For the last two and a half years, like many millions of people, I have suffered the burden of having to wear metal braces on my mouth. According to statistics, there are 4 million people wearing braces in the US
Braces are such a pain - you have to be careful about what you eat, what you drink - even absent-mindedly chewing on a pen can break your brace - which can lead to sitting for hours in the orthodontist's waiting room, waiting for a broken brace appointment. The whole issue with food getting stuck in the brace is not exactly enjoyable either.
Not only do braces hinder eating and drinking, they are also aesthetically unpleasant (in my view, anyway). I mean, who finds bits of metal attached to teeth attractive? They change the shape of your face and do not look nice in photos - I've spent the last two years trying to avoid having my photo taken when my mouth wasn't closed (below being a failure).
On Tuesday 2nd February, my brace was removed. FINALLY. Six months after it was meant to be removed. I can't quite believe that they're off, as though any minute my orthodontist will pop up and say "Okay, let's put them back on now!". I've got a retainer to wear, but it's only at night and it beats having a mouth full of metal. Just cleaning my teeth feels so different, and easy.
I had my first apple in ages today, which was so delicious. To hear that first crunch was so satisfying. I won't lie, I'm pretty pleased with the end result.
If you've got braces, or you're getting them, relax. It sucks having them, and that doesn't make it better, but the end result is so unbelievably worth it.
Flo x
Oh, I had braces for forever; I had to have retainers for 2 or so years to attempt to get my retained upper canines to come through, and then I had a 18 months of train tracks to follow. I finally had them removed a couple weeks before I went to uni. I've still got some gaps though because they extracted 4 teeth, but it's allowed one of my wisdom teeth to start coming through. I am so grateful to have good teeth now though! It seemed like it was going to last forever (to be fair, I had braces of some form or another for most of my teenage years!) but I still look at them now and go, 'Ah, straight teeth'. Although after my orthodontist finally discharged me, I've 'gotten quite bad at wearing my retainer, which I should be wearing one night a week or so. Shall have to get it out soon. Anyway, sorry for recounting my epic tale of braces, congratulations on getting yours removed! Now you can smile freely!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing other people's brace stories - it makes me feel like I wasn't the only one, which it felt like. I'm glad your teeth got sorted too.
ReplyDeleteI got my brace at the start of year 8.
ReplyDeleteIt was taken off mid-year 9 because the guy decided to totally mess them up and was refuing to sort it and it was really getting me down so me & my dad just turned around and said "take it off. now" and he did.
Kinda wish he hadn't though 'cause now my teeth are worse than they were before. :(
Maybe my own fault for not wearing my retainer, but my logic in that is that I'll get them again if they fall to a certain degree of awfulness. But with me now being in year 11, if I ever manage to get them again, I'll have them in university or when I have become an adult and end up like ugly betty or something.
Oh god, my life is doomed.
Rant. Sorry.