Rose Gets Braces

3 or 4 months ago Rose got expanders for her top and bottom jaws.  The top one had a key that we had to turn every night for about 3 1/2 weeks.  The bottom expender is spring loaded and is taking a bit longer to make the space.  Rose had a pretty large gap between her middle two teeth but ever since her other teeth started to come in they pushed her top two teeth together quite a bit more.  When Rose mentioned it to me she was so proud to stick her tongue through the gap.  Part of the expander treatment is to also get brackets on the front 4 teeth to slightly straighten, close the gaps, and also to use rubberbands to help with overbites.  She will still need braces when she is 12 or 13 but this will tide her over for the next 5 years or so and give her enough room in her mouth to allow her adult teeth to come in.  It's been super noticeable on the bottom, she had two rows of adult teeth and it was super tight.

 

Rose was super excited to get a couple of brackets.  I think it's because she feels more grown up and like her brothers.  She certainly looked a whole lot older to me!

 As soon as the tech sat her up she kept wanting to check them out.

In a few months she will probably get a few more brackets.  We have been really proud of Rose.  She took getting her expanders very seriously.  As in, she hasn't had a soda or popcorn or any sticky candy since then.  The tech gave her instructions about those foods and she has followed them exactly.  Even when we tell her it is okay to have a soda as long as she brushes her teeth well she has declined.  We have definitely learned that she is our "rule" following girl.   She has made a list of things she wants to eat once she is done.  It's super cute!

I should also note that we are super thankful for our orthodontist!  Our kids have had a few special cases and we like his conservative approach.  Funny, since she is like 7 with a couple of braces.  But a lot of the work now is preventative to avoid problems later.  But we especially like that he gave us double the normal discount for new patients or families since this is our third child.  I joked with his staff that he better not retire until the baby in our tummy is through orthodontia because by then they may just be free:-)