Say Cheese

Brace Face. Tinsel teeth. Full medal mouth. Yep, I heard them all when I was twelve and had braces the first time. As MY LUCK would have it, I had to get them again, at age 36. Not because my teeth were crooked - well, I do have one on the bottom that could use some straightening out, but it's not too bad...I had to get them because I was having some, well, shall we say, issues with my jaw, tongue and bite. I didn't qualify for the invisaline - you know, the ones you cannot see. Urgh. So, they went on Wednesday. This is a picture before...

And this is the picture after...
I'm into these suckers 4 days now. It already seems like a life time. Hard to smile, impossible to eat anything, I sound funny when I talk, and overall, just isn't that fun. Okay, I know there's a flip side. My mouth will be corrected when it's done. I just have to keep the big picture in mind. No more jaw & neck pain :) That alone will be worth it. And hey, it's hard to eat much of anything, so if I drop a few pounds along the way, it's a bonus.

As you can (or maybe can't tell) from the picture, I chose to have pink rubber bands put on. You wouldn't believe all the colors the orthodontist had to pick from. I was sort of lost - so I went to my old standby, pink :)

Chloe and I were lamenting about our braces this weekend. She has had hers on for 10 months. She gets them off in September. Making her grand total of wearing braces 14 months. My suckers are estimated to be on for 18 months to 2 years. Oh how I was jealous of Chloe when she told me that, lol. And you should see her eat with them on - nothing slows her down. It's like the braces don't even exist. I hope I can get to that stage much sooner, rather than later. One good thing, she's teaching me how to eat the "cheating foods." You know, you can't have popcorn, chips, gummy type foods. She has it all down & mastered. She said the only thing she has stayed away from is Carmel and biting into a whole apple. Not that she couldn't do it, but she said it's just too risky. I'm thinking when her braces come off it's a trip to Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory for a Carmel, chocolate apple...ahhhhh, sounds so good right now.

So yes, if you want to whip out the braces names, or get a few laughs at my expense, I'm ok with it. I've heard it all before. Yes, age brings maturity, (so they say) and 24 years later, I have an entire new outlook on it - this time, I say"bring it on." Really, it won't phase me a bit :)