Yesterday I went to the dentist for my bi-annual cleaning and the inevitable question came up that has been asked of me by my dentist and former dentist for 4 years now.
So when do you plan on getting braces?
Eeek! I've been avoiding getting braces for more than 4 years to be honest. My own mother suggested I get braces when I was in my twenties and I was too vain to follow her motherly advice. Now that I work for a company that affords me excellent health coverage and flexible spending account options, I can easily afford high priced dental work among other health care services to improve the quality of my life.
BUT...having said all that I'm still not thrilled with the fact that today during my consult at the Orthodontist, he suggested it would be in my best interest to get braces.
Noooooo I didn't want to hear that! I wanted you to tell me "no Jamie, you don't need braces!"
The Orthodontist I saw today was not the first. I saw another one 2 years ago who told me the same exact thing this doctor told me today. Getting braces would not be something that would be detrimental to my dental health, but it would in fact be a necessity in the long term. As it stands today, getting braces would be more cosmetic than anything else.
It took me a moment to assess my options. I could either take advantage now that I am young, have excellent insurance coverage to pay for the procedure, and the damage is not bad enough to where I would only need to wear the braces for 12 to 18 months.
OR I could wait several years down the road, where the gap in my teeth would get bigger, the crowding more profound, and the overbite more obvious. I would be older too with braces and that may not be so cute.
It ain't really cute now at 32...but you get my drift.
I'd rather be 32 wearing braces than being 52 wearing braces. So I guess it is what it is.
I tried asking for the Invisalign braces, but of course the orthodontist suggested that I get the traditional kind since its more effective in its timing of the correction within the lining of my teeth. I asked about getting the clear braces in lieu of Invisalign and the orthodontist said, its a viable option, however the way the clear ones are made, they are bigger and protrude out slightly more than the metal kind.
So it looks like I will have very unattractive metal braces aligned on me teeth. Wonderful.
I'll be honest, I 'm not exactly responsible when it comes to taking care of myself. I tend to be apathetic to taking medications, monitoring my what I eat, even the simple act of brushing and flossing twice a day. I'm not fastidious by nature, and I tend to let things go. With my luck, I'll leave my retainer on the coffee table and my dog will grab it up to use as a play toy for herself. I'm just not that responsible.
I guess it's time to grow up and be accountable for my overall health as well as stop pining over trivial issues like getting braces. I guess I should be grateful rather than self-centered about the whole experience. It could be worse....my teeth could look like this.
My appointment is in 2 weeks. I'll be honest, I feel a little nervous about this experience, but I know in the long run it will be worth the effort. I'll have straight pearly whites.
::SMILE::
