May 25, 2001

D.A.B. 35, 5'7, 320 "Tired of being grossly overweight," MD.  Willing to devote 6 months to the regimen with discipline. Expected weight loss 45-50 pounds.

DAB arrived with husband J. Examination of teeth, gums, all soft tissues, extent of movement of jaws, and TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular joints) reveals that D. is in good health. Her medical dental history is unremarkable and the informed consent for jaw wiring has been signed and dated. No radiographs were warranted. Begg brackets were placed on upper teeth 4,5,6 and 11, 12, 13 and lower teeth 29,28,27 and 22,21, and 20.   Additional care was taken to insure that her upper teeth did not contacts the lower brackets lest lower brackets become detached. D. was asked to put her teeth gently together and the wiring was done with "deadsoft" .016 inch diameter stainless steel round wire. Prior to wiring she was given a prophylaxis. D. and her husband carefully observed the placement and procedure of bonding brackets and wiring and rewiring the jaws in the event that  a dentist/orthodontist is not available to do the work. She said her jaws were very comfortable and that the jaw wires permitted her a slight bit of jaw movement. She and her husband were given instructions and practice regarding how and  when to remove the wire. She was given instructions on how to exercise her jaws  during the 3-5 days she would be released from the wires and advised re the possibility of the joint becoming more limited in motion over time (two fingers of opening rather than 3 fingers).  Ps. D. was counseled to adhere to a 1300 calorie  low/no salt liquid diet and to have access to  a handy guide to the caloric value of foods. She was provided a kit of instruments and supplies and shown how and when to use them.   She was shown how to remove the wire with the wire cutter provided. She was asked to keep a log and email it every few weeks.   D. Was happy and optimistic regarding this undertaking and she was hopeful and confident about reaching her goal.  One interesting thing did occur following the placement of brackets. In the process of sanding away some excess adhesive using rotary dental instruments D. was very uncomfortable and complained of pain during the sanding.  This procedure is usually very well tolerated since the sanding is done on the adhesive and never actually on the surface of the tooth although vibrations are transmitted into  the tooth. After the "dust had settled" D. told me that even doing her nails is an uncomfortable procedure. A second item of interest was that even before leaving the office a bracket failed/detached and the wiring  on her left side had to be removed and the bracket rebonded and and her jaw  rewired on the left side. It is always best to wire three upper brackets to three lower brackets however, in the event of a detached bracket wiring 2 bracket temporarily to thee brackets would be ok.

May 30, 2001

D. Emails Dr. Ted who replies:

A weekly journal which will detail my life with wires on my teeth will
hopefully be sent tomorrow for the website. Do you have any suggestions
for decreasing the sensitivity of my teeth? And what is the cause of this
inability to drink cold stuff? I did not realize the roll my tongue played
in protecting my teeth from the cold.


Dear D.
I checked and it looked right to me. Regarding sensitivity: It is not uncommon for the teeth to be sensitive to the cold. In your case given your sensitivities in general it is not at all surprising. If the sensitivity has arisen de novo then I would attribute it to the jaw wiring and the new pressure/tension the teeth are receiving from the wires. My guess is you will adapt in 2-3 weeks and the sensitivity to cold will diminish. let me know if it continues to get worse. Caring for you, Dr. Ted

May 24,  2001     Starting Weigh in...320 pounds.
Day 1

Trip to New York was nice. I was very nervous. Dr Ted made me and my husband
feel right at home. He devoted over three hours to us (the actual wiring
only took 30 minutes). I still wanted to change my mind. But I had come too
far to stop now. After the start of the procedure I really wanted to scream
STOP...NO...DON'T. Once these things were on I hated it. I felt helpless and
hopeful at the same time. Then I thought they don't hurt so I will make the
best of it. Then I had another chance to quit when one of the brackets
became loose. Luckily Dr. Ted only unwired half of my mouth to fix it
because I almost said take everything off. Two chances to quit and I
didn't...maybe there is hope for me yet. Three more hours and a bowl of soup
later I was on my way home with my wires intact. On the way the same bracket
became loose again. I thought 3 strikes and you are out then I remembered
that Dr. Ted said the 2 over 3 bracket formation was ok. Now I can't stop
smiling and thinking that this is going to work because I no longer have the
ability to shove food into my bottomless pit. Then I thought that soup sure
was good and maybe this liquid diet thing might not be so bad. I decided
that my diet would consist mostly of meal replacement shakes and soup. I
will also include snacks like fat free pudding, applesauce, Jell-O, fruit
juice and V8 vegetable juice.

Day 2-7

I realized that my tongue is trapped on the other side of my teeth and now I
think it is FUNNY. I can't lick my fingers. Or use my teeth to open a bag of
chips (for the kids of course). I am hungry very very hungry but am
delighted because I can't stuff my face like before (but for some strange
reason this fact also makes me SAD). I also can't bite my stubby fingernails
anymore. But that is ok because now my nails are growing and my hands are
looking prettier. I can actually feel my fat melting away and a prettier me
keeps looking at me from my mirror. The old me is trying to get out (I used
to be a little vain). Things I have learned so far are:

Put your soup in the blender first,

Yelling at the kids is more tiring,

Tell people you had TMJ surgery that made these wires mandatory,

Buy dental wax for some of the sharp corners of the brackets,

Ice cream is impossible to eat if you have sensitive teeth like mine,

Hunger seems to go away when you drink something warm.

Take pudding to the movies because nothing they have will fit.

The best part about this week was that on day five I was 10 pounds lighter.
Unfortunately I only exercised once with a 45 minutes walk. I had planned on
walking everyday for 30 minute. This I will do better.

May 31, 2001 Weekly Weigh Win...309 that's 11 pounds.