The first day

Today was not a normal day. It didn't start normal, and it's not going to end normal. Today is the day that I got braces.

I guess you could say that this all started in August when I got my last remaining baby teeth pulled (I'm 20) and the dentist told me that I should get braces to bring down the two adult teeth that hadn't pushed out baby teeth and instead grew above them. Completely resistant to the idea, I went off to college and had a good time meeting new people. Gradually, I began to smile less and became more self conscious of my teeth. About a month ago, I asked my mother to schedule an appointment at an orthodontist for when I got home from school.

And she did.

This past Monday, I visited my new orthodontist for the first time. He looked at my teeth and told me that the only way to fix them is to get braces. Full braces, not invisaline, not lingual, but full, real braces. Except not real braces. They don't offer those. They offer Damon braces that use new technology involving memory wire and they can make them clear... well, only the top ones can be clear because I'm going to have to wear rubber bands at some point and if all of them were clear, they wouldn't be strong enough to fix my bite.

I woke up this morning, not thinking about my new braces that I was going to get at 1:45, but about my car that was sitting in the parking lot of my boyfriend's apartment complex, waiting to be towed to the repair shop. We waiting until 8 to call the shop, then AAA, then waited for the tow truck, then waited for the repairs, then waited in line for food, then, at 11:30 AM, I left, with nothing on my mind but braces. I drove home thinking about braces. I waited almost two hours, thinking about braces. I drove to the orthodontist's office, thinking about braces (and leaving crucial paperwork at home). I walked into the office, typed my name into the computer and was almost immediately whisked away to the chair where they would take my impressions.

I watched an adult informed consent video made when I was two, signed this, initialed that, then chose the flavors for my impressions. Fruit punch for the bottom and cherry for the top. The bottom was ok, thought the fruit punch flavoring was disgusting, but the top closed off my throat so the only way I could breath was slowly through my nose. I was not pleased, but fortunately it only lasted a few minutes. Quite possibly my favorite part of the day was making the bite impression in the wax U-shape, but that could just be me.

I got shuffled around a bit and ended up in a chair furthest from the door (it's a very open office) and in a corner. I liked this because I felt a little bit more secure while I was forced to lay still in the chair while the assistant rubbed down my teeth about a hundred times. The first brackets to be put on were the back left, then the back right. I was then allowed to take a break and rinse my mouth out and regain feeling in my lips. I returned to my chair and they went in for the front teeth, putting on the tops then the bottoms as quickly as possible. At one point while the assistant was rinsing the primer off of my teeth, I tasted it and almost gagged. GROSS.

I was allowed to have another break, regain feeling in my lips again, and rinse out my mouth again. This was my first time feeling the brackets against my lips and was, again, NOT PLEASED. I didn't know at the time that the brackets had channels that needed to be closed once the wire was in them. I started to freak out because at one point, my piercing in my lip got caught on my lower brackets and I thought I was going to have to take it out.

I returned to the chair where the assistant inserted my wires and closed the channels in the brackets. This made them significantly more comfortable. I watched an odd video (though, more recent than the last one) about what I can and can't eat and how to take care of my new braces, then the assistant brought out my goodie bag. A million different flossers, a travel toothbrush, a spiral brush, toothpaste, mouthwash, and, oh yeah, an Oral B Triumph 9000. And then I was on my merry way (after a photograph and a once over).

And then in happened. I was chewing a slice of pizza (the burritos went down just fine) when I bit down on something hard and sharp. It was a bracket. ALREADY??? I called the doctor's emergency number and left a message. About five minutes later he called back and told me to come in. He was just about to leave the office (two hours after they closed) when I had called and it should only take about 20 minutes to fix my bracket. Apparently, pepperoni is too hard to chew with new braces. Nobody told ME that, but it's true!

Until that moment, I was perfectly fine. My teeth weren't sore, nothing hurt, I didn't need any meds... all of that changed while I was at the orthodontist after hours. Ever since that moment my teeth have been getting more and more unbearable and, even after two advil, are still killing me. I have chosen to consume ibuprophin that I have left over from a surgery from not long ago until it disappears, then buy motrin in bulk until the pain goes away.

I can't chew.
I can't eat.
I can't do anything but sit here, resting my teeth on my tongue (because if they touch, I'll die), typing my first day's experience with braces.

My $5000 toothbrush came with free braces!