Wear Dental Braces

When I was in primary school, I had a case of tooth crowding on my upper jaw because my teeth were two big for my dainty mouth. So my mom took me to a government clinic, where they pulled out a canine and made me wear retainers (after a two-year waiting list).

I later learnt that this was a grave mistake. They should have removed a molar, not a canine. It resulted in my teeth being all misaligned now, causing a slight open-bite and cross-bite. And they didn't fix the crowding on my lower jaw. You see, I had been to enough dentists to know all these terminologies. And the reason was because I spent years shopping around for the cheapest one.

In 2017, I found a dentist that I was happy with. So appointments were made, X-rays and impressions were taken, and in less than a week, I had my metal brackets on.

Before

I had to have one wisdom tooth pulled out. They initially wanted to remove two because both were impacted, but the other one was too close to a nerve so they had to leave it in. They said they'll refer me to a specialist if I still want to have it pulled out, which I think is a good idea. I don't seem to be any wiser with  these wisdom teeth in my mouth anyway.

The first week was pure hell. The dentist advised me to stick to liquids and soft food, so I made myself chicken and veggie soup for the first day. Unfortunately, the carrot was a little undercooked. I tried to munch on it, and the moment I sank my teeth into it, I felt a searing pain that made me feel like my eyeballs were falling out of their sockets. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but still. I had countless ulcers from where the brackets and the wires chafed the inside of my cheeks. Had to take painkillers everyday for the whole week.

Whereas previously, I only had to see the dentist once a year for a routine scaling and checkup, now I have to pay him a monthly visit. To correct the alignment of my jaws, I have to wear rubber bands that make my speech almost unintelligible. So, wearing braces is actually hard work, I know that now. But knowing me, the more challenging something is, the more appealing it becomes to me. Come to think of it, in most things that I do, I think I'm more in love with the challenge than the actual outcome.

(Now that explains why I lose interest the moment someone says he loves me too XD)

The braces I'm wearing are called self-ligating braces, a.k.a. Damon braces. Slightly more expensive than conventional ones (the ones with colorful rubber bands), Damon braces are said to be less painful and more effective, therefore will take a much shorter time to show results--within 1 to 2 years, as long as I adhere strictly to the dentist's instructions, e.g. wear the rubber bands everyday, etc.

So, I'm going to be a good, obedient patient, and I will post an update in two years' time.


Update (22nd Apr 2019)

After a year and a half, my teeth have shown significant improvement and I finally got my braces off. However, I still need to wear plastic retainers to make sure they don't move back to their old alignment.

After