Braces
It might seems strange but here I am, about to turn 35 and finally about to get much needed braces. And excited about it!
I have a very small mouth, dentist and hygienists always comment about it. And it’s very crowded. When I was 12 I went to the orthodontist and we were all set to start the 2 year process of fixing the crowding issue while I was still young and it would be “easy”. However, my father was in the Air Force and we found out a week or so before my first appointment that we were about to move to Holland. This was a family decision and I was excited as can be. What 12 year old wouldn’t be excited to live in Europe? Unfortunately, the orthodontist didn’t want to start something that someone else was going to have to finish and therefor wouldn’t put the braces on. And when I went to my next dentist appointment in Holland the military dentists declared it purely cosmetic (because they would have had to pay for it if otherwise) and since we’d heard some bad things about the European dentists and braces, I just never got braces. Of course years later when I started seeing civilian dentists again they let us know that crowding is a lot more then just a cosmetic issue and can cause all kinds of problems, which I am now facing.
Cavities caused by the crowding, gum recession caused by the crowding, headaches and discomfort in the teeth caused by the crowding. Concerns about TMJ being created in the future because my bite is so far off. So this week I made an appointment for an initial consultation in a few weeks and hopefully by this summer we’ll be set up to start the process. I’m curious to see what the ortho has to say because the dentist gave me several warnings about mine being a difficult case and it’s much harder with adults who’s bones are so set. But she went back for braces at age 58 (she looks much younger then that so I was shocked) and said not to worry, it’s worth it.
I don’t know how I’ll feel about no longer having my fangs. They are such a part of me and how I see myself and think of myself. They were the first thing Dusty noticed about me because he thought they were cute. Lots of people have made similar comments in my lifetime. But I want to be healthy so I’ll just have to learn how to see myself in a whole new way. Both my parents had lots of crowding and just had braces put on in the past 10 years. I always loved their smiles because they were the smiles of my parents. But I have to admit that now they are these beaming smiles of straight teeth and it sure is neat.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
hey dawn, funny story i have to tell…i was missing two mature teeth and ended up retaining two baby teeth up front and they were fangs. long story short, they fell out when i turned 21 and i had to go thru dental reconstruction/implants. it was a crazy time with dentures (yay, at 21) and braces, but i am really happy to have had it all straightened out (pun intended). so, go for it, you will love the results.