Gonna Smile Now

Summer is quickly winding down and so is this phase of treatment. We stopped turning the key a few weeks ago. The expander is holding everything in place until Scoot can be fitted with a new less bulky appliance in a few weeks. I don’t have exact details on what that will entail because Mr. Huffington did the last ortho appointment and he doesn’t do details. But I do know that we are in the homestretch of the expander experience! All in all it has been a smooth ride, less overwhelming for Scoot than I expected and a super positive first encounter with orthodontics!

It was decided pretty early on. Or maybe not even decided but assumed. That I would be the one turning the expansion key every other day. Mr.Huffington straight up relieved himself of the duties. Squeamish.

I google everything so of course I googled “getting an expander”. One tip I read was to have your child hang upside down off the side of the bed for easier access. A friend of mine said she would have her son lie down on their kitchen island so that the lights would shine directly into his mouth. The first time I went to turn this key I felt like I was prepping for major surgery.

Newsflash! It’s not that hard. At least for the key turner. Unless you have extremely poor hand eye coordination. In that case you may get a bit frustrated.

Scoot has done fine with the turning. He throws his head back and I reach in with the little key and give a quick turn. Easy peasy. We have quickly fallen into a routine of turning in the evening. Taking a shot of Tylenol and going to bed. He has some soreness on occasion. But it has never unbearable for him. Like I feared it would be.

With a new piece of hardware in your mouth you might not feel much like talking. so you may want to try singing. these are just a few of the jams that we rocked out to on our drive home from the orthodontist. and yes, much like the lady that always has a band-aid in her purse i always have sweet jams in my itunes library. Click the link above to hear the tunes.

As we approach expander day Scoot is mainly worried about speaking in class with his new appliance. The anxiety is high. He is also annoyed that the once fun math class reward of starburst candy will now be off limits to him. What is a parent to do? Well. This is what i did. I jumped into my little helicopter and emailed the math teacher. Offered to bring in some non-chewy candy (hershey kisses. which let’s be honest. are better than starburst anyway). Then i flew over to the music teacher and said. Just so you know. Scoot has a new appliance in his mouth. He already hates singing in class so cut him a break this week. Ha. No i didn’t. I did make her aware that the appliance might affect his speech and he may be less willing to participate in class than usual. Because he truly is mortified to sing in front of the class on a good day. After that Scoot felt more comfortable with the situations that were stressing him out. And my helicopter is parked on its pad until needed again. 

We have made it through two positive office visits. The first being a consultation and explanation of what Scoot’s orthodontic needs are and developing a plan for meeting those needs. The second being taking the first steps with the plan in place. So, here is the plan. Scoot has a small mouth (we know why, small headed Collin Farrell) and this has allowed for overcrowding. It has also prevented many of his baby teeth from following falling out in typical fashion, which in turn has delayed his adult teeth coming in. He didn’t lose his first tooth until the Summer before 3rd grade! The easiest way to create some space in his mouth is through an appliance called an expander and this is what Scoot will be fitted with in about a month. At our second visit impressions were taken (I schooled Scoot on how to deal with that–breathe through your nose!!) and brackets were fitted. Spacers were placed to help the brackets fit more easily when it is time to insert the expander. It all went smoothly and no worries to be had, until we got the No-No food list. And then Scoot did one of these......