Braces - at over 60?

August, 2010

Yep - I bit the bullet - I am wired. Nearly a month now. No insurance and nearly $6,000. While I bitch - I meet women everyday who need to do this and cannot afford it. They have jobs but cannot even buy a used car. Knock on wood and I consider myself lucky. I made it this far.

My lips are a mess. They gave me wax but I haven't used it - I just spent the first week not talking.

Botox is not feasible. Even though the "11" between my eyes is back with a vengence and needs to be removed. The "11" cost me a raise once at AMCC because "you always look mad" - this is called age discrimination. It was just added to the sexual discrimination that was so rampant there.

The first time I got botox, lips and forehead "11", I got chased around a store by a man who wanted to date me, the department director actually spoke to me (been there over 4 years), and strange men would wait 5 minutes for me to reach a door they were holding. This was funny - and extremely sad.

As for the braces, I can touch the top and bottom teeth together the first time in years.

I am losing weight - between bouts of diarrhea due to the egg situation. Who knew? My eggs were not on the list - Omega 3 $$ eggs! So I ate raw cookie cough, and I had made a soft-top egg sandwhich - the kind where the egg yolk runs on the double-fiber bread. Nummy. Well, that was the last one! I was using eggs as a soft food I could eat in peace! Ha! So much for that!

I can chew on the right side back - because the wires are only on the front this month. I have no idea what to do after they wire it all up!

TWELVE MONTHS - and most people lose a few pounds. Well - I took that as a challenge! Yes I can eat M&Ms and covered peanuts! Well, until they wire up the back!

I have a water pik, three tooth brushes, brush several times a day - even at work, suffer from dry mouth(!) - no gum, no sticky stuff, no biting. I can eat by cutting things up tiny - well, you should anyway.

This all started because Whoopi came on the View and said - teeth are important - and she had Invisiline. Well, my teeth were so badly aligned (the top and bottom did not have the center line in the same place) and since I lost the back tooth lower left when John was fighting for his life (so I skipped doing a replacement implant), the upper left tooth is waundering to the back - making a large space that has been growing (the dentist just made a large cap for one space - not the correct thing to do!) - the dentist said Invisiline wouldn't work for me. Cosmetic - but not enough to align the jaw.

Eating had become a hassle. Food jams there. Steak, chicken, anything that can pack, I have to run for the high-powered water pick. Which means, only soft things in the restaurant and carry floss with you at all time.

A retainer will be required forever ----- I would prefer that permanant band I have seen that does not allow the teeth to move.

Yes, I had braces when I was a child. horrible dentist. Terrible results. Crooked teeth and now everything but the front 6-8 are capped. And the front ones have fillings where the metal rubbed. 1950s - they didn't know things.

These are anchored to the front of the teeth and wired. They can remove the wire for teeth cleaning.

I can floss even with the bands - that's a trick and takes a 10X mirror.

Well, if I can eat comfotably, and not be upset at photos that show my teeth anymore, that will be worth the effort. Your teeth control your health. Bad gums lead to heart disease. Well, at my age, everthing leads to heart disaese. Including M&Ms.

Meanwhile, I am watching my GI track. Double fiber Engligh muffin and hot decaf is breakfast. Yogurt, banana (broken in pieces) and Medifast bars/shakes are my lunch and snack at work, and no biting if I can avoid it. I can bite the muffin - because I immediately go brush my teeth.

I am smaller. I am working on loosing the gut. It also leads to heart disease.

Must go eat, and walk the puppies. After brushing.