So here I sit with a mouthful of metal. Two days ago I got braces.
“What?” you ask. “Aren’t you a little old for tinsel teeth?”
“I beg your pardon! One is never too old for a prettier smile.”
But oh the torture! If I had known how painful it would be, I would have thought twice.
As it was, I vacillated on this decision a number of times up until the moment I was sitting in the orthodontist’s chair watching him lean in for the big procedure.
I can still back out of this, I thought. It’s not too late! I can mumble through the contraption they put around my mouth to keep my lips out of the way. (Wish I’d gotten a picture of that!)
“I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to do this!”
But I didn’t say a word. I lay there in that chair and let them put metal brackets on the teeth of both my upper and lower jaw. I was so nerved up my mouth was quivering.
And at first I thought, well this isn’t so bad. But then the doctor had his assistant wind wire through those brackets which tightened things up a bit. Quite a bit.
And I got my first taste of what metal feels like scraping across the inside of your cheek. The assistant said it would take five days for the pain to stop. I’m assuming that’s how long it takes for scar tissue to form around the inside of your mouth.
And eating! What a mess. I’ve been eating only soft foods (and drinking what I can), but it’s still quite a complicated process. I figure the only benefit to all of this, beside a better smile, is maybe I’ll lose some weight. I ponder how hungry I am and whether it’s worth the tooth brushing and water-pik procedure that follows to make me feel human again.
How long must I endure this torture? They said nine months. That’s not as long as some I’m told, but it feels like a decade away. My mom joked, “You could have a baby in that amount of time.”
“No, no Mom, I won’t.” You can bet on that.
But there is some hope. I’m starting to get used to the feel of metal in my mouth. At least I can sleep with it. I’m learning to be careful when I chew, making sure my scraped up cheek is out of the way before I chomp down.
I have taken pleasure flashing my sparkly smile at people who wouldn’t expect to see me in braces. There’s usually a look of surprise and I can almost hear them thinking, “What, at your age?”
But at the end of all this I’ll have teeth that don’t overlap or turn inward. And maybe I’ll throw a party to celebrate the “coming off” process. You’ll see me smiling even more than I used to.
In the meantime, kissing my husband is a whole different adventure. I think he deserves hazard pay!
