Metal Mouth No More
November 11, 2001 | 12:00am
I remember one of my friends telling me that he wanted to have braces. "Why?" I asked. "Your teeth look okay."
"Wala lang," he shrugged ruefully. "It looks cool!"
I wanted to wring his neck. Better yet, I wanted to bite his head off with my braces. Was he insane? He actually wanted to live with metal brackets on his teeth for a couple of years?
Now that I think about it, I wonder if his joy for braces would ever match my joy when I got my braces off. After four long years of being a metal mouth, I finally have my teeth back.
When I first got my braces, I felt betrayed. Why braces? I thought my teeth were fine, but my orthodontist said otherwise. Fine. I got my braces slapped on and after that I felt like the foreign objects on my teeth would change my life forever.
People saw my braces and squealed. "Uy, braces!" They clapped and leaned closer to get a better look at the rows of brackets that were now a part of me. The first thing they always asked was "Does it hurt?" and when I heard that, I just sadly nodded. Having braces really hurts, especially during those times when you have to go to the ortho and have your braces tightened. After that, you have to take painkillers like Ponstan and stay on a soft-food diet for a couple of days. One of my friends who already had braces told me that everytime he got his braces tightened he got into a fight because of the pain. I was hoping the monthly soft food diet would make me slimmer, but since it was just a couple of days it never worked.
Speaking of food, when you eat with braces, you always have to worry if you have little leftover "friends" stuck in between the brackets. That happens so often with people with braces. I could never eat a sandwich without running to the bathroom after just so I could check for "friends." Some of my friends have braces, so after lunch we check each other’s teeth. You would probably see us with our hands over our mouths, trying to dislodge and maneuver the disgusting leftover pieces away from the lines of sight of our schoolmates, especially mestizo ones from the opposite sex.
Another thing, no matter if you get used to seeing your braces, you will always, always look better without braces. I guess that’s why you don’t see that many models with braces. A white, toothy smile is so much better than a shiny, metal smile. I always had the problem of deciding whether to smile with my teeth or smile without showing them, especially during formal pictures. My grade school graduation picture was awful because I decided to close my mouth and smile. It looked so unnatural! Since then I learned my lesson and just smile like I would at friends.
Four years is a long time to have braces, and I got used to mine. But when my orthodontist announced, "We can schedule removal for your braces next month!" I almost jumped out of the chair. I was going to feel my teeth again! Sure, I was going to wear retainers, but I could easily remove retainers for picture taking and eating.
For a whole month, I counted the days as they passed. I updated my friends on the removal of my braces daily: "Guess what? I’m going to have my braces off in 15 days!" Whenever I brushed my teeth, I took a good look at my braces, thinking that I only had a couple of weeks left with the brackets.
Finally, I sat down on the chair in my ortho’s office with braces and got up with straighter teeth without any metal things on them.
I still get into discussions about braces with people who still have them. When they look at my teeth and say, "You’re so lucky you don’t have braces anymore," I just smile at them. Hey, I didn’t have braces for four years and end up with a smile that doesn’t say it all.
"Wala lang," he shrugged ruefully. "It looks cool!"
I wanted to wring his neck. Better yet, I wanted to bite his head off with my braces. Was he insane? He actually wanted to live with metal brackets on his teeth for a couple of years?
Now that I think about it, I wonder if his joy for braces would ever match my joy when I got my braces off. After four long years of being a metal mouth, I finally have my teeth back.
When I first got my braces, I felt betrayed. Why braces? I thought my teeth were fine, but my orthodontist said otherwise. Fine. I got my braces slapped on and after that I felt like the foreign objects on my teeth would change my life forever.
People saw my braces and squealed. "Uy, braces!" They clapped and leaned closer to get a better look at the rows of brackets that were now a part of me. The first thing they always asked was "Does it hurt?" and when I heard that, I just sadly nodded. Having braces really hurts, especially during those times when you have to go to the ortho and have your braces tightened. After that, you have to take painkillers like Ponstan and stay on a soft-food diet for a couple of days. One of my friends who already had braces told me that everytime he got his braces tightened he got into a fight because of the pain. I was hoping the monthly soft food diet would make me slimmer, but since it was just a couple of days it never worked.
Speaking of food, when you eat with braces, you always have to worry if you have little leftover "friends" stuck in between the brackets. That happens so often with people with braces. I could never eat a sandwich without running to the bathroom after just so I could check for "friends." Some of my friends have braces, so after lunch we check each other’s teeth. You would probably see us with our hands over our mouths, trying to dislodge and maneuver the disgusting leftover pieces away from the lines of sight of our schoolmates, especially mestizo ones from the opposite sex.
Another thing, no matter if you get used to seeing your braces, you will always, always look better without braces. I guess that’s why you don’t see that many models with braces. A white, toothy smile is so much better than a shiny, metal smile. I always had the problem of deciding whether to smile with my teeth or smile without showing them, especially during formal pictures. My grade school graduation picture was awful because I decided to close my mouth and smile. It looked so unnatural! Since then I learned my lesson and just smile like I would at friends.
Four years is a long time to have braces, and I got used to mine. But when my orthodontist announced, "We can schedule removal for your braces next month!" I almost jumped out of the chair. I was going to feel my teeth again! Sure, I was going to wear retainers, but I could easily remove retainers for picture taking and eating.
For a whole month, I counted the days as they passed. I updated my friends on the removal of my braces daily: "Guess what? I’m going to have my braces off in 15 days!" Whenever I brushed my teeth, I took a good look at my braces, thinking that I only had a couple of weeks left with the brackets.
Finally, I sat down on the chair in my ortho’s office with braces and got up with straighter teeth without any metal things on them.
I still get into discussions about braces with people who still have them. When they look at my teeth and say, "You’re so lucky you don’t have braces anymore," I just smile at them. Hey, I didn’t have braces for four years and end up with a smile that doesn’t say it all.
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