Autumn Got Her Herbst

 I left work early today so I could take Autumn to her orthodontist appointment. As you can tell from her expression, she was really excited but also a little nervous.

 It was awesome that the orthodontist let me go back and sit next to her and watch while he worked. Stuff like this fascinates me, and usually I don't get to see what's going on b/c I'm the one in the dental chair getting worked on. It was cool to see the process.

 Here's a before & after picture. On the left you can see her blue bands that helped put space between her teeth for the Herbst to fit over the teeth. Then on the right is what her mouth looks like w/ the Herbst on.

 Nice up the nose shot (LOL) but this shows a different view of the Herbst. It's awesome, b/c it does so many things all at once. First of all, it replaces the old embarrassing looking headgear. It also fixes her overbite, it expands her top pallet, it keeps her jaw aligned, etc.

I was surprised that her overbite was already looking so much better as soon as it was put in! She'll have to eat soft foods for the next week as she gets used to her new teeth alignment and chewing. She also talked a little bit funny like she had cotton in her mouth. That will go away after a few weeks. She'll most likely need to wear this for the next 12 - 18 months!

We stopped at WalMart & got $60 worth of soft foods (mac & cheese, pudding, applesauce, soups, etc). We came home, ate dinner, and then I took her over to cheer practice. I made sure to give her some Motrin as soon as I picked her up from daycare, b/c they said it can make your jaw sore. But, she's been a CHAMP so far and said it doesn't hurt, it just takes some getting used to. I'm so excited for her to have a gorgeous & pretty smile!