Braces!

I'm about 3 weeks late posting this but you know the saying, Better late than never. We finally did the deed - Darrius got his braces! After a year and half of pre-orthodontia treatment, the orthodontist finally said that Darrius was ready for braces. He has all of his permanent teeth, including his 12 yr old molars. I couldn't believe it since he's only 11!  But first, he had to have 4 teeth pulled.

Here they are. All 4 of them. Root and all. Aren't they huge?

Once the teradyctal teeth were pulled and he had a week to heal, it was time to get the braces on. The entire process took 2 1/2 hours. Darrius was a trooper the entire time.  He also got his braces "decorated" with colored plastics that they put on the braces. He got them black and gold - the colors of the Baltimore Ravens.

Cheese!

Once we got home and the Tylenol wore off, he was in a lot of pain. And no longer excited about having the braces. He had difficulty eating for about a week but now that we're almost a month in, he's finally getting used to them. He had a band concert tonight and I didn't think about how the braces would affect his clarinet playing. Whenever he had a break, I'd catch him massaging his jaws. But he soldiered through.

He has to wear the braces for 2 - 2 1/2 years. Darrius already has a great smile; it's going to be a showstopper once we finishes the treatment. Watch out!