and corrected jaw!!! These pictures are from my phone so they kinda suck...but you get the picture. I will post new ones up with my digital camera as soon as I get a chance. I'm so so so so so happy with the results and my new smile! It honestly make the whole thing sooooo worth the pain. I couldn't stop smiling yesterday and looking at myself in the mirror! I immediatly sent a picture via text to all my friends...They were all so excited for me!

My teeth feel slimey and wierd...they feel small! And eating without braces is soooo easy! I forget I don't have to check to see if I have food stuck all up in my grill anymore! I feel like I constatly have to swallow because I have extra saliva! I'm sure it's all in my head but I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything in the world!


Can you see them?!!! the wires and brackets that were with me for a whole 14 months and 28 days! RIP! You will NOT be missed! LOL













Taking them off went rather quickly...it's the polishing and grinding of the glue from your teeth that takes forever and it hurts! They warned me that if I had sensitive teeth the 'glue-removal' process would hurt and be a bit painful...boy they weren't kidding! My teeth must be sensitive becuase it hurt :( I had to have her stop filing about 4 times! After that was done It was a breeze! They handed me the mirror and let me check out my new pearly whites! I almost cried...I saw myself stare back at myself in the mirror and just felt all warm and happy inside! I still can't get over the fact that I don't have braces!

After they took them off they took molds of my teeth in this icky puddy stuff. It only took one try and we got good impressions from both top and bottom grills. I just had to remember to breath through my nose becuase you litterally have a mouth-full of puddy! Not fun but not as painful as the griding!

I allowed myself to take the rest of the day off from work becuase this was an exciting day for me!! I got a mani and pedi and got my hair did! I felt like a whole new woman by the end of the day. I feel so confident to just give a big smile to everyone I pass :D Show off my new grill. Kinda like this:












OK that's a bit exagerated but I feel like doing that sometimes! haha!

People have reacted in different ways...It's kinda funny some of the things I hear...

Things people have said:

WOW!
You look older
Your neck looks skinnier
Your cheeck bones are more defined
Your teeth are so perfect they look like dentures...lol
Your teeth look huge
Your teeth are soooo white
You can kiss your boyfriend now!
Your teeth look nice
Your smile is amazing
You look like a new person

I go in to the ortho to pick up my clear retainers today...I'll let ya know how it goes!

I just wanted to share some quick pics. I will post new ones soon.

xoxo,
Claudia

T minus 3 hours!!

My co-worker Vicki...she left this on my desk this morning!

Tomorrow is THE Day!!!

Tomorrow I get my grill off and out of my life forever! I'm so happy that I could scream! Just SO excited... It's all the little things I'm excited about:

Red Wine
Mustard
Coffee
Biting into an apple
Biting into a sandwich
Flossing like a normal person
Teeth whitening toothpaste
Getting rid of the small Christmas tree thingies
No mouth sores
Taking Pictures!
Meeting new people
Blending in with most other adults my age
Licorice!
Not having to worry about eating while I'm on a date
Getting rid of those pesky rubber bands...I swear they are everywhere! EVERYWHERE!
And last but not least....
SMILING :-D

Will keep you guys posted...I'm hoping the process of taking them off goes easy and fast!

xoxo, Claudia :)

An Official Countdown!

I walked into work yesterday and found this taped to the door of my office...I get to peel one back everyday until THE day! Some of my co-workers came up with the idea, since apparently I can't shut up about it! LOL I thought it was kinda cute :)

I also keep joking that on September 21st when I come back after the ortho...minus my grill, I better hear the "Let Me See Yo' Grill" song by 50cent! They probably think I'm the bigest Ru-Tard! LOL

xoxo,

Claudia :)

I'M SO EXCITED!!! THAT I JUST CAN'T HIDE IT...

I went in for my followup appointment this afternoon...I must admit I was a bit nervous because of my last appointment and the 'deadline' I wanted the doc to reach haha! I had been soooo good about wearing my bands 23/7 that I would have been disappointed if my ortho had seen no improvement...but NOT the case!!! He said my teeth were doing really good and that he could tell I was wearing my bands like I was supposed to be :)

The assistant was extra nice to me (not that they usually aren't) but was very helpful and explaining what she was doing. She also said that my bite was doing really well and that she could really tell my teeth were improving! Like I mentioned in an earlier post I'm a little unusual (as though you couldn't tell) because I'm missing my canine teeth. I never had them, they never came in, and never will. Weird I know...but my dentist says it can happen in 1 out of every 3 people or something like that. My case is extra unusual because mine were missing from birth where in most cases if someone is missing their canines they are missing them because they pull them out. Anyway...she said my bite was really good and that she thought the ortho might shave my teeth down a bit in order to give my bottom teeth the room they need to move a bit back! I was kinda scared when she said shave my teeth! I thought to myself "God...I can't have him grind my teeth down! What if he grinds too much?! My teeth are priceless to me after all that my grill and I have gone through we've bonded and I don't want all this pain to have no gain!" I was over reacting (which I tend to do) she explained he would grind just a little on the back of my teeth...where it wasn't noticeable and he wouldn't grind too much, just enough to let my bottom teeth move a bit. At this point I'm willing to do anything and everything to get these suckers off! So I agreed.

