So, my appointment last week was scheduled for a wire change.  I know it was a wire change, because they scheduled me for a wire change and said I should try to schedule my 3 month cleaning in conjunction with it since they're taking my wires out and I would be up for my 3 month cleaning.  So, all was good and well with that last week.  Wires out, cleaning, come back and get my new wires in...... or so I thought.  When they first got back in I thought, 1.) it was weird they were taking wires out of an envelope with my name on it (like they put my old ones back in there to hold and put back in after my teeth cleaning) and 2.) there was no immediate pressure when she put them in.  By the next day I was pretty sure I didn't get new wires because I had no pain and was eating normally, an I called to schedule the wire change, which was yesterday.  Coincidentally, the orthodontist looked me over and said he doesn't think I need a new wire anyway (so I'll now have these same wires in for a total of 13 weeks), so he'll just take the appointment to put in that Transpalatal Bar I talked about in my last post.  Uuuuggghhhhh.... I was not expecting that.  Good thing I ate a gigantic $150 fancy fondue meal the night before. 

He again warned me that this thing is not going to be fun.  And he's right.  I think this is probably the worst part of the whole braces experience so far.  I gagged all day yesterday since this thing is touching the back of my tongue, and touches the way back part of my tongue when I'm talking or doing anything to thrust my tongue a little forward.  Today is not as bad, but I'm still gagging.  The two back molars it's engaging are so sore and I have a pretty good headache, so I'm not eating much, but if I could, I'm afraid to eat with this thing.  I'm just waiting for a piece of food, especially something stringy like spinach or something, to get wrapped around that thing and half of it will be down my throat with the other half wrapped/stuck around this bar and I'll have to reach back there and dislodge it and unchoke myself.  That's going to be quite a show in a restaurant! Ha!

So, the sentence for this thing is "months," which is all the ortho said to me.  I need to start doing a little dance and praying to the molar gods that these things turn/angle in quicker than normal because I have no clue how I

I had my second wire change today, and my first cleaning/wire change combo.  I really wasn't worried about anything this time.  I knew what the wire change was going to be like now, and my cleanings have been going well with my dentist and I have been cleaning more than ever since I got braced, so I was expecting a clean bill of health.  Boy was I wrong!  First of all, my dentist is going on maternity leave and I got seen by her replacement who will be in for her through January.  Super super nice lady and I enjoyed chatting with her.  But, I didn't like what she told me about my teeth.  I have 2 cavities in between banded teeth, a cavity on top of another tooth, and an old cavity that looks questionable and she wants to refill it.  This sucks on so many levels.  First of all, I've had pretty major problems on my dental journey, but rarely do I have cavities.  Like, I just never get them.  Lots of other problems, but not cavities.  Second, I'll need to have two bands and a bracket removed for this.  I hate-- like, REALLY hate getting the bands on.  I'll probably hate getting them off too.  Third, my insurance is great for big things like root canals and crowns (I don't pay anything for them-- sweet!) but absolutely sucks for resin fillings.  I'm looking at a $650 price tag for these 4 puppies.  And that's after they gave me a break from the original $1040 price.  FML.  And the thing that really kills me about all of this?  The dentist said my hygiene is great and my teeth are super clean!  Seriously?!  These cavities just come out of nowhere just because, then?  Ugh!

So, I'm pretty bummed out about that as I'm walking back over to my orthodontist's office to get my wires changed up and put back on.  But then it gets even better.  The ortho tells me that my back upper molars aren't angling the way he wants, so he needs to install a bar across the roof of my mouth connected to the molars. I heard him tell the assistant to schedule me for a TPB or something, so I looked that up real quick:

This in no way looks fun.  And the ortho even looked at me and said "oh, I can tell you this will be fun."  With sarcasm of course.  Super.  So, I'm going back next week to get the bands off and get the fillings, and then come back in after the fillings are done and get the bands/brackets back on as well as get this fun little gem put in.  Lucky me.

On a separate note-- I asked about my 6-8 month surgery estimate and I really did get a clear answer from my ortho about it.  He didn't say no, but he also mentioned something about maybe taking the whole year with me to get most of my ortho done and then I'll only have to be in braces a few months after surgery to fine tune everything.  We'll see, I guess!  But based on a hunch I have, I am going to go ahead and buy my season snowboarding pass now and assume I'll be riding through at least the end of February.  Hopefully all of March too!