Morgan's Big Day!

We found out about a month ago that Morgan needs braces and a Rapid Palatal Expander, which is an appliance that widens the roof of the mouth to allow room for crowded teeth to grow naturally. She's been absolutely thrilled about the idea of having braces until today, in fact, she was down right giddy when they told her she was a perfect braces candidate! She has done nothing but talk about braces for the past month but today her attitude changed a bit. When we got to the appointment she realized she'd have to do the mold for the expander on the top of her mouth. She inherited my gag reflex and as a result spent a few minutes gagging and puking over the sink. Poor little girl, I felt so bad for her I had to leave the room. I'm not helpful in those types of situations. Anyway, we spent a couple of hours this morning getting her molds and getting the braces on. Then we went back in the afternoon to fit the expander and attach the wires. She looks adorable but talks hilarious. She was drooling all over the place and let's just say the twins could talk better than her for awhile. Anyway, this first phase of Orthodontics will be about 6 months and then she'll have a retainer for a couple of years and then I'm sure we'll be in the second phase before we know it.

We had to take some before and after pictures of the big day:

The night before (see, she's super excited)

Heading back to school after the first appointment (she doesn't look quite so enthusiastic) of course, puking will do that to you.

Waiting to be worked over again!

Fitting the expander

The finished product!