Well, guess what? I had an orthodontist appointment on Wednesday and the assistant put on rubber bands! The conversation:
Jen (assistant): “Have you had rubber bands before?”
Me: “Uh… I don’t think so…”
Jen: *laugh* “Yeah, well, you’d know if you had them before.”
Me: “Oh no.”
Definitely “Oh no.” They HURT for the first few days. They are still uncomfortable, but most of the pain has passed. 
Yay.
I’m supposed to wear them 24 hours a day and I’m probably wearing them 23 hours a day so far. 24 hours a day is like impossible because you have to take them off to eat and brush. Here’s what I’ve come up with:
- Breakfast = 15 min.
- Lunch = 15 min.
- Dinner = 15 min (or more…dinner takes around 30 minutes at our house).
- All brushing times + snacks = 15 min (or less, depending on the circumstances).
I think that’s pretty good! 
I’m going to wear these stretchy pulling things as much as possible. I want them outta my mouth ASAP. 
I had a dentist appointment at 10:00 am on Thursday (the morning after the sleepover). We had to hustle to make it.
The appointments (we each had one except for Baba) were super fast this time! Normally each person is in the “chair” for around 45 minutes. This time it seemed like Naomi and Mikah were 15 minutes and then Mom and I were a half hour.
My hygienist said I was meticulous, my mouth was spotless, and I cleaned hard-to-reach places (like under the edges of the metal bands circling two of my back teeth). I have to admit, that was very nice to hear!
I’ve probably bored you half to death if you’ve even reached this part in the post! Thanks for reading, though!
Haniya
Hi! I definitely reached the end of the post and it was extremely interesting. Your faithful rubber-band usage will probably reduce the timing on your braces in the long run!
You are the best orthodontic patient your orthodontist has ever had. I’m sure that’s what they talk about every day. At their staff meetings: “You know that young lady Haniya??” “Oh yes I certainly remember her!” “Well, SHE is the BEST patient we had EVER had in braces!!!” “Definitely true!”
…and then they go back to their operatories to start all over again re-instructing other patients on HOW TO BRUSH, BRUSH, BRUSH CORRECTLY. “Oh, Dr. Smith, don’t you just wish that EVERYONE listened to our advice like Haniya does??” “OH, I sure do, Evelyn!”
You are sweet, Tata.
.-= Haniya´s last blog ..Rubber Bands =-.