Each time Ian makes his routine visit to the orthodontist, he thinks this is IT. This is the visit that Dr. H. will say, your overbite has corrected itself and your need for braces is no more. And each time we visit the orthodontist, the reality is very, very different. Ian has tried headgear, bands, springs and is currently sporting some new type appliance in his mouth that the orthodontist office retired using years ago on other patients. All in the fruitless attempt at correcting his overbite.
At his last appointment, Dr. H. measured the gap between the upper teeth and lower teeth to see what progress is getting made. Much to our disappointment, we find out that in 2 years (TWO YEARS!!), Ian's overbite has not shrank at all. At All. This news is the complete opposite of thinking you will be getting your braces off.
There is one last resort. It has been suggested to pull a few teeth and then close the gap. This will correct the overbite. Ian was all for it (anything to get these braces off as soon as possible!), but then found out if teeth get pulled, it will be an additional year getting the gap to close. OY!
Ian did not take the news of his mouth's lack of progress and movement whatsoever well. As soon as we got in the car, he threw a show stopping temper tantrum and was ready to pull his braces off on his own. There was really nothing I could say to help him calm down. I agree with Ian that it is ridiculous his overbite has not moved any. Furthermore, Ian doesn't even care about fixing the overbite and just wants to be done. Ian, who is currently in 8th grade, now has visions of going to college in braces.
After we left the orthodontist's office, we made our way to Duck Donuts. Hopefully Duck Donuts can help change Ian's doom and gloom outlook. 2 donuts and 1 egg, cheese & bacon donut sandwich later and we are back on the road going home. Ian is a bit calmer now and has stopped screaming. Most likely because he is in a sugar coma. :)
Our latest plan is to give these newest set of spring like pieces of metal in his mouth a good effort and see if it can do the trick. We won't know if its working for another month or two. But at what point do you say enough is enough and either pull perfectly great teeth or wipe your hands of all of it and walk away? This whole situation is crazy and I really feel bad for Ian, who said he can't even eat with these new type springs in his mouth. Although, he had no problem eating those donuts. :)
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| Yes, that is 2 donuts surrounding egg, cheese and bacon! |
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| Look, Ian found his smile again! |
