TMJ, Treatment, and BRACES!

The long story: 

I remember when my jaw pain became unbearable - Cole was 1 year old and we were in Hawaii.  My mouth hurt so much and I figured it was a botched cavity I just had filled.  When I returned home - they redid the cavity.  In fact, that was the start of a lot of dental drama.  I tried new dentists then too - and I ended up having a root canal YEARS later - thinking that was finally going to be the end of the pain.  After a total of 7+ years of pain, I had my skiing accident and we had met our medical deductible so I figured that it was time to get help for my jaw.  I met with a jaw expert and immediately started hypnotherapy (to help with clenching), physical therapy, a new mouth guard (which was awesome!) and I started down the road to feeling normal.  I had gotten to the point that it hurt to open my mouth to bite into banana.  I had lost over 60% of my bone in my left joint and I can't recall how much I lost on the right - but it was not as significant as the left side.  After the muscles has been relaxed and a million exercises done to strengthen my tongue (yes, I did tongue push-ups), and I was finally pain-free.  I still get pain - but it's manageable and I can recognize triggers and eliminate them when things get to be too much - whether it's stress, popcorn, or just too much clarinet playing.  At the end of all my therapies - it was apparent that my jaw had changed a lot and I no longer had a correct bite.  I would bite and only 4 teeth would touch - my whole jaw would have to adjust forward to chew food.  When I would bite into a sandwhich - I couldn't put my front teeth together to bite off food.  Food was falling out of my mouth when I'd bite down!  I was shocked with the jaw specialist said it was time to go to an orthodontist - I thought I was done - but at the same time, I knew something was not right.

My options were jaw surgery (not really an option with the TMJ issues and monetarily) or orthodontic work.  I went to the Orthodontist recommended by my jaw specialist and at the first consult, it was apparent he knew his stuff.  I went to another ortho - just to have a second opinion.  He was a nice guy - but he missed the boat completely.  He said, Why would I want to get braces?  My teeth were already straight.  He was right - my teeth weren't crooked - but he didn't recognize the whole bite issue.  I knew it was a big deal in the long run.  So, ortho treatment began.

Step one - a custom made bracket that was anchored to a screw in the roof of my mouth.  You could almost see the brackets on the sides - but inside was a different story.  My mouth ached and it chewed up my tongue.  Eating was terrible!  Everything got stuck in the bracket!!  Slowly - the bracket would move higher and higher in my mouth - which essentially lifted my whole upper jaw and brought my front teeth in closer to the lower jaw.

At first the process was SLOOOOOOW.  The ortho even said, "if this doesn't work, I'll give you your money back.  Sometimes older people just can't get their teeth to move as fast as they want - but if you have patience, I think we'll get there."  I thought I would have that bracket for a year or two!  I got it out before 6 months!  Woo-hoo!

The screw:

The hole at the roof of my mouth:

And now for the braces, to line everything up.

I had rubber-bands and here's a little look at this crazy mouth.  I wore my bands religiously, I wanted this to be DONE!!   

I got braces in March and on Dec 7th I got them OFF!

There's a huge difference in my bite and I'm so grateful for the expertise of my Orthodontist.  When I yawn, I'm still surprised it doesn't hurt.  When I eat food - I can tell all my teeth are touching - it's crazy to feel so different!  

I am especially grateful to Shayne for being understanding and supportive of this huge process.  It was a LOT of pennies, but worth it.  My advice to everyone is DON'T TOLERATE JAW PAIN.  Fix it - so you don't have to do everything I did! 

Look who's 5!

My baby is now 5! 

Nana made him is very own quilt to go on his bed.  What she didn't know is that Skyler has a song - "Sky full of Stars" by Coldplay.  He sings this song and loves when we put it on in the car or in the house.  Little did she know that when she made a star-pattern quilt for this little guy - how happy it would make him!  

And the quilt does not stay on the bed - every morning he drags it out to the front room to snuggle as we get the day started.

All about Skyler:

He's a reader - he reads with me every night and he WANTS to read.  (this hasn't been the case with all my kids).  He reads signs everywhere and he cracks me up - ie:

"Cup BOP? What is that?  That sounds like a BOP in a cup!!" ensuing giggles

His favorite letters: "B, U, Y - cause they spell BYU!!"

He still has his favorite blankies - and his favorite stuffed animal is a little monkey right now.

His favorite TV show: Teen Titans Go! and he claims Paw Patrol - but he never watches it anymore.

Favorite Food: "pretty much Pie"

He loves to be with friends and he is a friend magnet.  He constantly has friends over and he's always conspiring, I mean planning, parties so he can invite ALL his friends over.  He can't leave preschool without asking someone to come home with us.  

