I started out with upper braces in the sixth grade. I don't have much recollection of this time, except to say that the braces did not add any glamour to my class picture that year. But I could also blame it on the fact that I had succumbed to yet another BAD perm, or that I had not yet been introduced to brow waxing (and would not be until my wedding, unfortunately). Who can say? I think I wore them for about a year. I also don't recall any sort of retainer or follow-up after this.
Fast forward to college. It was at this point that I realized that I needed braces. AGAIN. My upper teeth were all crooked and seemed to stick out, although my side tooth (the lateral, if you want to be technical) retruded back, so that in pictures, with the right shadowing, it appeared that my front tooth was missing or at least very very dark. Not a good look, let me tell you. Especially because I was still suffering with the "bad Korean perm" affliction. Anyway, I saw this orthodontist in my hometown who declared that I had a condition called "tongue thrust." I tentatively asked, "What does that mean?" To which the doc tactfully replied, "You're like a lizard. Your tongue sticks out when you swallow, but it should go up." I was slightly horrified, to say the least.
This resulted in braces for the second time. Top and bottom. I was lucky enough to get the clear brackets on the top 6 teeth but the rest were all metal. I had to wear the suckers for at least a year and a half. And I was in college. Yay me.
It wasn't so bad. I adjusted. I knew I would be happy in the long run. So I accepted the punishment and moved forward. Until the visit back home where the orthodontist told me, "Now you need head gear. And elastics." What the....?!?! I went back to school and held an emergency meeting with the roommates. I showed them this new torture device and explained that I would be wearing it at night for the next 5 months. As they all began to snicker, I exclaimed, "Get it all out NOW because I don't want to hear a word about it later on!!" I wore the damn head gear but it was not easy! Half the time I would find it under my bed the next morning. A few times I would be going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and one of my roommates would see the back of my head with the head gear straps and burst out laughing. Then there were the elastics. Those were a challenge, especially when talking. Once, I was looking at the summer job board alongside another student. I said something to her and a second later, my elastic flew out of my mouth and sprang right past her eyes! She was like, "What was that???" Boo for elastics! But they worked...
I also went to TONGUE THRUST THERAPY. Yes, you are reading this correctly. I would go to this lady's house, I guess she was a tongue thrust therapist? Actually she was a speech therapist. She had me practice putting my tongue in the right position, she told me to put tic tacs on the tip of my tongue until it melted, and other strange exercises. Whether this really worked, I doubt it. But I remember that my university health insurance paid for it, so I thought, well why not try to squash the lizard in me?
But FINALLY, I got those braces off. It was a day of celebration! The doc put fixed upper and lower retainers so I wouldn't have to worry about wearing retainers every night. It was a pain to floss, but I tolerated it for a good 10 years. Then I became a dentist. And I married a dentist. And jointly we thought, "Well those retainers have been on long enough. Let's take them off!" So hubby removed the retainers. I was thrilled. Guess what happens next...
Now about 2 years later, I found myself wearing Invisalign! I was guilty as many of my own Invisalign patients. I had previous orthodontics, but was not faithful in wearing my retainers! But in my case, I had them and thought I could stop wearing them. My teeth shifted! Or as we say, I had orthodontic relapse. My case was minor, but it was enough to prompt me to do something. I wore Invisalign for 5 months and it worked out beautifully. Now I DO wear nightly removable retainers and will for the rest of my life!
invisalign gal ;0
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