Tinsel Teeth

Does that make it sound more festive and fun?!

We really should have had Ruby get her braces on this summer, but just didn't get around to it for one reason or another until last week.  She was excited and nervous about it, but she did really great getting them on.

She was excited to pick green bands.  

Turns out you don't need bands anymore.  The "new" braces work without bands, so they are just for fun!  This also means she doesn't have to go back every month, her appointments will be every 10-12 weeks.  Mom did all the jazz hands when she heard that!

Notice her clothes in this picture.

Different outfit, different office, the very next day.

Yep, the next day we ended back in a dental chair for more dental work.  As she was trying to eat breakfast the next morning, Ruby said, "Mom, I think my chipped tooth fell off."  Sure enough it was gone so we spent the morning getting that fixed again.  This poor girl has had so much tooth drama.  It's a miracle really that she'll willingly go to the dentist and orthodontist.  Her mouth was incredibly sore for several days and, although she didn't complain, it was obvious she was super uncomfortable.  If you know Ru, you know she is also very averse to medicine of any sort so she refused to take ibuprofen or anything for the pain.  I let her stay home from school one day, and thankfully by Friday she was feeling much much better.  The plan is for her to be in braces for 12-18 months in order to make room for her permanent teeth.  Once those all come in she'll likely have a second round of braces to straighten everything out.  Several of her permanent teeth are coming in without fully formed enamel so those will need to be capped (or something) at some point.  We are praying the top two stay put and don't need a root canal.  Like I said, tooth drama.

As we drove to the dentist to fix the chipped tooth the day after she got her braces, Ruby said, "My teeth hate me."  She is so brave and tough though!  We love her smile and, when all is said and done, it's going to be even more beautiful if you can believe it!