The assistant finished doing the usual pull, tie, twist routine. She put my powerchains on and called the doc over. The doc came over and looked at my teeth. "How's it look?" "Good I hope!" He looked at my bite looked at the computer and said..."Looks good! Looks like you've been wearing your bands huh?!" I was so excited when he said that! I kept joking with my co-workers that if my ortho didn't see improvement I was going to ask them to come with me to be my witnesses! I actually went to the extent of telling my co-workers if they didn't see me wearing my bands...I'd have to pay them a $1. They totally went along with it as every morning when I walked into my office they'd say "Are you wearing your bands?" They only caught me once without them. Paid my fee and immediately went to my office and put the suckers on! Like I said, I have been better A LOT better about my bands.

The ortho took out his tools and started griding my teeth down. He had me bite on blue carbon paper to see where he needed to grind, and did his thing. Not painful but yucky tasting! Once that was over he said..."OK looks like you're going to get your way! Your teeth look really good and I would feel comfortable taking them off in about 4 weeks." WHAAAAAAAAAAAT! 4 WEEKS! 2 WEEKS SOONER THAN EXPECTED?! I almost fell out of my chair with excitement! I wanted to cry....seriously I almost cried! I know lame right?! haha :)

He said I want you to double up on the bands on the front and get some put on the sides as well...I thought to myself "Ha! I'm two steps ahead of you! I have already been doubling up on my front bands!" But I kept that info to myself! I didn't want to get in trouble :) Now I don't even mind the dang things...it's so close that I'm willing to do anything and everything to get these off sooner rather than later.

He wants to see me again in 2 weeks to get his last fitting before they come off on September 21st at 11:10am! Then I go in on the 22nd to pick up my retainers! I'm not sure how I will feel about retainers...but right now I just living in the moment! I know for a fact that I will follow the orthos instructions and wear my retainers because I don't want my teeth to move back to their old place! NO NO! I won't let that happen!

I'm so happy right now...I called my sister and asked her to join me on that last appointment so she can video as they are taking them off, to hopefully post on this blog. We will see if she can...if not I will have pictures to show. I'm excited to get my before and afters too! I just a big ball of excitement right now! :D

Much Love and Support!
xoxo,
Claudia :)

8 Weeks And Then?!

I went in for my tightening today at 12pm and surprised my ortho by telling him I wanted my braces off by Sept 29th. I just chose 8 weeks from today's date! LOL I told him I was going to a wedding on Oct 2nd and I really didn't want my grill to join me. He looked at me funny and said "what?" LOL actually saw my teeth and said that if I stick with it and wear my rubber bands all the time...it could be done! I'm wearing my bands about 20 hours a day and I have been better about wearing them since I haven't had many presentations lately at work. He wants to see me in 3 weeks on August 24th to see my progress! 3 weeks! He said he would do his best to move my teeth as close to perfect as he could in the 8 week time frame I gave him! hahaha! He said if at the end of 8 weeks he thought I wasn't ready to take them off he would tell me his honest opinion, and then it would be up to me. To be honest, if he can't get them to where he wants them...I won't take them off and just end my treatment later this year. I just want to see how close he can get and how fast he can get there!

My jaw is in place where it should be and there is no need to have my braces on anymore to try to avoid jaw surgery. I will NOT have to have it!!!!! The only reason to have them on now is just for cosmetic purposes. To get my teeth to look nice :D I'm so excited that I won't have to have jaw surgery and that it IS possible to get these suckers off in 8 weeks! OMG! I'm so excited!

He also let me see my before pictures, the day I came in to get my braces they took pictures of my teeth. It's amazing how different my smile is from that day! I'm so excited! If you read my first post...I actually didn't think I had crooked teeth and the only reason I was getting the grill was because of my jaw! I'm actually glad I got them because my smile is sooo much better...I'm so happy with it!

On another note, I celebrated my birthday yet another weekend by hosting a BBQ at my house and it was SOOOO fun! I invited about 30 people and I bought tons and tons of food and booze! LOL I wanted everyone to have a good ol' time! And we did...It was also the first time most of my friends and some family would meet the 'boy'! He fit right and and they loved him :) which makes me happy! VERY happy!

