Saturday, January 20, 2007

Brace Yourself

This is Cindy. Cindy Crawford. See how happy she looks! Heck, there's even a sparkle in her smile.

It's almost as if she's glad to be wearing braces. Ofcourse, she's probably only 16 in this photo. And it's quite natural for a 16 year old to be wearing braces, and be happy about all the nice things that braces will do for them. I wonder if anyone ever called Cindy Crawford "metal mouth". Probably not.

At 30 (plus 7 and 3/4 months) I am about to get my very own set of hardware. I am not comforted by the fact that Cindy Crawford can make even braces look delightful. I am not Cindy Crawford. And I am not 16.

There are pros and cons to getting them and not getting them. It's definately not for superficial reasons. There are alternatives (like capping all my teeth) but that doesn't sound like something I'd like to have done, even though it is very "in" in Hollywood.

I have questions that I know my dentist can answer, like is pizza in or out? Can I have the clear kind or is it strickly silver for me. And how far can those little elastic thingys shoot?

I wonder what certain things will be like, things that I'm not going to be asking my dentist about, like is kissing going to be weird or painful, or weird and painful? And will I be avoided by men everywhere like some sort of dental leper. Etc, etc.

I have nightmares about my braces getting caught on obscure and ordinary things like tongue rings, chest hair and couches. Perhaps this is just wishful thinking.

Pity Party - table for one?

I'm reminded of the phrase often used by an esteemed colleague that seems quite fitting in this case, "Suck it up!"

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just had braces! Though, I'm 16 so I guess I can't offer any support.

But, there are alternatives to braces like Invisalign (more expensive, but virtually invisible). And, you can get ceramic braces with the clear wire ties if you don't want your braces to look like Cindy Crawford's.

Good luck with braces. It's not as bad as it seems.

Anonymous said...

yuck. not the thought of you in braces, i'm sure you're quite beautiful and can pull it off, and you're funny as hell and this should give you plenty of new material. but the fact that you have to wear them. sorry. 8(

kinda weird to be 30 something and have to deal with stuff that you thought were teenage problems. i thought things like pimples would magically go away at 20.

good luck!

Anonymous said...

I feel your pain. At 34, I am in need of braces. Unlike you, I need them for superficial reasons. Since my mid to late 20's, my teeth have really been moving out of line. I had my wisdom teeth removed in September to stop this, but it was too late.

The dentist told me that Invisaline would not be good for me, but I could get regular clear braces. My friend (also 34) just got clear braces. You can see them.

I'm not looking forward to braces at all. I'm afraid of the pain. I'm afraid of looking like a monster (as opposed to ALMOST looking like a monster now). Most of all I'm afraid of the bill.

In the end though, I know I will be much happier if I get them.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I don't think it is going to be nearly as bad as you imagine.

Guys don't notice things like that. You could have an angry ferret living in your mouth and we'd overlook it.

Erika said...

The Thinker: Perhaps I'll opt for something colorful (but not green which normally is my fav color).

Sean: Perhaps I'll stick to making guys laugh so hard snot flies out of their nose and then they'll be less inclined to notice my braces. What with the snot and all...

Amy: Perhaps we should form a support group: BAT (Braces After Thirty).

Peter: That's good to know. At least now I don't need to worry about the ferret.

Anonymous said...

I'm laughing, I'm an ortho assistant. I wear braces because it makes our patients more comfortable. Everyone looks better with braces than crooked teeth. The fact is most people should have orthodontic treatment and don't. What do people say most often? Wow your teeth are so straight, I'm thinking of getting braces but they are so expensive! Really, that's what people tell me all the time. I call our office on my cell phone and arrange an appointment for them.
Clearly, many people want to improve their smiles. My advice to you is simple; 1. Keep your teeth and braces clean. 2. Don't try to hurry your treatment. 3. Smile confidently.