Cincy Chic

Blog entries written by Veronica Rolfes

(Thursday, August 28 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 28-08-2008 00:36

Holy cow, what a ride this has been! I am proud to say that I am officially the owner of a brand new, PERFECT smile! I have had some time to think about what to say—for once in my life I had no words to express my happiness, the shock, and the sheer content that I have experienced. While the final product had been completed last week, I have been speechless, my mind lost in how to share this journey with all the readers. After a couple of days, I decided it best to wait to get my “before and after” shot, as the saying “a picture speaks a thousand words” has never been so true. Towards the end it has been improvement after improvement, and every time I’d go to blog, I just couldn’t seem to express what I felt and put it into words, I was practically dumbfounded with each event. So without further ado, here’s the remaining part of my story…

I believe I left everyone (geesh, forever and a day ago) with the Zoom Whitening. I had to get as close to my natural color so that the veneers would match my other teeth. That was quite the interesting appointment! After having everything gauzed, plastered, and protected in my mouth besides my teeth, they Zoomed away for an hour. Darla and I had to laugh—I was drooling EVERYWHERE! I mean down my chin, all in my mouth, on my face—I’m talking some serious saliva glands here folks. I think the hardest part of that visit was 1) not being able to talk for an hour, and 2) not being able to have coffee for 2 days! I was not the most pleasant person at 7:30 in the morning by the second day of no good Joe. Around hour 40 I caved—it was that or start throwing things…heavy things…at people. Not a pretty sight my friends. I had a brighter smile, but I was not a happy a camper suffering from caffeine withdrawal.

So I had my nice white teeth. I had one more step until the finale—my provisional set. This was it. Even though it was one plastic temporary piece, it was still the last time I would see gaps again. I was giddy as I left work to head to see Dr. Gibberman and say bye bye to my kid size teeth and spaces. I left work telling everyone to take one last look at my crappy (well, another choice word) smile and I shall return a new woman. When I arrived at the office, Darla showed me the provisional set. We both started getting excited and in true girl style, I pranced around like a 3rd grader at a Hanna Montana concert. First Dr. Gibberman had to prep my teeth. While not all veneers require shaving down your real teeth, I had to have it done because of all my gaps. I get my lovely dose of Novocain (who would have thought I wouldn’t wince one bit about getting shot up with that stuff), and he goes to work. When he was done prepping them, my curiosity got the best of me, and I asked if I could see what my teeth looked like before Darla put my provisional on. HAHAHA!!! What a sight! Dr. Gibberman joked, saying that most people say they look like pumpkin teeth—which honestly, they did! After a little more Novocain, the provisional was glued on, and voila! Darla and Dr. Gibberman were like, “Oh wow, that looks great!” I couldn’t stand it—I had to see it! Darla grabbed the mirror, asked if I was ready, and handed it to me. My jaw dropped. My eyes started to well. Controlling the tears, all I could say was, “oh my God!” I sat in the chair, kicking my feet, smiling as big as my Novocain numbed mouth could.

Well I had a month to get used to the provisional—after all, when you aren’t used to actually having a decent grill, you gotta make sure everything feels right. Downside—I had to be careful what I ate since it was just a temporary plastic piece. I quickly learned what was OK and was NOT—Tuesday wing night turned ugly when I bit into a piece of celery and ended up with half a plastic tooth in my mouth. Oh, yeah, that was one day after I had them on! What a phone call that was, “Umm, Hannah? Yeah, this is Veronica. I sort of broke one the teeth off last night eating celery…” Fortunately the way it broke, and the fact I didn’t swallow that piece, it was fixable. However (and this is just my luck), I quickly realized I do indeed grind my teeth at night—I woke up to feeling I was doing something odd, and then I realized it was that same dang tooth, hang stuck on the set and half stuck on my lip! DOH! I only had one week left too before my permanent set came in! “Umm, Hannah? Yeah, it’s Veronica again. I broke that tooth in my sleep. I swear, I wasn’t eating celery again!” Another bonding and a travel size Fixodent incase I had another “accident” later, I was good and ready for the permanents!

