I can’t wait for my adult braces to come off!
Summer last year, I went to an ortho friend just to have her check (for vanity more than anything else) if I could have my teeth aligned. She made me go for a panoramic X-ray which showed that I had no choice but to wear braces because I had TMJ Syndrome (TMJ stands for Temporo-Mandibular Joint). My jaws were not aligned (which was why I often experienced the clicking of my jaws when I open my mouth) and it was just a matter of time before I would start experiencing pain if I did not get the braces. So there…
But after a year of wearing them, it does get tiring and inconvenient. I’ve experienced the following so far:
🙁 smiling and looking like the female version of “Jaws”
🙁 wishing I was good enough with Adobe Photoshop to “photoshop” away the braces from all my photos
🙁 feeling like a barbecue with loose wire piercing my cheeks
🙁 running back to ortho every now and then just to have extra wire cut after teeth moved
🙁 having to check the mirror after every meal to find out if food particles are stuck in between the tooth brackets (yuk…gross!!!) — can you imagine trying to find a decent and clean ladies room whenever you’re out of the house?
🙁 not leaving home without my dental kit (wax, mini interdental brushes, toothbrush, toothpaste) — tell me, how do you stick all these into a teeny-weeny formal bag at a wedding?
🙁 doing without food that stick to teeth, too hard to chew, too crunchy (no more chicharon, nuts, etc.)
🙁 having a crown break on me, causing trauma to gums, going on soft diet while infection is being treated with antibiotics (this is me now!)
Sigh! I know that patience will pay off in the end. And my ortho friend is so very patient with me and is really great at her job. But while I am still in this situation, there are just days when I feel like ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Don’t worry, Jane, soon when your braces are out, you will be sporting a “Close Up” smile… 🙂 No pain, no gain, as they say!
Jane: Rhodora, oh thanks so much for comforting me. I needed that. Yes, I have my up and down days and you sure brightened one of my down days….:-)
Oh sweetie! I’m so very sorry about all that stuff 🙁 I wore my braces from 8 to 16 yrs. old, yikes! yep, it totally sucked. i remember every single discomfort. My thoughts are with you, and no worries, they will come off, rant away!!! It makes you feel better to rant anyway. I’m a big fan of ranting. May your liquid diet serve you well 😉
Jane: Hi there again Elsie! What a relief to hear this from a yoga practitioner! People sometimes expect yoginis to be always peaceful, always calm and cool. Nope, not true! I have days when yoga flies out the window and I blow my top. But that is precisely why I need yoga….it grounds me and keeps me even-tempered on most days….
I went here coz I want to reread this post on adult braces. Huhuhu. I had mine a week ago. Gaaad. I want to take them all off now, pronto! Parang not worth it. Hay. Well, I will just try to LOL this out.
Jane: Awww, Lynn. I really understand what you are going through. It does seem like it isn’t worth it, with sores all over and gums feeling pierced all the time. But give it a few months and the pain is not as bad as the gums toughen up. And when you see your teeth moving into position you can almost imagine how much better you will look when all those metal contraptions come off. When you have really bad days with it….go ahead….RANT!