Orthodontist

For the past few years Kyra has been asking our dentist about braces. He has told her that she has minor overcrowding and he thought we should wait until she lost all of her baby teeth to see her teeth would shift. So on our last dentist appointment, a month ago, Kyra pointed out to our new dentist (our usual one just retired) that she only has one more tooth to lose and it is loose, so what about braces? Why does this kid want braces? He gave me a referral to Dr. Janice Wilmot, orthodontist, and I made the appointment for today. When we pulled into the parking lot Kyra wasn't too thrilled since it's a pretty plain looking location. But once inside the door she was comfortable. Nothing too fancy, but a welcoming environment. The staff we met were very nice and the kids looked cheerful as they were called one by one from the waiting room into the back for their adjustments. They took x-rays of Kyra's teeth, a photo of her happy smile, and another photo of her teeth with her lips held back by some type of instrument. I guess this will be the "before" photos. Dr. Wilmot said that Kyra has an overbite, overcrowding, and her teeth aren't in perfect alignment with each other. This misalignment will cause her teeth to grind away at each other during chewing and eventually cause problems. She will need full upper and lower braces for about 18-22 months. Oh joy! Dr. Wilmot said the only thing keeping her from being ready for braces was that one tooth that Kyra needs to work out. Because this isn't exactly cheap and wasn't in my budget for this year I talked with Dr. Wilmot about possibly waiting until January before getting started. As she said, it's not like a burst appendix that has to be taken care of immediately, so a short delay won't be a problem. Kyra on the otherhand is eager to get started.