Then the time finally came. After all the preparing, I was going to have my perfect smile! When I got there, Darla showed me my veneers, neatly placed on the mold of my teeth. Holy crap, I couldn’t wait to get them on (ugh, and floss too—that provisional set had reached its expiration and I needed some room to floss). She popped off the provisional (whew, I had that felling you get when you rip off your gym shoes) and cleaned up my stubs for the real deal. Dr. Gibberman made sure everything was going to fit right, and the next thing you know my little porcelain gems were individually bonded to what remained of my crappy old teeth. A few adjustments later, I stood up in absolute amazement and hugged Dr. Gibberman. Everyone there kept saying that the real deal would look even better than the provisional, and man were they right! I couldn’t stop smiling, even though my upper lip was still numb. I think I looked in the mirror every chance I could get. At that point I still didn’t know what to say—all I could do was look at myself and smile.

So today I got my before and after pictures—talk about complete and utter amazement. With his sweet camera and computer software, my pics were loaded into my portfolio, and then put side by side with my old pic. I had to step back. All I could do was shake my head and catch my breath. I just simply couldn’t believe it. Speechless, completely speechless. Right now I’m about to cry thinking about it. All these years I have hid my teeth, ashamed of my hideous smile, paranoid that people are thinking mean cruel things about me. Confession: I would take white chewing gum and shove it around my teeth, trying to get a mere glimpse of what I would look like if I had a normal smile.

I’m almost ashamed of what my teeth looked like before—actually I am. I altered so many things to hide them, and to be able to flash a smile freely is so uplifting. I laugh about it now, saying I looked so hillbilly, but I just can’t believe what a difference there is. *Sigh* I almost don’t feel deserving of this, something so wonderful that makes me feel great about myself.

Dr. Gibberman—you truly are the best. You have changed me, not just from my beautiful smile, but from everything you have done. Your office and staff are AMAZING (shout out to all the gals who took such good care of me). You took me from this horrific fear of the dentist, to anticipating my next visit—a feat all in its own, then created this stunning smile on top of it all. Everyone there truly understands what it’s all about. I sincerely feel blessed beyond belief, and one day I will find the perfect way to say thank you, as it just doesn’t seem fitting enough. You are all truly special people and I will forever be gracious for all you have done.

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for where I reveal what I hid so well and the beautiful new smile…..TA DA!!!

Last update: 28-08-2008 00:44

Published in : Chic Blog, General

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Posted by Amy, on 28-08-2008 22:09, , Guest

1. YAY!

Congrats Roni! You look AMAZING!!!!!!!

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I picked my teeth!

(Wednesday, June 25 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 25-06-2008 23:26

Oh wow, I am getting super excited now! The last few weeks have been jammed packed with teeth happenings and I’m getting butterflies just thinking about it. I went a couple weeks ago so that Dr. Gibberman could check in on how the occlusal guard was working for me. Looks like that little plastic wonder did its job—I was biting the way I should be. Who would have thought that goofy thing would correct years of the hard work my brain has put in destroying my mouth? OK, so destroying is a tad extreme, but I certainly wasn’t doing myself any good.

While I was there, he went ahead and corrected my bite, saving me a trip up there. Sorry Krista, I know I asked what the technical term for what he did was the other day, but I forgot. All I could think was, “More Novocain? Right on, that felt kinda good when my cavities were filled…could always use that tingly sensation again!” “Nope!” Krista smiled, “it’s completely painless! He actually uses an instrument with a diamond tip.” Hey, hey, hey! Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, even when it comes to the dentist! So away Dr. Gibberman went, smoothing out my teeth so that I wasn’t grinding and doing all that damage. After “tap tap tapping” on this funny blue paper that looks like the back of a carbon copy, he smoothed some more, then voila! My bite was corrected!

It’s amazing how different my mouth feels. I really never realized how jacked up something as simple as your bite was. I don’t find myself clenching my jaw, and I feel much more relaxed when I’m “at ease”.

So this week I went for my cosmetic evaluation. Woo hoo, more impressions! Krista is a plaster goddess—no gagging mouthful of goop or junk all over my face. Of course I get a little bit, which looks like I was eating White-Out, but it was just some flakes around my lips. Bless her heart, she even covered me up with a blanket cause I had a skirt on my legs were chilly. After she did her part, Dr. Gibberman started the eval. We talked about what I wanted my veneers to look like (I’ll describe more later) and went over again what I want to gain with a new smile. Next, Krista whips out her notes and Dr. Gibberman goes to town. I had to show a big smile (which I still feel self-conscious about) so he could see my “mid-line”, which is basically the line between your two front teeth and its position to your mouth. What do you know, mine is a little to the right. Of course I had a mid-canyon, so I have no idea what I am looking at, but he did.

