I Finally Did It and It Wasn’t That Bad!
Thu, Oct 8, 2009
I’ve had my braces on since April. The bottom teeth have metal, traditional wires, and the top teeth have Invisalign. When I first started the process, I wasn’t pregnant. By the time the molds were done, the fittings complete, and the braces were actually ready, I was. I mention this because it has had a great impact on the quality of my teeth and the brace-wearing process.
Apparently when wearing Invisalign you are supposed to take them out every time you eat and then brush your teeth and put them back in. No problem right? Unless you’re eating every half an hour and then throwing up nearly as many times. It was only a couple of months before I stopped wearing those suckers simply because I had better things to worry about it. Then there was the problem with my two front teeth.
The orthodontist had told me early on that as soon as he put the braces on the bottom teeth, I would need to get two superfluous teeth removed. I was actually glad to hear this – one of these teeth has bugged me for as long as I can remember since it sticks out from all the others. I wasn’t going to be sorry to see it go. But again, with the pregnancy, everything was put on hold.
So finally, this week, at 22 weeks along and safely past the 1st trimester and morning sickness, I was ready to have those two trouble teeth pulled. Can I just tell you how terrified I was? I normally need a nice dose of relaxation medication before heading to the dentist even for a cleaning, and this would be the first time that this wasn’t an option.
I gathered all the courage I had and made my way to the oral surgeon’s office. I signed the paperwork and five minutes later found myself sitting in the chair. Ten minutes later, I was on my way home.
That was it? That’s what I was worried about for weeks? The shots (all six of them) hurt more than anything else. I drooled for about two hours and had to change the gauze every 30 minutes, but other than that, it was a relatively painless procedure. Besides, now I have these cool holes in my mouth that I proudly wear as battle scars to show that I did it! I went to the dentist terrified and weak and I emerged victorious! If I can do that, I can do anything.
Labor pains and child birth? Please, that’ll be nothing!
(Yes, that was said completely tongue in cheek, no pun intended.)
What experience have you had that ended up being better than you thought? (Or worse than you thought?)
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Going to the Dentist: Painful In More Ways Than One
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Tags: dentist, Pregnancy Life
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October 8th, 2009 at 5:32 am
I had braces in 7th grade and they really weren’t that bad, either. Even though I wore my retainer regliously for over 10 years, a couple of my teeth did move slightly and I have wanted to try invisalign. Just haven’t taken the plunge!
October 8th, 2009 at 5:35 am
I tore my ACL skiing a few years ago, and had surgery to fix it. Unfortunately I don’t tolerate narcotic pain meds like Vicoden… so I was SO dizzy, throwing up all the time, etc… plus it didn’t touch the pain in my knee at all!
Want to know what actually got rid of the pain almost immediately? Extra strength Tylenol! Yup
I was like, ummm, why did they insist on me taking Vicoden for 3 days before saying, oh, some people can’t tolerate it? So now I know
October 8th, 2009 at 5:51 am
You’re brave! Ha, good for you to get it done, even though you’re in the midst of exciting things like making a baby. Lord knows you probably won’t have the time or energy or urge to do it once you have a beautiful smiling baby to look at every day.
October 8th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Jessica – I actually really like Invisalign so if you get a chance to do it, I recommend them. Just don’t let too long go by before wearing them once you get them or you could be in for a world of hurt! I had to go back to stage one and start wearing my first one again and it’s so tight!!
Kelly – ouch! I had a knee problem a few years ago and I went to the doctor and had x-rays and they gave me crutches, the whole nine yards. Finally, I took a few Motrin, and the pain was gone! Go figure.
Kate – I know! Truth be told, if I knew we were going to get pregnant at the same time, I would have held off just because it’s so expensive! But I’ve got them on now and I’m glad to be finally getting them done!
October 8th, 2009 at 6:25 am
I’m SOOOOO proud of you! This is HUGE! Can’t wait to get those braces off of you and see the final product.
October 8th, 2009 at 6:55 am
I need a shot of your bravery! I have been avoiding getting my wisdom teeth pulled because. I’ve never been put under for a procedure before and I hear stories about dry socket and it just makes me not all that anxious to dial the phone and schedule the appointment. Hopefully when I finally get it done it won’t be that bad!
October 8th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Oh wow. That was brave! Dental pain scares me to death. Can’t wait to see the “after” pics.
October 8th, 2009 at 7:31 am
I had put off having a root canal for years.. really, years! I was in San Antonio visiting friends once, a few weeks before my husband and I were scheduled to go to Disney for a vacation, and the tooth started in again. The time had come. I drove home in a medicated fog and went to the oral surgeon’s office the next day. 2 hours later I left and couldn’t figure out what I had feared so much..
it was so easy! I’ve had another one since then, and that was even easier. Nothing to fear but fear itself, right?
October 8th, 2009 at 7:57 am
Good for you!! I have put off the dentist for quite a while because I’m a big chicken.
