28.1.21

Hannah Kate's New Smile

One kid down.  Two to go.  Now it's Hannah Kate's turn.  I took her to the orthodontist this morning for a consultation.  We totally did not anticipate walking away with braces today, but that's what happened.

Hannah Kate is not one whose smile you would look at and think she needed braces.  As a matter of fact, I wasn't convinced she needed braces.  I really couldn't decide what it was so that's why I wanted her to see our orthodontist.  As soon as I saw her x-ray photos, I knew.  And then Dr. K put into words what I was seeing but couldn't articulate.  Hannah Kate's teeth are straight.  I've always thought of braces in regard to crooked teeth.  But even though her teeth are straight, they are crowded and in more of a V-shape than a U-shape.  So it's purely cosmetic for her.

I thought that if the orthodontist recommended braces, we would schedule an appointment to go back for that another day.  I was shocked when the treatment coordinator offered for her to get braces right then and there.  I wasn't prepared for that, and I knew Hannah Kate wasn't prepared for that.  I told her she could make the decision, and we would do whatever she wanted to do.  I was a bit shocked when she said she wanted to go ahead and get them.  The treatment coordinator even offered to step out of the room so I could talk to Hannah Kate to be sure, but Hannah Kate told her that wasn't necessary.  And then I figured out why she was hot-to-trot to get braces today.  

They gave her the option of silver braces on top and bottom or the clear ones on top.  I was certain she would choose the clear ones.  You better believe I would have had that been an option when I wore braces.  But, no, she didn't bat an eye.  She wanted the silver ones.  But even more than that, she wanted to pick out the colored bands.  I can't even.  We played a fun little game.  I picked out what color I thought she would get, as did Ellie.  We were both wrong.  The color she chose was in my top five, but she surprised me again when she chose jade over some of the blue shades.

And then she was off.  Meanwhile, Ellie had a little adventure of her own (ARE YOU EVEN SURPRISED?), but that's another story for another day.

At this point, so far so good.  She's almost giddy about this.  I still haven't figured out why.  She can't stop smiling, but I don't think it's because she wants to.  I think it's because that's the only way for her to keep her mouth from rubbing against the braces at this point.  We decided not to say anything to her daddy and to instead wait and see if he noticed, but she smiled so big as soon as she saw him that he couldn't help but notice.

This smile is going to last for 18 months.  Yep.  I didn't anticipate that timeline either.  But, knowing what they are trying to do, I can understand why it's going to take that long.  So at some point next summer, she'll have a new smile!