On March 4th, Sarah had her first appointment at the orthodontist. She was super excited about finally getting straight teeth, so imagine her disappointment when I explained that this first visit was just to check things out and see what needed to be done. I was a bit skeptical about this particular doctor, since it had taken so long just to get a first appointment. I had called back in December!
But, then we got there and were very pleasantly surprised. All the ladies (yes, only ladies) working in the office, from the receptionist to the assistants were super nice. They talked directly to Sarah, kneeling down so they were at her eye level, and explained everything they were going to do before they did it. The Orthodontist came in, Dr. Voelgi, and Sarah really started to have fun. He showed her all the buttons on the exam chair, told her what they did, and even let her push a few.
The initial exam was over rather quickly. He looked in her mouth, had her bite down on a few pieces of paper, and that was about it. He said he had seen enough to know that she definitely needed to have braces, but exactly what kind and for how long he wouldn't know until they did more investigate work. He asked me to make an appointment for that with the front desk, and that it should be as soon as possible. Then he shook Sarah's hand goodbye and left.
I was impressed with how friendly he was, how good his English was, (although we spoke German, he would throw in a few English words here and there, and his accent was spot on) and how relaxed he made Sarah feel. I wasn't sure how soon we could come back, considering how long it took to get this appointment, but was pleased enough to consider trying. Imagine my surprise when they said we could come the next day to have the molds made, and then have the consultation a mere two weeks later. I guess the initial appointment being so far away was just a fluke.
Anyway, we show up the next day to have them take x-rays and make the molds of her upper and lower jaws, so they can best determine what needs to be done for her. She liked the x-rays, they didn't hurt a bit. They had Sarah stand up in the middle of a room, put one of those radiation aprons on her, and then the x-ray machine whirled around her head, taking pictures of her whole skull and jaw. She said the best part was when they took the apron off, because it felt so heavy on, when they removed it, she felt like she could fly!
The mold making, however, did not go so well. Sarah started gagging just from them putting the empty mold in her mouth, so they could check the size. When it came time for the mushy-gushy clay to get put inside, all bets were off. I told her to breathe through her nose, because it helped get rid of that gaggy feeling in the back of your throat. She did her best, poor little thing, but eventually, it just got to be too much, and she threw up. And not just a little bit. Oh no, my girl managed to shoot it all the way down to her ankles, covering herself and the two assistants in the process. I even saw them wiping off some of the machinery afterward, as well.
Needless to say, that ended the mold making pretty quickly. Since only one had gotten done, we had to make another appointment to get the second one finished. They told us there was some medicine she could take beforehand that numbed the muscles in the back of the throat, making her gag reflex not so sensitive. We would try that before the next visit. On the way to the car I told Sarah she could have another cookie when we got home, since the one she ate just before we left was now all over the dentist' office. She was happy with that. :)