Dr. Diane is a Patient!

I’m excited about blogging! I’ve been emailing for ages and never understood what this meant! Hopefully, I’ll have something meaningful to share that you can connect with or laugh at! I also hope that you’ll get to know me outside of the office – and you can feel free to call me “Di” if you see me at Shaw’s or out and about town. (Really, “Dr. Diane” is really so formal to me!) Over the course of blogging, I will share my life – its ups and downs, my loves and frustrations, and I hope that you will see that I’m really just your average gal next door… I definitely invite comments and look forward to dialoguing! Let’s make this a fun adventure!

While I had been wanting to blog for a while, I got motivated the other day when I started my own Invisalign treatment – yes, invisible braces! While I’m only on Day 2, I’ve gotten some raised eyebrows after announcing it to parents. “But your front teeth are straight!” or “I don’t get it! Your teeth look great!” I’m flattered but I’ve also been dying to fix parts of my bite that didn’t get fixed completely when I was in braces as a teen. Fortunately I wore my retainers and the correction I have to do is limited, but significant. My “bite” has always felt off…

I’m a firm believer in standing behind what I recommend to my patients. I always thought it was funny that there are so many orthodontists who tell their patients about the benefits of braces when they themselves have crooked teeth or an uncorrected bite. Isn’t that like an overweight, smoking cardiologist telling you to modify your diet to help your heart? Or a dermatologist that is addicted to the tanning beds?? Practice what you preach, I say!

I’m really glad I decided to re-treat – now mostly because I REALLY know what my patients are going through! There are some challenges like remembering how it feels to eat when your teeth are achy, and remembering to put them back in after meals – oops! – I’m going to go brush and wear them right now!!!

Stay tuned… I will be back within a week to let you know my progress, but also the NON-ORTHODONTIC stuff going on – big stuff coming up!! (ps –thanks for reading!)