She's come a long way....

It has been five long years. Five LONG years since we started this process and we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. It all started with a trip to the dentist and a referral to the orthodontist.....well no actually I think it started earlier than that. I think this all started when she would rather suck her thumb than on a binki and then wouldn't stop until that fateful trip to the orthodontist and we hear the dreaded words----braces. That word in itself conjures up horrible trips to see Dr. Bluher....yes those of you who had to deal with him remember what I am talking about. I don't think there was ever a time when I came out of his office smiling, I seem to recall lots of tears being shed in his chair. Fortunately I think that the times are changing and braces isn't a swear word anymore. The experience with Amanda has taught me that the experience I had with braces is no longer the norm.

Our first step was to stop the thumb sucking....yes she was still sucking at 10 and needed to stop. After that the process of repairing the damage that had been done was started. We have taken multiple trips and many hours have been spent in the waiting room while she had work done.....But the payoff.........she is FINALLY done with braces. The bad news is that I am not done paying the bill for them. How is that possible? Oh well, I guess that is life. But just to warn you these pictures aren't for the faint of heart....but they tell the story better than words. She has come a LONG way and we are thankful for the technology that has allowed her to have a prettier smile than she would have any other way.

This first picture was taken when we were first referred to the orthodontist. It isn't a pretty site. There is lots of work to be done.

This second picture is one that was taken after we had stopped her from sucking her thumb and also she had lost a few of the baby teeth. I am amazed at how they were able to change her smile from on that would have looked like this, to the first picture on my post.