For the Journey


Any day spent with you is my favorite day. So today is my new favorite day. ~A.A. Milne

"You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance." ~Psalm 65:11

Hannah Kate getting braces at her orthodontia consultation last week wasn't the only unexpected outcome of the day.  This girl got in on the fun, too.  I didn't expect a consultation for Hannah Kate would turn into a consultation for BOTH girls.

I've known ever since her baby teeth came in that Ellie was going to need some major orthodontia work.  I'll never forget the day our dentist looked at me and just grinned, nodding her head.  "You know Ellie has a cross bite, right?"  Yep.  I know all about that.  I had a cross bite, too.  She told me it was a possibility her permanent teeth may come in a little better, and the cross bite would be corrected, but it was highly unlikely.  It didn't matter.  I absolutely adored her little cross bitten grin.  

It wasn't until last year that she finally lost the first of her baby teeth.  As soon as I saw those permanent teeth coming in, I knew.  I KNEW.  

I began orthodontia treatment in 3rd grade for my cross bite.  I had a quad helix and partial braces.  I remember being the only kid in my class in 3rd grade with braces.  But I didn't mind because I didn't like what I saw when I smiled into the mirror.  And then I had a full set of braces when I was in 7th grade.  That wasn't so bad because that was the year that everybody had braces.  I wore my retainers until I got married, just for good measure.  Knowing how early I began treatment and knowing Ellie is the same age now that I was back then, I asked our dentist last November when she thought I should schedule an orthodontia consultation for Ellie.  She didn't seem to be in any hurry, especially since Ellie had lost only four baby teeth.  Besides, our orthodontist really tries to manage care with only one phase of treatment, and our dentist knows that.  So it didn't seem to be an urgent situation.  Since Hannah Kate was next on the list for braces anyway, I was fine with waiting.  Braces cost a pretty penny, every cent of which is worth it, but two in braces at the same time is A LOT of pennies.

When we were at the orthodontist last week waiting on Hannah Kate to get her braces, I commented to the treatment coordinator that I already knew Ellie was going to require orthodontia care and a lot of it.  I asked Ellie to smile for her.  As soon as the treatment coordinator saw that snaggle-toothed smile, she KNEW, too.  And she very graciously offered to have Dr. K go ahead and "look at" Ellie since we were already there and waiting on Hannah Kate.  I told her that if that was possible, I'd like to do that.  But first she had to have x-rays, and I was asked if that was okay.  

Well, you just made her day!  I mean, that's almost even better than the junky candy she likes to eat (you know, gummy worms and sour gummy stuff and jolly ranchers).  Two x-rays in one week!  That made her whole week.  Heck, that probably made her whole year, and we're only in January!  She didn't think twice about bee-bopping down the hallway to have x-rays.  No doubt she beat the x-ray tech there, and she had no idea where the room was!

She comes back in, they put her x-rays up on the screen and Dr. K joins us.  So he begins with, "We really do our best to limit treatment to one phase, but about 10% of our patients require more than one phase."  Let me guess.  Ellie is in that 10%.  Of course she is!  And she is giddy.  You know why?!  Same reason Hannah Kate was.  The colored bands.  She's already picked out what color she wants first.  Actually, she's going to talk a walk on the wild side and get TWO colors instead of one.

Dr. K explains the very obvious.  She has a cross bite.  And one of her top teeth is coming in and sitting behind her bottom teeth.  That means that top tooth, over time, lends itself to be easily damaged and chipped.  It's also pushing that bottom tooth out.  So that needs to be corrected sooner rather than later.  But she needs to lose four more baby teeth before they can move forward.  Based on the x-rays, he thinks she's going to lose those teeth very soon.  So the current plan is for her to go back in July.  If she has indeed lost those four teeth, she will immediately get a special appliance to correct the cross bite and also partial braces.  She'll probably wear that for a year.  Phase two will include full braces several years later.  So.  Fun times ahead.

She couldn't wait for her brother and her daddy to see Hannah Kate's braces that evening.  But, even more than that, she could hardly wait to get that excitement out of the way so she could tell them all about HER braces.  Next time you see her, ask her.  She'll tell you ALL about it!