I didn't know how much work went into hosting a party! I've had my house for about 6 years and never have had a party...I have small groups of people over about 5 people max and that's work enough...now imagine 30! I decorated my back yard, bought a fire pit, and enough lawn furniture for 25 people! I had help, my cousin and some friends helped me prep food, then the guys helped grill the food. Overall the party was a success! We had lots of fun! It was almost like a going away party for my grill too! haha!






Sharing some party pics!






























































Yummy Tacos! LOL









Some of the girls.









My Mom!












My Bug

Happy 27th Birthday!

Hi fellow followers! Just a quick note to let you guys know that my birthday this year was one of the absolute best yet! Whoda thunk that I would be so comfortable in my polished grill on my birthday...honestly it didn't bother me one bit! I'm getting so used to my grill that when it's gone in a few months...It will take some getting used to being without one! I'll probably feel the same way I did when I got them on...Like a complete fool! I'll need to learn to talk in a new way so that I don't spit at anyone! LOL I'm willing to take the risk of re-learning to eat, drink, talk, sing, whatever...as long as I get this grill off! I'm getting so so so excited to get them off now that it's closer :D It will be a little sad because...then what will happen with my blog?? I mean...If this blog is about braces and they come off...then what do I do?! I'll have to create a personal blog I guess...but It won't be the same :(

So for my birthday a few friends came with me to watch the boat races! We left town on Friday night and had a few drinks and appetizers at a lounge. Actually one of my friends and her husband own the lounge so it was nice since we knew them. We chatted up a storm and had a lot of fun! Saturday morning we woke up put our bathing suits on and went to the boat races on the lake! It was like 105 degrees that day...but if you know me, you know I LOVE the heat! So it was the perfect bday present from mother nature! Plus we sat under a tent most of the time.

After the boat races my girls and my grill went to Karissa's house for a nice dip in her pool! It was nice to catch some sun rays...I'm already tan, but after swimming for a few hours I was even more tan! LOL

Later that night we went to have dinner at Bonefish, a seafood place...super yummy food and super duper yummy watermelon martini's! Not made from the watermelon flavoring...but from real watermelon! It was so delish! I'll have to share those pics in my next post...I don't have those on my phone camera which is where these are from.

After dinner we went dancing! It was so much fun to dance with the girls ALL night! I mean to the point where my legs hurt! It was a good workout for sure! Stayed up way past midnight when it was officially my birthday! Girls sang happy birthday to me and we had a shot of Patron to celebrate the occasion...which I hated! But did it anyway...in honor of my 27th year of life! Like I said in my last post, I'm so thankful to God and the world for what it has given me...everything it has offered and thrown my way. I'm just so thankful for life right now that words can not explain how I feel! So if you're reading my blog God, I just want to say THANK YOU FOR ALL THE BLESSINGS AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

On Sunday, we drove back home and my mom wanted me to have dinner with her and my brother at her house. She cooked...what's better than mom's homemade enchiladas for dinner? NOTHING! She made enchiladas, had flowers for me, baloons, and a small cake...it was the cutest nicest thing! Of course my mom is an amazing woman anyway...she always knows how to host dinners and I'm blessed and lucky to have her in my life! I'm lucky to have family and friends who surround me and make life even more blessed. So for this small intimate dinner my mom said invite some friends...I'll cook for all of you! So I decided to take my 'special' friend. The one who sent flowers for my birthday. Plus...the girls were already home and they'd spent the last 2 nights with me, so they were off the hook. And I wanted to introduce him to my mom...and what a better time than durring my birthday dinner? So I had mentioned it to him a few days before and he agreed to go. He picked me up at my house around 2:30 then we drove to my moms. We go there around 3:00, mom opened the door and I introduced them. They were both a little nervous...Heck I was nervous! I've never ever taken anyone home to meet my family so this is a huge step for me!

Dinner went well, my sister, her bf, and my younger brother joined us for dinner. It was a great time. They didn't drill him with questions and made him feel comfortable. As comfortable as that situation could be anyway :) After dinner...mom pulls out old photo albums! Of course...you know like when you see in the movies where parents show the guest pictures of you naked in the tub when you were 3?! Yeah...this reallyl actually happened! SWEAR! No pictures of my naked toddler butt, but definetly some embarassing pictures! Then my mother pulls out my Senior graduation pictures! Great! When my mom handed him the third album...I pulled it away and hid it. I said ok...enough embarrasment! I mean I was turning red! LOL other than that...it went well. We left a few hours later, he had a soccer game (he plays for a local leauge) and then we watched a movie. Overall one of the BEST birthday's ever. I was so happy through every moment of it! :) and still am :)

Girls at the boat races:










My cousin Elizabeth...people say we look alike, what do you think?










Oh and I found me a baby! She was the cutest thing ever! Wearing a little swim suit and as adorable as ever!









Very interested in my hat:









And my grill!

Lots of Love,

Claudia :)