He proceeded to take these impressions of what I am guessing are the teeth next to the front two, and my cuspids. It was weird, but totally cool. It was this plate type thing that had 4 waxy caps on it and big stick in the middle (which placed my mid-line). I have to laugh now—I felt like I was Forrest Gump when he got his magic shoes with all the measurements to mold out my teeth. Next he measured my teeth and talked about the size of what my veneers will be. Like I said before, I have small teeth—and nothing proves that more than having this little itty bitty measuring device sizing up my chompers.

Pretty soon we were done, and he left me and Krista to discuss size and shape. Yes, I was able to sit there and go through a book and pick what I wanted. It was like getting a new car, I swear! “Should I go with the LE or the LX package? Do I want a sunroof? Hmm, green or silver?” It was so much fun—like I was choosing how I wanted my life to start over. The power was in my hands, but dear Lord, I can’t make a decision like that to save my life. I flipped back and forth, and eventually came to the decision of “square-round, square-round, pointed.” Wow, that sounds like a 3rd base coach or something. In a nut shell, the square-round is a little more feminine, where something such as square-square is more masculine. The pointed is my cuspid, which I decided on that only because if it’s too pointed, Dr. Gibberman can smooth it out to something I like.

So there you have it. I picked my teeth out! Oh, and I might not have to have this stupid baby tooth and permanent tooth cut out either! We are thinking we might take a different route. Ah, ah, ah—can’t tell you that until next time. Next week I go in for my Zoom whitening—which I can’t wait for because I can’t remember the last time my teeth were perfectly white. I’M SO EXCITED!!! It’s really here; my dream of a perfect smile is almost reality. Somebody pinch me! Till next time!

Last update: 25-06-2008 23:26

Published in : Chic Blog, General

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Posted by astorer, on 28-06-2008 05:42, , Registered

1. exciting!

That's so exciting! I can't wait to see pictures!

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"Am I talking funny to you?"

(Thursday, May 29 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 29-05-2008 21:46

Holy crap! I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks since my last visit to the good Dr. Gibberman and I haven’t blogged about it! I think I’m slowly losing my memory—it just hit me that I forgot to do this until I got my confirmation email for my next visit. SORRY!!!

So, the newest adventure with the teeth—I got my occlusal guard. It sort of looks like a retainer, but I can’t really complain because you can’t see it when I wear it. There wasn’t much to this last visit—pretty much chit chat with the gals there (yes, I said chit chat—they rock like that) and then I was back sitting in a chair getting shown my “corrective device” and a quick fitting with Dr. Gibberman.

What’s an occlusal guard you ask? Let me share since I specifically asked this question because I know inquiring minds want to know! First, it’s this clear plastic piece shaped like the roof of my mouth attached to a wire that runs at the top of gums just so it holds. Like I said, you can’t see the wire, especially since I already hide my teeth, plus my mouth just keeps its well contained. Second, it doesn’t shift my teeth around like a retainer does. It actually has this little tip on it that keeps me from biting down, which leads to the third interesting tid bit. “So Dr. Gibberman, what’s this gonna do exactly?” “Well, it’s going to re-train your brain how to hold your mouth.”

Yes, that’s right—re-train my brain. I sort of chuckled to myself at first, “haha, OK, re-train my brain!” but man, this thing is working. The first day wasn’t too bad—quickly found out why I was told to take it while eating after I bit down hard on my Jr. Bacon. You’d think I learned my lesson with the food. Oh no, I popped in a piece of gum and about made my eyeballs pop out. Crap, that hurt! I’m surprised I didn’t crack off that plastic tip I bit so hard. It was kind of hard to get used to talking with it, even though my co-workers said they couldn’t tell it was in. I even tried to keep it in and talk to this hottie—yeah, not so smooth.

