Week 5

So after detailed reading of other blogs and entries on my particular subject of interest, I've decided to commit myself to my own. This is my blog on braces. And yeah, I named it simply: grillz. So what's up with the long wait? I turned nineteen a month ago and after years and recent months of procrastination I decided to take the plunge into getting the unforgettable, most memorable, and stand out in a crowd, the one and only noticeable pair of braces. Luckily enough they are ceramic braces, unluckily enough, they cost about 2k more than metal brackets. So on to my first experience with the orthodontist. About the first month into my freshman year in college I decided to make an appointment. The verdict: I needed braces. How long? Between 18-24 months. After debating the fact that I didn't want to start meeting people with metal in my mouth I didn't go through with it. But then summer came along and well, determination along with it. Constantly being asked when I was going to get braces (by a boyfriend and a neighbor, though very dear to me the questions were very very annoying), I did something for myself. I made a second appointment and that day I legally signed off two years of my life to orthodontic treatment. That day I had my x-rays and a mold taken. Few weeks later, my ceramic braces came on. Now it's Week 5 and my first adjustment is this coming Thursday. The first couple of days were full of relentless pain. I hated my braces and cried over them. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't eat food. Coincidently, I at least didn't have to worry about having to tear through meat. I'm a vegetarian and soft foods have always been on my dining plate. But even fish I couldn't eat. The touch of a metal spoon or fork in my mouth was horrible. I ate with plastic spoons and I ate soup. It was a diet that actually worked. I was on liquids my first three days and tried to move on to harder more typical food. I started eating rice again and I believed in the other blogs I read. I was skeptical at first, having the pain of wires and brackets poking at the inner sides of my mouth. I thought that the pain would last me forever but the canker sores soon dissipated, oversensitive teeth got use to the wire and the pulling and noticeable movement became positive reinforcement. I did however, within one week , manage to have a bracket break off cleanly from a crown I had (from a previous root canal on my top right molar). And with my orthodontist on vacation, I didn't get a replacement but a trim off the wire that stuck out. I have to say, I do like my braces and though the pain can be annoying at times, it is bearable. When it's not, there's always the aspirin to go to. But, the idea that it will leave you with a better and brighter smile later on makes it all the more worth it. I actually can't stop looking at them. I plan on putting up pictures to watch my own progress so we'll see how that goes. To note, the problems with my teeth are: a small overbite, with crooked lower teeth consiting of my four incisors. Which I have noticed that my fourth incisor to the right has moved far back. The wire is still not connected to it however and there remains a coil spring in front of it. Hopefully that'll get fixed during my first adjustment. Until then, keep smiling.