The final results

I have felt like a kid waiting for Christmas the past couple of days! I was so excited for today to get here I could hardly stand it. This morning after I dropped the kids off at school I had to sit around for about 2 hours before my appointment to get my braces off. I don't know if I've ever been this excited about anything? I suppose I was when I had Gage and Emma, but I was also scared, so it was a different type of feeling.

I won't lie, it hurt like crazy getting these stupid things off. He took the easier ones off first, keeping my top 4 front teeth for last. I was prepared to squeeze the handles of the chair right off. My 2 front teeth are so loose, that it is pretty uncomfortable when I bite into something and I was so scared he would pull them right out when he popped the brackets off. Thankfully he had me bite into some wax-like stuff to stabilize them before he took them off and that helped ALOT! I wasn't quite as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Right after he was done removing the brackets and glue from my teeth, Wendy took impressions of my bottom teeth, then I had to go from there to the dentist, to have her complete the bonding before they could take impressions of my top teeth. It took my dentist quite awhile to get my teeth looking the way she wanted, and I kept trying to sneak peeks in the reflection of her glasses. I was so excited, yet a little scared to see the final results. I didn't want to have gone through all of this to be disappointed! My hygienist came in when I was done and she was surprised to see me. She has been on maternity leave the last few times I've been in, so I haven't seen her in quite awhile. When the dentist handed me the mirror, I couldn't wait to look!

Let me just say this, "WOW!" Everyone was smiling, including me! I told them on my way out that I was going to have to learn how to smile now! To really smile, that is. I was overcome with emotion as I was walking to my car and couldn't help crying. They were certainly tears of joy!

From there I had to go home to take a potty break, then head back to Warfords to get the impressions of my top teeth taken so they could make my retainers.

The day went by pretty quickly, despite all the time it took going back and forth to get everything done.

Okay, okay, I'm sure you are wanting to see photos! I asked Wendy if they could email me the photos and she said they would, but I didn't get them today. When I left the office, I was the last patient before they shut down for the evening. She did, however, give me the pictures they took for my records and I have scanned them in and will try to post them and show you the amazing transformation! I will repost pictures if I do, in fact, get them emailed to me. I'm sure the resolution will be much better.

These are my initial records. The pictures were taken almost exactly 2 years ago, on November 16, 2006.

These are pre-surgical records that were taken on June 14, 2007.

Post surgical records taken July 10, 2007. What a mess!!!!

The final results! November 19, 2008.

So what do you think?

I am so thankful. I never thought I would have this beautiful of a smile. Honestly, I didn't. I always dreamed of it and would say, "Some day, when I get my mouth fixed............", all the time knowing in the back of my mind that it would never happen. It just makes me cry. I have so many people to thank!

First of all, I thank my Mom and Dad! Unknowingly, it was a good thing that you were never able to afford to "get my mouth fixed." I believe that if it had been done back then, I would probably have major problems today. Everything happens for a reason, and it's obvious that God had better plans for me. I'm confident that if I had had this procedure done 20 years ago, I would not have the results that I have gotten today. I would have had surgery and I would have metal plates and screws holding my face together. I'm sure I wouldn't have been as appreciative then as I am now.

Second of all, I have to thank Scott, for believing that this was a good idea and supporting my decision to go ahead with the treatment. Without him, I wouldn't have been able to do this.

Lastly, but definitely not least, I have to thank the doctors who made this dream come true. If it weren't for Dr. Heidi, I would have never taken the first steps necessary to achieve these final results. I am so fortunate that I had a top notch surgeon and orthodontist, right here, in Bismarck, North Dakota. Who ever would have thought that this could happen in this part of the world?