home

The Day Tad Got Braces

Or as he continues to call them, “bracelets.”

Tad finally got the go-ahead from our orthodontist, and it was time to start getting his teeth fixed.  He was not thrilled with the idea, and spent much time protesting loudly.  By the time the day finally arrived yesterday, he was a bundle of nerves.

And by the time he was in a chair, getting prepped, he was resigned, but nervous.

First, his teeth got a quick cleaning, and then had to be dried.

Attractive, right?

Once the teeth were dry, and coated with a epoxy sealant, the orthodontist came in and started putting on the brackets.  Tad was quite calm, and starting watching “The LEGO Batman Movie” on the iPad.

By this point, Tad was kind of stunned about how much this DIDN’T hurt.

Once the brackets were placed, the glue used to attach them was cured with UV light.  Then the tech put on the wire and the bands (Tad opted for Batman black).

Even though I gave him ibuprofen before the appointment, he has not been in much, if any, pain.

Right now, we are waiting for his 12 year old molars to grow in a bit more before putting a holding bracket on them, so the current brackets and wire are going to work on pulling the teeth together and reducing the gaps, rather than fixing the bite just yet.  It also helps that Tad has a rather large mouth, and a lot of space to work with (as opposed to Ane’s relatively small mouth, which made the tech comment, “He has a much bigger mouth than his sister.  He stole all of her space, I guess!”).

Once we stopped for a chocolate Frosty (his first promised treat), he got the LEGO set he had picked out on Sunday as a reward for behaving and cooperating.

LEGO sets really do make everything better.  And we are very proud of Tad.

One Response to “The Day Tad Got Braces”

  1. Linda
    October 10th, 2017 07:41
    1

    GREAT job, Tad! You are brave, handsome and we admire and love you! Hugs!