I have a dentist appointment scheduled for later this afternoon. I could never top Bill Cosby's bit on a dentist visit, though I'd like to offer my own gripes:
In the oral region in general, I seem to have been cursed with the bad genes. I still wear a permanent retainer (six+ years) and am waiting to continue orthodontic treatment. I had a grueling orthodontic treatment. I think something like four appliances were in my mouth at the height of my treatment...well, three if you count upper and lower braces as one. But I don't. I had bars on the top of my jaw and in other weird places and things that I have to draw pictures to describe... even I don't really know what was going on in there.
That bar across the roof of my mouth was the worst. It ruined my social life because I couldn't pronounce my name. Try saying "T" without touching your tongue to the top of your mouth. If you can't say "T" then you can't say "TJ". This was a large problem in my situation. I first got that bar just as I was entering high school. The embarrassment was inconceivable while meeting all the new people I did as any new high-schooler does and not being able to even introduce myself. All I managed to put out was "Hee Hay" or when I got better "Yee Jay". I became somewhat of a recluse and ended up talking little during my underclassman years.
I didn't and still don't teeth-smile for pictures. Even with just the retainer, the flash is always caught in the metal in my mouth and it looks terrible. I hate my smile.
I think many out there can share the pain of braces. Besides the general uncomfort, they are a burden in other ways. If you've been eating, you don't even have to look, you know there is food stuck in there. That's a big trouble when you're out to eat with a group and there isn't a bathroom to clean your teeth in...so you end up not talking until you can make sure your mouth is clean. That's just an appearance-related braces problem. Playing the trombone - and OH MY GOD wrestling - frequently caused my braces to shred the inside of my lips.
I need braces again. I'm missing teeth. Both jaws are in the wrong place. Why me? Ironically, I've had only a couple cavities in my life. Why have I, with my messed up mouth, only had 2-3 cavities while my brothers, among others who have never needed orthodontics, regularly had about eight cavities per visit? I couldn't help my oral condition. Some people have a thinner tooth lining, I know, but some people just don't brush their teeth.
This is an ongoing problem. I still don't like my smile, and I still need to get this metal out of my mouth. It is going to cost me several thousands of dollars, which I won't have after the many thousands of dollars I go into debt to pay for graduate school. It has to be done, I suppose. Life just isn't fair.
So, orthodontic treatment is big on my to-do list. One thing I've been waiting for is to settle down, so I know I'll be able to stick with just one doctor. I hope New York will provide that for me. For now, it's off to the dentist I go. I just hope I don't have any cavities!
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