I find it unreal how much my teeth have changed over the last 137 days. When I compare the pictures and see how far certain teeth have moved, I can't believe it wasn't agony. But it really, truly wasn't.
There are a couple of things I thought at the beginning that have proven untrue:
1. I thought I'd be eating slurry for a year and secretly I thought I'd lose 100 pounds. Nope. Not true. Sure, for the first week or two I ate very gingerly, positive that my teeth would shatter out of my mouth. Now I eat anything, except steaks, salad, nuts, bubble gum and apples. And I've gained about 10 pounds. Bugger.
2. I thought I could get away with more waterpik than floss. Also not true. You HAVE to floss. Even if you hate it.
3. I thought an aspirin half hour before an appointment would stave off any discomfort or pain. So not true. You have to put your liver at risk and take two heavy duty Tylenol two hours before your appointment and then one more 45 minutes before. It takes the edge off and lets the Dr and his crew do their work. Since starting this pain prevention regimen I haven't sworn at all during the wire change.
4. I thought I would be a bit embarrassed being an adult with braces, but no. I'm sort of proud. And people mostly ignore the braces. Maybe because I live in New York and they've see a lot weirder stuff before coffee. Like dogs with braces.
May 20, 2009 October 2, 2009