Uh-oh...
This week marked my first official braces "emergency." At some point early in the week I noticed that one of my upper brackets was loose and just hanging out, sliding along the wire. It didn't seem like such a big deal, so I ignored it. Until Wednesday when I was eating lunch and the bracket was spinning around with my food. That's when I thought, "Hmmm...this is probably not supposed to happen." I called the orthodontist's office and was told that it would "only get worse."
The next morning I scheduled to go into the orthodontist's upper eastside office. I typically go to the one downtown near NYU. When I stepped into the office, I was greeted by 4 receptionists (instead of one) and an entire wall of color-coded files that looked more like an art installation than a filing system. To my right was a life-sized playhouse and an arcade room. Yes, you read that correctly: an arcade room (complete with Ms. PacMan)! As opposed to the shoebox of an office I am used to, this was a mansion. I had never seen anything quite like it. I told one of the receptionists my name and she said, "Oh, yes, you're the emergency. Have a seat." So, I sat and waited for 30 minutes before I was taken back through the long and winding hallway painted like a fairy tale castle.
The bracket that had come unattached was on a tooth with a filling and after the doctor took a look at it, he said he was surprised it had stayed on as long as it had. There were two options--either put another bracket on, or put a band around tooth. He said that he typically tries to keep his adult patients away from bands, but in this case it was probably the best option. But, before the band could go on, I had to, once again, get plastic "spacers" between my teeth to add extra room. The assistant was very gentle and when everything was finished, she asked if I felt okay. I said yes, but decided to mention that the wire was cutting into my cheeks on the right side. It was very small, but I figured it was worth a shot to mention. She said that even something that tiny can become very painful and she was able to cut it off.
So, now I have to go back in to the office next week to get the band put on. I'm not even exactly sure what that will entail and am annoyed now because I was getting used to things the way they were. I'm also a bit annoyed because I feel like this may set me back a few weeks in terms of getting my braces off.
PS--I wrote this post last week so please change any references of "this week" to "last week" and stay tuned...there is more to this developing story!
The next morning I scheduled to go into the orthodontist's upper eastside office. I typically go to the one downtown near NYU. When I stepped into the office, I was greeted by 4 receptionists (instead of one) and an entire wall of color-coded files that looked more like an art installation than a filing system. To my right was a life-sized playhouse and an arcade room. Yes, you read that correctly: an arcade room (complete with Ms. PacMan)! As opposed to the shoebox of an office I am used to, this was a mansion. I had never seen anything quite like it. I told one of the receptionists my name and she said, "Oh, yes, you're the emergency. Have a seat." So, I sat and waited for 30 minutes before I was taken back through the long and winding hallway painted like a fairy tale castle.
The bracket that had come unattached was on a tooth with a filling and after the doctor took a look at it, he said he was surprised it had stayed on as long as it had. There were two options--either put another bracket on, or put a band around tooth. He said that he typically tries to keep his adult patients away from bands, but in this case it was probably the best option. But, before the band could go on, I had to, once again, get plastic "spacers" between my teeth to add extra room. The assistant was very gentle and when everything was finished, she asked if I felt okay. I said yes, but decided to mention that the wire was cutting into my cheeks on the right side. It was very small, but I figured it was worth a shot to mention. She said that even something that tiny can become very painful and she was able to cut it off.
So, now I have to go back in to the office next week to get the band put on. I'm not even exactly sure what that will entail and am annoyed now because I was getting used to things the way they were. I'm also a bit annoyed because I feel like this may set me back a few weeks in terms of getting my braces off.
PS--I wrote this post last week so please change any references of "this week" to "last week" and stay tuned...there is more to this developing story!
posted by TinselTeeth at 4:15 PM
1 Comments:
Oh I used to love the video games at my orthodontist's office.
Post a Comment
<< Home