TEN THINGS YOU LOVE AND HATE ABOUT WEARING FIXED BRACES
THE AGONY AND ECSTASY
Can you collect them all?
Brace bingo
No one ever said it would be easy. But they also didn’t tell you that, some days, it would be this hard! Months into wearing fixed braces and you feel justified in thinking that your orthodontist deserves some occasional side eye.
Mind you, some praise for your determination or for your orthodontist’s genius doesn’t go amiss, either. And, maybe, special mentions go to friends and family for cheerleading you, yay! Or, in the case of that annoying rellie, for helping you practise patience as they ask for the millionth time, so you can still eat with those things in?
Is your fixed brace journey your ultimate clap back?
Grrrrr – bite me!
Maybe it’s your secret weapon. Your teeth are locking onto their perfect placement targets! Mission Possible is underway and, it's possible the hardest parts of the campaign are behind you ...
Seems like a good time for a look back, right - the highs, lows and downright comic moments?
I swear they’ve moved! Yup – the first time you noticed your teeth shift ...
one
What a moment that was! Someone ordered an open top bus procession and there was celebration on the streets of your town. Ok, maybe not.But there was a small pause and some honouring of the wonders of moving teeth through bone – it's no mean feat! That night you brushed with a little extra dollop of orthodontic toothpaste to mark the moment. Well, its semi-liquid texture does work its way into those newly moved teeth arrangements!
You know what it’s like to live life as a level one cyborg
two
You’re wearing a fixed brace, so you’re almost a cyborg – a fusion of biology and machine. You’re just missing the electronics to graduate to full cyborg – next lifetime, maybe! We’ll let you decide if that’s cool or a thanks, but no thanks! Either way, the interaction between engineering and you will eventually create a smile to celebrate. Maybe being a cyborg for a while is one thing off the bucket list?
That time you got stuck on the dog/your friend/on an item of clothing
three
Afraid to say it, but we’ve been there too! You no longer snuggle with Fido quite as closely. Your netball team tie their hair back religiously these days. You won’t be wearing tops with open weave for the time being. Having to cut someone or something loose from your brackets is a true rite of passage with a fixed brace. Been there? We really think we should get you a t-shirt for it!
Learned to get chatty again
four
Having not stopped talking since you learned to speak, when those brace brackets went on, some silence descended. You weren’t a fan of grazed cheeks, scratched lips and was that a teeny hint of a lisp?
Gengigel sorted your soft tissues – thanks, hyaluronic acid.
Orthodontic wax became your new best friend.
Your clever brain learned to adapt your speech. Before too long, they couldn’t shut you up again. Hurrah! There was just that one teacher ...
Kissed goodbye to some annoying equipment
five
Maybe you bid adios to those elastics wrapped around your molars, the ones that snapped every time you yawned – remember? Or muttered, see ya later, to that weird piece of plastic suspended like a floating shelf behind your front teeth as it went in the bin. Ciao, bite plate! Good riddance strange orthodontic equipment, er, sorry, we mean goodbye and thanks for the memories!
The Great Food Sacrifice continues
six
Popcorn? A distant memory. Biting into an apple? Not happening. Chewing gum? Not any time soon you’re not, even if it is a xylitol one! Even eating at set mealtimes requires a military clean-up operation afterwards. Luckily, you’re packing a Fixed Braces Orthodontic Travel Kit. A quick brush up does the trick and your favourite snacks are waiting for you at the finish line.
That first, second and third wire tightening
seven
Your mouth’s a work in progress. After the pinching and pain of those first few days in braces, adjustments were going to be a doddle. Or, maybe not always. Sometimes, you went in smiling and left wondering if chewing water would hurt – it did!
You realised taking the recommended dose of painkillers isn’t admitting defeat – it's a reclamation of getting on with your day! Science tells us that analgesics work for brace pain. A massage with a Monotip Brush helped, too!
Mirror, Mirror in My Pocket or Switching Phone Camera to Selfie
eight
Stealth checks on the state of play in the battle of food vs brace have become something you’re slick at. Just checking my Snapchat ... is really a quick once over for your brace status. Spinach? Clear (mainly because you don’t eat spinach)! Pizza base? Pass me my Interprox Interdental Brush! Winkling that meat feast from between your brackets in the back of class is now your specialist skill.
Sleeping so hard your brace made an indent
nine
Remember that morning you woke up, thought the inside of your cheek felt a bit weird, looked in the mirror and voila – the perfect indent of your brace.
You learned a bit about the laws of physics – what gets pushed in can also pop back into shape! Once again, you found yourself reaching for Gengigel: The Pink One!
And here’s one for the future: The Day They Come Off
ten
Your teeth won’t ever have felt smoother. You're sure everyone will need sunglasses, your smile will be so bright and very, very straight. You’ll eat apples again just because you can. How they’ll take the whole fixed brace appliance off, you’re not certain yet ... but, if you want to peek at how it’s done, take a bite out of When it’s Time for the Brackets to Go: Brackets Begone!
On that day, your motivational punch card will be thoroughly punched through, and you’ll have a richness of experience for life’s little inconveniences. Marvellous!
We always love to hear from our customers, we especially love a fixed brace story – the peaks and the troughs! If you fancy sharing, drop us a line.
while you're waiting for brace removal day
In the meantime, keep brushing!
