Work in progress...under construction

No, we're not building an addition to the house. Noah's mouth is the "construction zone"...he is in Phase 1 Orthodontics.  They start earlier now than they did when we were young. I guess they figured out prevention is a lot better than trying to fix what came in wrong when kids are older.

Noah started with a consult at the recommendation from his dentist. He has a narrow top jaw and a cross-bite, so was a good candidate for ortho to try to fix things before they become bigger issues down the road. I'm hoping it can help his chewing/texture issues if his teeth actually line up properly to chew.  He also doesn't have much room for the remaining permanent teeth that need to come down so trying to make the space rather than having to pull permanent teeth later. It will be about a year process. He was actually really excited to get braces since his friends Bryce and Sophia have already gotten them. So, score one for positive peer pressure. In fact we are at the same Ortho office as Sophia, so that is fun to see her progress knowing he is close behind (she started about 3 months earlier than he did).

Getting the xrays and molds etc was the next step, and Noah being my son, wanted things documented with photos (3rd generation photo bug on the lose).  Here are a few shots of the process.

Then came the brackets - he was excited except for the banding of the molars - certainly that is the worst part of it. ugh.  He got to pick the colors of the rubber bands that go around the brackets to keep the wire in place. Since Sam has semi-succeeded in converting him to the Packers side (only partially though I will note) he picked green and yellow alternating. Hey -whatever makes this process more bearable...pick most any color combo you want!

("before" smile)

 getting ready to cement the brackets on

showing off his new colors

The day he got the braces on was actually a big day -was proud of him for hanging in there - he had a full day of school after the apointment and then we had meeting that night and I had a talk and also we had a nice announcement that Oakdale Congregation has a new unbaptized publisher - Noah Nelson. :)  We are all proud to see our little man maturing so nicely.  

Then after getting used to the brackets for a couple of weeks we had to go back in to have his Expander put in. They had built it just for his mouth based on his molds, but installation was NOT FUN. Hard as a mom to see your kiddo suffer..."mama bear" wanted to come out, but I do know it is for the greater good and things will even out soon. but ouch.  I had to learn how to turn the screw with a special key daily for the next 2 weeks so it consistantly expands out his upper jaw - his upper palate will actually grow in to accommodate the expansion, which is cool how the body adapts at a young age. I know the pain will be worth it when his teeth match up better and he has new space for those new teeth to come down straight. Just to get through the next 3 months of this process.   Always a new adventure!!

This is what the custom appliance looks like before it went in. The round bands fit around his molars to anchor it in place.

Stay tuned for more construction updates.

Jen