My Grill
I know I said that I would be more faithful to my blog but then I got distracted. In my defense, things have been a little hectic at work including 3 am experiments and 16 hour days. I’m going to post things that have happened since my last post. Let’s just pretend that they were posted in a timely manner, shall we? Starting in February . . .
I have bad teeth. Perfectly healthy teeth but they’re quite crooked (and I don’t meant a charming little gap or adorable misalignment either). As in so bad that I am surprised people were willing to be my friend. Needless to say, I have always been self-conscious about my smile and there are very few photos of me smiling. Due to lack of dental insurance/funds*, I haven’t been able to deal with this problem until now.
About a month ago, I finally got braces which I affectionately refer to as my grill. Sadly, mine is not as ornate as some but I’ve got a mouth full of metal nonetheless.
In the days before getting the braces put on, people felt the need to share their dental horror stories (mostly featuring pain and blood). I’m pleased to report that so far, the braces themselves aren’t so bad. I’ve had one mild tightening which resulted in a slightly sore mouth but it didn’t even have me reaching for the ibuprofen.
My only real complaint has been impaired chewing ability. My main orthodontic problem was crowding which required several teeth toward the front to be extracted. The braces have modified my bite so that my molars don’t make proper contact, which is essential for chewing. The end result is that for a few weeks I had a very difficult time chewing and eating. (You know things are bad when you have to work up to soft bread.) I’m pretty sure that I shed a couple of pounds those first 2 weeks. I’m pleased to report that I can now eat most foods but I still struggle with the crunchy ones including raw/slightly cooked vegetables (of all the foods that I can no longer eat, I will miss salads the most).
Let’s hope that in approximately two years, I have perfectly straight pearly whites.
*I will spare you my rant on the lack of affordable dental care for an average person without dental insurance. I can only hope that this new health care bill addresses this issue.
Gunngirl said,
May 8, 2010 at 5:09 pm
I have good teeth and BAAAAAAD gums. Really bad gums, bleeding gums, so bad that I had to have gum surgery. I think mine is worse than yours, bad gums is worse than bad teeth.