I was always terrified about the blood draws when I was pregnant, because I hate needles and it seems like you have to get blood drawn for some test or another every other day. Of course, they were never as bad in reality as they were in my mind.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:18 am
I remember in high school being so terrified of getting shots, that I almost got kicked out of school. I finally went, and it was so not a big deal at all. In fact, I started donating blood on a regular basis.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Lol labor and birth. Labor – better and easier than I thought. Delivery – harder.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:25 am
I’m reading your comments and realizing that I’m not the only one who thinks things are harder than they end up being. Although Sarah, your comment has me a little worried, I’ll admit.
That whole delivery thing has got me a little concerned already.
October 8th, 2009 at 9:01 am
Having my wisdom teeth pulled. I was ready to be in a ton of pain afterward, but it turns out there was zero pain! The worst part was the nausea from the anesthesia.
October 8th, 2009 at 9:29 am
A colonoscopy. You’re young, so it may be a while before you experience that. But it is also in the ‘no big deal’ category! Glad you’re still feeling well!
October 8th, 2009 at 10:56 am
And I thought delivery was the easy part!
October 8th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Do you know what was really painful and I was told it wasn’t going to be so? Getting my wisdom teeth pulled out. I decided to go for all at once because I had no vacation days left (aside from that friday that I took for the wisdom teeth). I had to call out sick on a monday – and once they took me off the pain killers, I was still in so much pain, my face looked bruised and swollen. And it was just a really bad experience. I didn’t get back to normal until a week plus later.
Glad it went will for you!
October 8th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Honestly, child birth. HA HA HA! Only in the sense that I went into it with the mentallity of “I’ve done it without drugs once and I’ll do it again” and it was harder and longer than the first time. But… I came out with my arms are and cheering.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:34 am
oh man, I remember having my wisdom teeth pulled! I was awake during it (my doctor felt that most women became sick afterwards so he didn’t put me under). it wasn’t too bad except for the swelling afterwards.
Dalnapen1- belive it or not, I’ve had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy – you’re right, they’re not that bad!
October 8th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
So proud of you and I can’t wait to see the finished product. Hard to believe you will be more beautiful than you are right now!!!
Way to go girl!!!
October 8th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
For me, it’s flying, every time. I fly, I just fret and worry about it until we’re off the ground and then I think, What was the big deal LOL
A quick birth story, not my own, I’ve never had kids. My little sister, four years younger, had hyperemiesis gravida for her WHOLE pregnancy with twins, all nine months. That means she had nine months of morning sickness, which as we all know is not always in the morning. She was miserable. She was also extremely anemic. The day she delivered, her skin was gray and she had big black circles under her eyes. A nurse called her at home every day because she had mentioned in a doctor appointment that she “wished she were dead.”
BUT: Her labor? Easy as pie. Her water broke, they called the doc at about 10:30pm, doc sent them to the hospital and she was already dilated 4cm with NO PAIN. I caught a plane from LA to San Francisco at 6am, arrived in her room at 9am, she had already gotten her epidural, she looked good, felt good, and was done delivering both girls by 1:20pm.
And she was back in her skinny jeans in six weeks. But she’s naturally skinny.
And girls? So beautiful, from the very first moment. So wonderful.
Every birth story is different, and yours will be too. And we all want to hear it.
“…and all nature of things shall be well.”
Hugs,
Julie
October 8th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
High five! Good going braving the dentist while pregnant.
Keep us updated on the Invisalign process and results. I’m thinking about those for my top teeth as well.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Tabitha, you’re a total trooper. The baby will have such a great mom!
October 9th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Yay, good for you, that’s awesome!! I don’t know how I’d do with that either. It took me awhile to get my teeth pulled, and they put me under… so I definitely couldn’t do that while pregnant.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I’m glad you came out the victor! I guess I haven’t had any work done recently and for that I’m thankful.
-FringeGirl
October 9th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Good for you! I would love to get those invisalign braces!
October 9th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Oh my god. I get so skeezed out when I see photos of teeth! BAH!!! And it almost looks like the person in that last photo is SMILING. WTF is up with that?!!
Because of this I have not been to the dentist since I was 12 years old. I’m not proud of it.
October 9th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
PS. Joe did Invisalign just before we met. He credits his now perfectly straight teeth with luring me in.
October 10th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Glad you had an easy time at the dentist…Seriously – dentists are not that bad…I guess I am lucky that I am not sensitive about them. OK, I probably had more dental work done than an average person (I had about 5-7 root canals…cant not remember exactly, and 5 crowns, and wisdom teeth, deap cleanings, etc) Everyone at work always is upset about going to a dentist, I actually look forward to it – it is like haircut or a facial – I give up all control, there is no pain after the shots and I just hang out and rest, at least mentally. Same reason I like flying – it is so liberating not to be in control of anything – just sit there and read, etc. I only wish the chairs were more comfortable! But of course everyone thinks I am wierd about dentists and airplanes.
October 15th, 2009 at 7:43 am
ha ))