So anyways, this thing is basically going to keep me from crashing my veneers (look back at another blog to reference my teeth grinding). I’m holding my mouth, jaw, whatever, in such a way that I have to learn how to correctly keep it inline (doesn’t a bar a soap do that too?). Ok, that was a lame one, but I’m leaving it in here. This guard thing isn’t too bad, but I am such a chronic gum chewer and I have done nothing but talk to people at work and over the phone that I only wear it at night and when I’m just sitting around. I can tell a difference though, so maybe a little a plastic thing really can re-train my brain.

Nothing much new will happen on the next visit. Just checking to see how my guard is working for me. I’ll be doing a zoom whitening after that and then the good times are gonna roll. Until then, I gotta wear this thing for a few more weeks. I’ll live—at least its not braces for 5 years—my patience isn’t that long!

Last update: 29-05-2008 21:48

Published in : Chic Blog, General

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A milestone...my first fillings

(Thursday, April 24 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 24-04-2008 21:38

Well, the cavities are filled and I survived! Technically 8 of them got fillings, 3 had build ups (something similar to a temporary filling). I’ll explain that part later. First things first—the day before. I was fine, a little anxious, but not scared. Then I started talking to some folks at work. Each person had their own story, but the main consensus was that the sound of the drill is horrible, and the Novocain shots were something I wanted to avoid. Of course that is virtually impossible seeing how I had 11 cavities in all 4 quadrants of my mouth, but I still asked Jennifer about it. Hey, can’t blame a girl for trying.

So I get to the office bright and early, ready to get it over with. I open the door to seeing everyone smiling and happy—at 7:30 mind you. “OK,” I thought, “feeling a little better.” I chatted with Jennifer for a bit, then Dr. Gibberman came out and put his arm around my shoulders and reassured me I’d be alright. Sweet relief—I was so happy to be back in his office after my not so pleasant oral surgeon visit.

Krista walked me back to her room, and she started explaining what we were going to do. First they use a gel to numb the areas of Novocain injection, then after a bit, Dr. Gibberman went in for the numbing. I was such a chicken at first—I asked if I could close my eyes so I wouldn’t see the needle. I can watch my blood get drawn and have 4 tattoos, but I was freaked out by seeing a needle go in my mouth. He said, “Whatever makes you comfortable,” which at that time, not seeing anything was fine for me. Then my curiosity gave in a little because I wasn’t feeling any pricks or pain, so I opened one eye, then the other. “Heyyyy, not too bad!” I thought, “and kinda fun to have the tingles in my lips.”

After a couple extra shots because I was still talking “too normal” we were ready for the drilling. *Deep breath* “You’re gonna live, he’s great at what he does, it will be OK.” Wouldn’t you know it, I was fine. The drilling sound was not blood curdling, and I actually turned my music off so I could hear the general dentistry convo between Dr. Gibberman and Krista. Then I heard it—the only bad news of the appointment. “The decay is too bad in there, you need a crown.” “Well of course I need a crown, I am the queen, and it’s about time my royalty was acknowledged. Wait, what was that? That kind of crown? Bummer. Oh, there’s more? Two of my wisdom have the same problem and will need to be removed?” That’s about the point where my stomach flipped. It went from 1 day of pain from cutting out that permanent tooth to a swollen face, gauzed up gums, and no solids for days. Karma, it’s coming back on me.

The odd thing is that when news like that came from Dr. Gibberman, I didn’t want to run away crying like I did with the oral surgeon or my old dentist. It was sort of casual, like, “Hey, it’s gonna be alright, no biggie,” but yet professional. That’s one of the many things I like about him—he says things in such a way that you don’t feel guilty for bad dental care or that you are a horrible person for letting things get so disgusting. If anything, he makes you feel confident and positive about the future. Yeah, I’ve gotta get my wisdom teeth cut out and a crown, but it will be alright, nothing to stress about.

So we get the drilling done, and after another couple doses of Novocain, Krista went to work. She was cracking me up—she’s so real just like everyone else in that office. Poor thing had to spend almost 4 hours hunched over my mouth. Lord knows she deserved that LaRosa’s pizza they were getting for lunch (veggie topper at that—could I be drooling anymore???).

