The day braces came into play!!!!

Braces are always a common thing when it comes to kids. It is rare to find someone who's teeth are straight enough to not get them. I still remember when I finally had to get mine. I was about late fall early winter when I finally went into the orthodontist for my first time. Once again this place was a very cool place to come and hang out. They didn't have TV's hanging from the ceiling, but they did have arcades. That is right I remember getting to go in and play Dig Dug every time I went to get either checked up or tightened. Every time we went in I tried to sneak my way over to the arcade machine to get a few minutes in before my appointment. Did I mention at this point of my life I was a video Game addict. I really was! Even when my dad would take them away I would find myself going to a friends house just to play video games. As much as he could take them away from me, I always had a way to get my many hours of video games in.

Dr. Fry was the name of my Orthodontist and he was a great guy. They always sent us birthday cards and had or names on the board when are birthdays were coming up and so you always felt important. Yes just put an kids name on the board and they are happy. At least that was the case for me. I remember I got in to see Dr. Fry and the very first thing I had to do was get spacers put in. Let me tell you that was not a fun situation at all. I remember how much my teeth hurt after they jammed this piece of plastic between my teeth. It was horrible especially the second day.They tell you taht you suppose to be careful and not eat anything sticky because they spacers could come out. So what do you think I did? That is right we got that thing to come out on the second day! I didn't do it on purpose, but back in the day whenever I could do the thing I wasn't suppose to do I found a way to get it done. Even if I wasn't trying. So then we had to go back to get a new one put in and get my mouth a ready to go. What I don't think my parents realized was that this would be one of many emergency trips to see the dentist or orthodontist. It happened all the time!

Everything was ok with me and braces! There was only one problem with this whole situation and that was nobody explained to me that it wasn't just braces but also head gear!!!! What is head gear some of you might ask? Well, if you have an overbite they want to correct it. So they invented this contraption that when you put it on you feel like a horse. It was a bar that slid into your mouth with hooks that come out on either side. Then you put this head strap on that went over the top back part of your head and then there were two plastic straps on either side of your face that you hooked into the bar with. These straps then pull your mouth in so that you could correct the overbite. They would trim the plastic down every so often till the point where you had no holes left. It wasn't the greatest looking thing in the world. The only benefit to it all was the fact that the only time I had to wear it was at night. All I remember is that it took some time before I was ok with staying at a friends house with this ugly thing on.

I remember the day they took the spacers out and put the braces on. It was a school day and so I was going to get into class a little late. I was nervous about what people were going to think. As you watched TV shows people with braces always got made fun of. Being called names like "metal mouth" and "brace face" It was never portrayed well. Plus, at the time I had this huge crush on a girl in my class and she was going to see me like this. I was just imagining what this was going to be like when I came into class. The braces didn't take too long to get on and I was back at school before the morning was over. I remember getting in and keeping my mouth shut the whole time. I thought maybe I wouldn't have to talk the whole day and I could just do this for the next 2 years without anyone noticing what happened. Like not talking was going to work with me. So the time came when I had to get into class and I remember it so well. We were doing a study on chickens and we had the chicken eggs in class and we got to watch them hatch. When I came in they were just putting the eggs in the incubator and assigning one to every student. I went over to the crowded area and started watching. When someone asked me a question and without even thinking I went to answer it. I remember seeing their eyes lit up and they asked what happened. Then I thought to myself here we go! It is over now and then someone took notice of the conversation and then another and another. Then I realized something the students weren't thinking look at this geek, but rather that is pretty cool. Pretty much the entire class thought it was cool to see someone with braces on. Even the girl I had a crush on thought it was pretty cool. They all just wanted to see and check out the new bling bling in my mouth. It wasn't bad at all. I remember leaving school that day feeling pretty proud. Thinking to myself today was the day I was cool.  It was an awesome feeling, and one I will always remember. I was just glad none of these classmates will ever see me in head gear cause I think I might just go from cool to the kid who looks like a horse. It was a rewarding moment in my life.

There were a few things I learned about braces in my two years.
1. It sucks not being able to chew gum
2. It hurts as an 8 year old to have your braces tightened.
3. Always tell your orthodontist when the wire is too long in your mouth cause it hurts when it pokes you all the time. 
4. Never have pillow fights with friends (I never seemed to learn that lesson, but I was always reminded when I would cut my lip open from a pillow to the face.
5 Sandwiches are the worst cause the stuff always gets stuck between the braces.
6. Chewy candy is always a no no and really is a pain to pull away from your braces when they get stuck. Especially, jujube's!!!!