June 2006--Takin' Care of Braces

My teeth did indeed start moving right away. By week 3, I could see a difference already.

The care and cleaning of my braces, plus the diet change, proved to be a big adjustment for me. Flossing was really hard at first. I used the little floss threader for a while, but it got to be too inconvienient. I bought the Super Floss with the thick end, but found it too thick. Finally I stuck on regular old waxed floss and with a lot of practise, could floss easily in about 5 minutes.

I gave up popcorn for about a month, and then found I could eat it if I did so carefully. I gave up gum not because it stuck to my braces, but because it hurt my jaw to chew it. The only thing that really irked me, and still irks me, is that my o-rings stain like crazy. They look horrible against my clear brackets! I don't know what stains them. Tea or Pepsi maybe. I don't smoke or drink coffee or eat curry.

The first month in braces was hard. Right after I got them I caught a bad cold and on top of that, a headache, and PMS, I was quite grouchy for a while. What got me through that first week was watching an entire season of Grey's Anatomy on the computer. That, and packing. We were due to move at the end of June. For a few weeks I was too busy to think about my braces.

To my surprise, not many people even noticed them. Truth be told though, I do not come into a lot of contact with people every day. I work out of my home as a child care provider. The only people I see are kids and the occasional neighbor. Maybe if I worked outside the home it would be different. But when you're 30 and you have braces, you don't really care what people think. To me, my braces tell the world that I'm doing something about my dental problems. They say that I'm lucky to be have them and not everyone has this opportunity. They're a status symbol, in a way. I have a lot of $$$ in my mouth. It's my bling-bling, baby! Look around....it's not just teens who have braces anymore.