All in all it wasn’t death defying at all—I made it though with no tears shed, and pretty much pain free. I did take a few Ibuprofens for my jaw since it was open for so long and for all the shots I had, but other than that I was good to go. The worst thing of the whole experience—eating a Frosty out of one side of my mouth and having my co-workers laugh at me. Avoiding a glop of chocolaty goodness on your shirt is quite the task. One of them even said, “You must have a VERY good dentist for how well you are doing after 11 cavities.”

You know what, I do. I have the best.

Last update: 24-04-2008 21:38

Published in : Chic Blog, General

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I'm getting closer

(Monday, April 21 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 21-04-2008 00:09

Wow, time has flown since my last blog. First and foremost I should explain why I’m just getting to blog about the last dentist visit as well as my upcoming appointment. In my creative mind I thought it would be more enticing to talk about my cleaning and my oral surgeon in one blog, and since they were just days apart, it worked out better. That was until my big let down. Let down is a bit of an understatement actually—I will go into detail later. So I was not quite in the blogging mood for about a week, and as Murphy’s Law seems to rule lately, our internet started moving slower than molasses and would constantly boot me off when I finally felt up to typing. I’m talking watching paint dry would be more productive than sitting here watching the hour glass spin.

I don’t know what the gig was, but I can’t complain now—I’m up and running and I have a lot to share, so here it goes….

The last appointment I had was to get my teeth cleaned, something I haven’t done in years and is probably the sole reason I have all these cavities. I was looking forward to it though—it almost made me feel like I was getting a clean slate. I sat down in the chair, had a quick convo with Dr. Gibberman about my upcoming oral surgeon consult, then Karen got to work. I’m really learning a lot about dentistry and all these interesting facts about teeth. For example, did you know that you form more build up on the lower teeth that need to be cleaned because of the glands there? Or did you know we need fluoride treatments as adults because our gums recede? Yeah, its’ not just guy’s hairlines ladies—both men and women suffer from our gums creeping up on us.

So I get the best cleaning ever—Karen chipped away, primarily at the stains on the back of my lower front teeth, and gave me a painted-on fluoride treatment. It did look as though I hadn’t brushed for days and had flaky stuff on my teeth, but at least with the treatment she gave me I could eat and drink immediately after. Wow, did that cleaning make a difference—when I showed my dad my cleaned chompers, he thought I actually had my teeth whitened! I can’t wait to see what they look like when that happens—I’ll be like Ross from Friends on the teeth whitening and black light episode!

Well, I went on my merry way, with the next trip being to the oral surgeon. This is where I got bummed. OK, hacked off and shifting into bitch mode is more like it. So I take my nifty x-ray in and immediately old memories start flooding back to me. The office was blah, and while the girl at the counter was nice, the rest of my visit was like I went back in time. There I sat, pretty much being told what my options are for the tooth rammed up in my jaw. Oh, what do you know, he pushes the gradual pull down bracket thing and braces, and then tells me to call an orthodontist. Umm, NO!!!! I wanted to cry. I’m 26 and I had to hold back the tears or fright and anger like I did when I was 14. Not only did the guy not crack so much as a half grin at my witty answers, but made me want to call off this whole thing. Don’t get me wrong, he is good and explained that I am in good shape and shouldn’t have any issues getting the tooth down whichever route I took, but he was no Dr. Gibberman.

Basically I stewed for days about that visit. I had a lot to think about too. He pretty much told me I had three options. First, there was the braces idea. That my friends was a breath he should have saved. Nope, not gonna happen. You’re wasting your time. If I wanted braces I would have called an orthodontist years ago. Second option was to obviously cut it out and do the implant. Third, cut and do a bridge, which he also didn’t like. Whatever, jerk.

So I’m still torn on implant or bridge. I’m putting that guidance in Dr. Gibberman’s hands when I see him this week. He is like my Yoda, my Mr. Miyagi to the dentistry world. The great wise one who all go to in search of answers and reassurance. I’m thinking the bridge, but we’ll see.

I get my cavities filled on Wednesday—all 11 in one mouth numbing visit. I wanted to get it done in one shot, so I need to get a good song list together on my IPod. I’m thinking slow ballads or rockin’ 80’s music. I’m not too nervous…yet that is. I think I’m more worried about drooling all over myself until the novocain wears off. This ought to be an interesting event to report back on.

Here’s to Wednesday—may the novocain be strong and my saliva glands go dry!

