I'm getting braces and having jaw surgery.
This is not cosmetic and certainly not elective.
After I found out I spent 24 hours swearing, crying, stomping my feet, cursing the universe (which I'm still doing) and having a huge pity parade. Then I did as my buddy advised: I ate a cookie* and moved forward.
Some background. Remember this post?
My TMJ is completely crazy. I have an amazing massage therapist but it isn't working. Worse than this - I have (a new term to me) an 'open bite'. My teeth have been moving apart in the front over the last 5 years, it's complicated but it's causing my TMJ and it's really hard for me to eat.
It's gotten so bad there is a whole list of food I don't eat in public anymore - sandwiches, pizza, wraps - anything you have to bite into. It's impossible without eating like Cookie Monster, which I do at home. **
Oh and I'm starting to listhp. (I spelled that wrong on purpose.)
So braces to straighten my teeth, then jaw surgery to re-align my jaw. It's going to be a +/- 2 year
After my new orthodontist broke the news, he left me with his assistant and she was super sweet. She showed me lots of pictures of braces and starting talking about how they aren't like they used to be. I was a hot mess and in the middle of it she tried to cheer me up:
I obviously knew nothing about braces - elastics? Brackets? Wires? What the WHAT?! When I see her again I'm going to give her this cartoon.
* I broke the cookie into small bite sized pieces because I can't bite into a cookie anymore. Ha!
** Poor Brad
4 comments:
I bet you're going to look super cute! And it's true - orthodontics have come a long way!
When are you getting the braces again??
Yah, orthodontics HAVE come along way. I met someone a couple months ago who was an adult with braces and they were very subtle.
Plus, think of how awesome it will be to eat whatever you want in public when you're done all of this!
Your cartoons are always so awesome. :)
I feel for you, hon. Big hugs. I only wish I was there to cook some non-cookie-monster foods for you. And to let you be a complete baby about it in my presence (because as much as I am a rational person, I would be a total baby about it. Big time.)
At least it's totally cool to be an adult with braces nowadays. My mum got hers in her late fifties (which got her some mad respect on the street, yo!) and then suddenly had all this sympathy for me that she didn't have when I actually had braces... The really good news is that this should help immensely with the TMJ. You must also be looking forward to that sexy retainer!
I won't lie, the elastics suck and make you love mashed potatoes more than you thought was possible but that's only temporary. And at least it won't stop you from eating anything that you can't already eat right now. But they will all be waiting for you at the end... :-)
OMG- braces! I have needed them since forever but have never actually hunkered down and paid the $5-6K for them (or whatever amount braces cost!). Elastics aside, I'm sure the lack of TMJ and open bite in the future will be well worth the ordeal! Good luck!
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