Lindsey's $300 paper clip...

Okay so it looks like a paper clip... one of those paper clips that Emily gets a hold of and unbends and creates something entirely different with it. (One time I was doing some payroll stuff and looking for paper clips, the only ones I found where now heart shaped, and they don't go back to their normal shapes to well once they are unbent.)

Lindsey has a cross bite, and my sister who is the expert of the things of the mouth could explain it better I am sure, but basically her teeth don't fit together like they are suppose to. When she was a little girl, I use to think she kind of had a crooked smile, I don't think she does so much now. Basically what I got out of the orthodontist visit when we first talked about treatment is that her top teeth arc is smaller then her bottom teeth arc so they don't fit together like they are suppose to. Which then means her teeth don't line up like they are suppose to and making her chin also not line up with her nose and all that sort of thing.

So this device, which I have no idea what its real name is - I just call it a retainer. is cemented to her back teeth or around them or something. She had to wear spacers (which were little tiny rubber rings) in between her teeth for a few weeks to make space for these metal bands that hold her "device" in there.

She has been having problems eating and getting use to it. After her appointment she got an ice cream cone, which she mostly just held until we got home, since she said she couldn't eat it. We went to dinner last night. She hardly even ate her grilled cheese sandwich, food gets stuck on the roof of her mouth under the bar. We ordered her some soup, but that didn't get eaten either. She requested soft food for lunch today, so I gave her pudding and applesauce... couldn't think of anything else I had I could send her with that was soft and easy to eat. I guess I could have sent her with a tub of frosting, she would have liked that! I would have loved to see the lunch ladies face when they saw she was eating a tub of frosting!! I guess I better go buy some more yogurt for her.

At first she was afraid to talk because she talked funny. The Dr. also told her that no one would even see it or know it was in there unless she showed them. Knowing Lindsey, she will be showing everyone.

The treatment should last about 3 months top, with a few adjustments perhaps and is only $300 (our part) but that was better then Emily's treatment which she is done with now. After Lindsey's treatment is done, she will have a retainer to wear to keep things from going back to normal.

I really hope my girls enjoy and appreciate their beautiful smiles!!