Last update: 21-04-2008 00:11

Published in : Chic Blog, General

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Here's the game plan...

(Tuesday, March 25 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 25-03-2008 21:37

Well everyone, we have a plan. I knew I had a ton of work ahead of me, but I guess when it’s all laid out, it kinda takes you back a bit. I’m gonna take a shot in the dark, but I’m betting that those extreme makeover shows skip a ton of info between the before and after picture. All I know is I’m thankful I’m getting my work done by the best of the best and every step is taken for a reason. At any rate, here’s the 411 on my consult…

So I got to see the mold of my mouth. I had to laugh—I have the smallest teeth EVER. Who knew cause I have such a big mouth—haha! Anyways, so I have small teeth, which actually works for me because I have a very nice arch. Hmm, maybe I should use that as a personal ad, “green eyes, long brown hair, nice arch...” Really, for having all my wisdom teeth in, nothing got shoved out of place, which works for my benefit.

Oh, and I found out a handy little tid-bit of info. My theory has always been this—screw root canals, caps, or filling after filling on those back teeth you can’t see…just pull the damn thing and spare me the time and pain. Well, apparently I’m not the Albert Einstein prodigy I thought I once was. Dr. Gibberman asks, “Do you like to eat?” Umm, yes, very much so. “Do you like to taste your food?” Yeah, every savory LaRosa’s bite. Apparently my tongue isn’t the only factor why that prima veggie pizza tastes like heaven! If those back teeth aren’t there, the food is chewed elsewhere, completely missing all those taste buds. Decision: fix them—I love food way too much.

I got to see my whole “slide show” if you will of my pictures and that nifty computer system they have. To reiterate, I HATE my teeth and smile. It’s hideous, embarrassing, childish…I can go on and on. Seeing it up close was a little rough, but it really put into perspective how badly I need this.

Without further ado, here is the game plan:

1) I go in for a cleaning next Thursday—nothing big, just a typical cleaning. After that, I’m scheduling a 6 month visit to keep my butt in line (well, Jennifer is scheduling me, but I like to think I took the motivation to do it—it makes me feel better if I tell myself that).
2) I’m getting all those cavities taken care. All those as in 11—yeah, told you guys it’s been a while. Who knew that even if you brush every day and didn’t have any tooth pain that those little devils could accumulate that fast? If that isn’t testimony enough for the rest of the anti-dentist crowd to get a check up, I don’t know what else to say.
3) Corrector piece. It’s like a retainer, but it will make sure that everything is in its proper place so I don’t go and bash the veneers right out of my mouth since I’m grinding somehow (possible when I chew). I kinda felt like a farm animal for a second, but was reassured, “No, you do not chew like a cow.” Dr. Gibberman thought I wouldn’t be too happy with wearing it, but he had to laugh when I responded, “I don’t care, as long as it’s not head gear!”
4) Zoom whitening to see what my natural shade is. This will be the deciding factor as to if I get 6 or 8 veneers, as well as what shade so I don’t have brown bottom teeth and blinding flashers on the top. Yeah, gives the phrase “two-toned” a completely different spin.
5) Deal with the cusped (not cuspate—thanks a bunch spell check, and a real thanks to Dr. Gibberman for filling me in—hahaha, no pun intended). As I said before, that little sucker is clinging on for dear life. Question is if it’s pulled, will the permanent tooth come down on its own later and screw up all the hard work he’s gonna do, or does it need to be cut out? YIKES!!! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that none of the above happen and it just chills up in my pallet like it has for all these years. Then will it be bridge or implant? That is yet to be determined by the oral surgeon.
6) Finally, after all the preparation, I will get my perfect veneers to finish the transformation!

So there you have it. Hopefully things go smooth with the oral surgeon’s decision—right now that’s the only thing that worries me, but I’m trying not to think about it until I cross that bridge (or implant). *insert rim shot*

Last update: 25-03-2008 21:41

Published in : Chic Blog, General

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Posted by Amy, on 26-03-2008 06:52, , Guest

1. GOOD LUCK!

Good luck girl! I'm so excited for you!

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My first exam--not too bad!

