The day I got my braces off |
When: November 2013 they came off- July 2012 I got my braces
Cost: The whole cost of my treatment was $5,500
Why this is on my list: They put em on...they had to come off!
The day they came off... |
Will I do it again? Getting my braces off was such a horrifying experience, in fact had I known what it was going to be like I may have reconsidered having them put on, though looking at the before and after pics above IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT! For 3 solid hours, they yanked, scraped, sanded, pulled, cranked, jabbed, and burned my teeth...no numbing, no Novocain, no suggestion to kick back 4 shots of tequila first. It was an experience I would never wish to repeat. The reason that it was MORE difficult to get my braces off is because I had the clear ones which are made of porcelain and adhere differently to the glue making them more of a challenge to remove. Which I was in the torture chamber I kept having flashbacks of them cautioning me about this....it's not their fault, I only have myself and my vanity to blame.
I know I was so excited back in November to get them off and posted a blog that day about how elated and nervous I was...and then nothing...I never said another word, I was traumatized. It's taken 4 months to bounce back from the whole thing. It also took a while to get used to the retainer, in the beginning I just gagged constantly, I never thought I'd get used to it but now, surprisingly, I am- it doesn't bother me at all.
The braces are off but there are still a few areas that need to be fixed by my orthodontist and then I have a little cosmetic work that has to be done by my regular dentist before I can say that I'm a happy camper. So right now I have invisalign and once a month I have to go in to get new molds and a new retainer to wear, they suspect that i'll need at least 3 more retainers.
Also, I have one tooth that my 3 year old calls 'LELLOW' and will not bleach because there is a bond on it so it is the color it is and cannot be altered. What my dentist is going to do is put a lamenent over the tooth-another 'process' which will involve sanding the enamel off my tooth but before this all can happen, my orthodontist has to finish straightening my teeth (about 2 more months) then I have to bleach my teeth to the color I want them all to be then I will go in and have the lamenent put on. Also I have 5 silver fillings on the top that I will have taken out and filled in with porcelain. Years ago I had 5 replaced on the lower teeth, it's basically getting a new filling so they have to re drill and numb you and all that. It was not a fun but it looks so much better.
I am happy to have the braces off, I do have to wear a retainer most of the time which is a pain and was hard to get used to. My teeth are in a current state of being 'good enough' right now....but I'm not really a 'good enough' type of person.
Just a few small areas to fix up |
A few weeks ago a dream of mine came true. I have always wanted someone to tell me I had great teeth. Of course, all my friends and family keep telling me how nice my teeth look now but they know the before after and middle. What I've always dreamed of is a random person who didn't know that I had braces or very crooked teeth in the past to pay this compliment unprompted and randomly...and it happened. About 2 weeks ago, a customer of mine and I were talking and she changed the subject and said to me "You have beautiful teeth, do you get that a lot?" I about fell over...uh, no ma'am, I do NOT get that a lot! That woman made my day and I will never forget that, it made all the effort, time, money and painful moments totally worth it to me.
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