He is a backseat driver.  Always asking how many turns, and "are you sure this is the way mommy?" - when he sees me go a new way to get somewhere.

He talks a mile a minute - always something to say and talk about.  And he makes up songs when he runs out of things to talk about.   

He brings joy and laughter into our house and I can't imagine my little side-kick being in Kindergarten next year.  I can't imagine him NOT going, but I'm sad to see this special time end.  It's been a blessing in my life to be a stay-at-home mom with this little Skyler-man.  He's our little super-hero everyday!  

Annual Christmas Party

Every year we attend the BYU Christmas party - it's for faculty and their families.  Shayne grew up going to this event every year - his parents can't remember ever missing a year.  We started going with Hunter when he tiny - and I think we missed only 1 year, to attend a friend's baptism.  Fortunately, when Shayne's dad retired, my dad started there - so we continue to go every year!  Let's be honest, we would still go even if my parents weren't there!  It's tradition. 

 I found a few of our old pix - I wish I had done a better job of keeping them every year.  I know I have them - I just didn't keep them together.  Phooey on me.  But I did find several for this post!

 This was the first time we didn't wait in line for Santa.  The line is always HUGE, and usually Grandpa does all the waiting for us.  The boys begged to not do a photo with Santa (yah, my boys are getting big) and I gave in since they agreed to take a picture together and all smile.  It worked.  That's better than Santa!  And then we have the pic of them showing how they really feel taking picutres....  

Leaving IMAGINiT

Shayne worked for ImaginIt for 13+ years.  It has been a very great job - and he has loved the people he works with.  At the same time - there were things changing within the company and he's had the itch to find a new job for quite a while now.  The opportunity came knocking at his door and he made the leap.  I stopped by his office his last day...

And of course he was playing golf.  (I'm sure it was just a short break!)

I wish I had better pix of his office before he cleaned up everything - but I did find a few pix documenting a few of his Lego treasures.  His shelves were full of Legos sets (and awards).  He dissembled them and put them into hiding for now - because these are not "toys."

There's a glimpse into all the Simpson Figurines that dotted his windowsill - it was a sweet office!

And he's off to a new adventure!  I'm sure they will miss him sorely here - he's been a great part of their team.

Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving, Devri and I made pies together!  While we were busy baking - the kids were busy building a fort and having a picnic.

I'm grateful that Hunter and Cole have their Ecalono cousins who are close in age with them and they are best of friends.  My two little guys have Michael and Rachel (and Gabe will work himself in there too) and I hope they are always best buddies too.  It's a blessing to have cousins close by and cousins as close friends.  It's a reason to never ever move!

The BIG meal

 We had so much food and there were enough leftovers that I ate Thanksgiving for lunch the next 3 days!  My kids now appreciate Nana's stuffing (I love that!) and I love that Skyler is always so excited for Aunt Devri's SMASHED potatoes.  She does know how to do her potatoes!

I don't remember everything we did that day - but I know we spent the day at Brian's home and we were surrounded by family.  It's a blessing to have our family nearby - and the sad truth is we don't always make time for each other in our busy lives.  So these get togethers are always fun and not frequent enough!  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Random Nov Pix

We celebrated Taylor's birthday - that's his fiance, Katie, who came down from Rexburg to hang out with her sweetie.  He also managed to NOT propose to her this weekend - even though he pretended he did 3 times in one day.  Yes, she was upset.  He made up for it and surprised her that week and proposed next to the Idaho Falls Temple.  I'm glad it all worked out!  BTW, my candles are code for 23.

Danny got knighted by a REAL KNIGHT in Cub Scouts (Bobcat Award)

Fall came and we had fun with the leaf pile.  I love leaf piles and watching my kids go crazy in them.

Chanin and I decided to do this brand new trail - we did two turns and chickened out and went back to our favorite trail.  Maybe next spring.  I'm definitely getting better at this - but those steep switchbacks really are intimidating.  Some day, I'll look back and remember when I couldn't do them - RIGHT?!?!

A gorgeous sunset - pulled the car over and just took a pic.  The pic doesn't even do justice...

Thanksgiving weekend, Skyler's best friend, Anzer, was in town.  We went to the park and enjoyed the mild weather.

And Skyler decided to be fearless and go to the top of the pyramid - heart was seriously stopped.  I know Danny can do this - but SKYLER!?!?!  Oh, my baby is growing up and I just had to let him go do it without me saying a peep.  EEEEEKKKKK!!!