Brace Face: Day 1

The longest two years of my life started today at 9:15 AM. I was originally scheduled to get ceramic braces, but changed my mind and opted for the metal--thinking I would get the same type as my sister and every other orthodontic patient in the U.S.

Since my teeth aren't that bad, just a few spaces and a overbite, I figured it wouldn't look so bad since my sister's looks pretty nice and small (esp considering our small teeth).

After the two hours were done, I went to rinse my mouth and look in the mirror. Total shock and a severe wave of depression overcame me. I quietly walked back to the patient waiting room and sat down in the corner. About a minute later, it hit me: I would have to go to work with the infamous metal mouth. People always say it doesn't look that bad, but I think the assistant had it in for me. This was BAD.

When they brought me into the room to tell me how to clean and what I can/can't eat, I sobbed like my life was over. After an hour of sobbing and arguing that they used the wrong brackets on my teeth, my trusty bf came in and used his lawyerly tactics on them. He talked down the extra $ 500 fee to remove the WRONG brackets off of my teeth to ZERO, and talked the doctor into letting them change my brackets THAT morning--instead of waiting a whole week.

Here are the pictures of my smile, with all types of crazy dental appliances.

I have ceramic braces now. The pain is just starting to come in. The humiliation has subsided. And tonight I am having an entire bottle of Las Brisas (pinot grigio) to toast a full two years of being uncomfortable, in pain, and eating soft foods.