One step done!

On 05/06, I went for X-Rays and Impressions. The night before I was so excited, I could not sleep. My hair was blown straight for the appointment but the next morning I found a huge pimple on my upper lips like where Cindy Crawford's mole is!! I dabbed Green Tea to reduce the redness and it worked by the time 2 pm rolled by. Anyway, I felt like a dummy at the ortho's office. Simply because of the way the ortho's assistant had me pulled my lips apart left and right to take pictures and impressions of my teeth. I was so interested in this process. I asked a zillion questions! Thank god, my ortho's assistant is a very nice lady. Below is a brief write up on what happened on Tuesday!
1) Cephalometric X-Rays
I went to an x-ray machine, and the orthodontist took x-rays of my head. These x-rays tell the orthodontist if my bite is OK and if my mouth is growing normally. The orthodontist can also see cavities, crown, etc....
2) Bite Registration
I bite down on some special wax, so the orthodontist can see if my top teeth line up with your bottom teeth. I have always been so self-conscious about my bite. When I saw the film, I cringed how real and clear it looked....
3) Impressions
The orthodontist’s assistant placed a container containing something called “alginate” in my mouth and ask me to bite down. My assistant said my bite is deadly. :) The alginate is like putty; it allows my orthodontist to build a model of my mouth so he can see exactly how my teeth come together. I bite into the alginate twice, so the orthodontist can make a model of both my top and bottom jaws. I told my orth’s assistant that the putty is just like ear molds for hearing aids. She loves that concept; she’ll use that explanation for future deaf dental patients.
4) Pictures of your face and teeth
The last stage of the records appointment is to take pictures of my face and mouth. The orthodontist uses the pictures to keep track of how my smile is changing. The orthodontist’s job is to make my mouth look excellent.
These records are on their way to my jaw surgeon Dr. Turvey at UNC CH to justify my insurance in paying all or some of my surgeries. I’ll know the status in a month and finally get a date for BRACES DAY. I think the real fight will begin soon.