Million Dollar Smile!

Maddie got her braces off yesterday! The title of this blog really fits - it feels like it was a "Million Dollar Smile." Maddie has been at an orthodontist since 2nd grade (so have Talbie and Bronson). She had braces on in the 4th grade and then had them off in the 6th grade until all her teeth came in. She got them back on again in 7th or 8th grade - and off yesterday!

I'm thankful for orthodontist these days. My kids inherited my small mouth and they don't have room for all their teeth. When I was young, they had to pull 4 of my adult teeth before I got braces because there wasn't room for all of them. Maddie had an appliance put in that was cemented to the roof of her mouth in the 4th grade. We would crank it every night and it widened her jaw and mouth. I felt like it was some mid-evil torture device when we were doing it.

Talbie just finished with a top retainer that basically did the same thing - only it wasn't so drastic. With Bronson - he's been quite a few times already and they aren't sure yet if any of those techniques will work for him because he has a REALLY small mouth. Right now he only has 4 adult teeth on the top and they are taking up all the room!

It's a good feeling to have one done with the orthodontist. 1 down - 3 to go!

Brushing her teeth!


Getting the off!