When I was originally
told I would need braces, I wasn’t too bothered. I just wanted to get them over
and done with, preferably rather quickly.
2 years later, I have
metal glued to my teeth.
Going into the
orthodontists practice, I didn’t really know what to expect. I mean, I had an
idea, but I didn’t know how much of it was true; I’d heard some pretty awful
‘horror stories’ about the whole ordeal, and others saying they weren’t too
fussed about it.
On the first
appointment, I was not expecting to
have some sort of photo-shoot, although I knew about the moulds and x-rays,
which weren’t particularly enjoyable either.
Upon the 2nd
appointment, I was told I was to have two teeth out; 1 on either side on the
upper row. I hadn’t had teeth out before, so once again, I didn’t know what to
expect. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, although on the second time,
the dentist had to wiggle more, leaving a bigger hole from the root of the
tooth. It wasn’t particularly painful, just uncomfortable and awkward, and
pretty grim to eat on.
But I made a
miraculous recovery (hooray), just in time to get my top brace on. Not much of
a reward, if I’m honest. Although, as I said before, I didn’t know what to expect,
it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The worst bit was probably the fact
the orthodontist put all the tools together over my head, right in front of my
face; not the most tactical approach.
When he was finished,
he handed me a mirror to have a look at my new brace. I groaned. Rather loudly.
This made him laugh, which didn’t make me feel much better. He sent me off with
some dental wax, a rather depressing leaflet and a card for the next
appointment.
Now, a few days after
having my brace on, I’m starting to get used to the feeling of metal under my
lip. There are some sharp, spikey parts which can be sorted with a little
dental wax, and my gums ache a lot, but overall, it’s better than I expected it
to be pain and discomfort wise. I am, however, not so happy with the look of
the braces. I always knew they weren’t exactly going to be pretty, but now
dreams (or nightmares) have become reality and I’m not enjoying it. I just hope
other people aren’t as aware of them as I am.
I keep trying to
think about the positives of this whole experience, like the ‘Hollywood Smile’
I’ll have at the end when the braces are off, or how they give me an excuse to
force my mum to buy plenty of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. I keep trying to
convince myself that time will fly and before I know it, my teeth will be
straight and the braces can come off. I think I’d better keep wishing on that
one though.
Another good thing is
the amount of experienced friends I have; plenty. Most of my close friends
either have a brace, or used to, and I think I’m annoying them with all my
questions about do’s and don’ts, and general advice.
Hopefully it will all
blow over soon, and I won’t be able to remember not having a brace, just this
weird achy tension.