(Tuesday, March 18 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 18-03-2008 05:34

Woo-wee…what a night! So I had my first dental exam in like, a decade, and got my first set of impressions. Let me first start from the beginning… Of course, just like last time, I first walk in to see Jennifer sitting there smiling. Always a welcoming scene—not like some medical offices where you walk in and the lady behind the counter doesn’t acknowledge your mere existence until you sign the clipboard. I have to admit, I was nervous all over again, but only because I really didn’t want to know how many cavities I have (we’ll go into that later), but for some reason it was all shaken off no sooner had I hung up my coat. So Dr. Gibberman comes in smiling as well and off we go (I’d have to say that either everyone there loves their job or they are just generally happy people—perhaps it’s both). First things first—photos. For the first time in my life every picture I showed my teeth. Well, I had to, but it still felt funny. All I could think was, “Next time we do this, it’s gonna be perfect!” I had a few standing up, then in the chair with these funny plastic things that pulled my lips away for a shot of it all—teeth and gums. Now I don’t know if times have changed since my last dental appointment or if Dr. Gibberman is just this good, but a few seconds later, up comes my pictures on a computer screen in the room. There I sat, staring at my jacked up, gapping, stained grill. Ugh—I wanted to drill my own teeth out! “No! Hold the Novocain; I deserve the agony for what I have my mouth through!” I was a bit comforted when he told me it’s really not that bad, which I thought, “Well, I have seen worse too, and he is the professional!” Sounds bad of me, but hey, I’m being honest here. Anyways, so next comes the exam. I sat back and let the good times roll. Ya’ll, I’m telling you, this man is awesome. He really knows his stuff, and it doesn’t even feel like you are sitting in a dentist’s chair. You know that feeling when you are super comfortable with a doctor? That’s what you get with him. He explained everything he was doing, what’s good and bad, told me to let him know if anything hurt—you get the picture. So I get my exam, and after a number of cavities found that I’d rather not state, I was ready for my impressions and x-rays. Again, awesome thing with the computer screen—the x-rays popped up right there in front of me. Pretty crazy. So there I sat, looking at that damn tooth that’s just sitting there chilling in my pallet causing all these problems for me. And there was this stupid little baby tooth, hanging on for dear life with a bit a root. Grrr, I was honestly angry at my baby tooth. At any rate, next came the impressions—actually pretty fast. It reminded me of the colored spackle that is pink in the container but turns white when it dries. Of course this stuff dried in like 30 seconds and wasn’t as nasty. After a quick clean up, I was on my way! So here is what I found out: First of all, I apparently grind my teeth, which as you know, is not a good thing. Second, I have cavities—a lot. Third, my gums are in good shape, except for one of my back wisdom teeth and the tissue around that (nothing some careful flossing can’t fix). Fourth, there is a possibility of getting an implant where the baby cuspate is rather than the bridge, but we gotta talk to the oral surgeon and get their opinion. Fifth, I’m on my way to perfect teeth! There you have it. I go back next Monday for my consult to go over everything and make a decision on what exactly we are gonna do. Yeah! I can’t wait! I guess it goes to show he is great when I can’t wait for a week to pass to go to the dentist again! Till’ next time….

Last update: 18-03-2008 05:34

Published in : Chic Blog, General

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the day is drawing closer!

(Saturday, March 15 2008) Written by Veronica Rolfes

Written by Veronica Rolfes, on 15-03-2008 10:41

Happy weekend readers! So I have a question to answer—“When is your next appointment?” Well, I’m ecstatic to say this Monday, as in two days. I’m getting kind nervous again, but in that good way. The ball will be officially rolling and I’ll be well on my way to that perfect smile I have dreamed of since, well, as long I remember. I think I’m more nervous of the exam because this will be the moment of truth when I find out 1.) if I gotta go through the bridge or can just swing on into the veneers, and 2) how horrible of shape my teeth and gums really are. It’s not like you can cover up years of neglect! There’s no magic cover up to a cavity, and there is no 10 minute fix to shiny white teeth (those strips only go so far people). I have faith though that the good Dr. Gibberman won’t give me too much grief—we’re only looking up from here! At any rate, that’s the scoop—look for a blog either Monday night or the next day. I’ll be sure to fill you in on my “bite, rinse, spit” events!

Last update: 15-03-2008 10:41

Published in : Chic Blog, General