Food
- Towards the end of your braces relationship, exposing your teeth in public for your friends to check for lodged food will no longer be an issue.
- Invest in a blender- you'll use it regularly throughout your braces relationship.
- Tread (chew) with caution: apples, chewing gum, Gingernut biscuits (the worst), corn on a cob.
- TURMERIC SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS. Unless of course you think fluorescent yellow/green braces are all the rage.
- Towards the end of that first week of your braces when you are on a purée-only diet, take codeine, go to McDonald's, and buy that Angus burger, the pain and time to eat it will be worth it. It took me an hour to eat my Grand Angus Combo, and my chips were cold by the end of it, but every painful chew was heaven for my taste buds.
- There are 4 methods for removing food stuck in your teeth:
- The Suck Method. With enough force this can actually be quite effective.
- The Tongue Maneuver Method. This involves poking and prodding your lodged food from a variety of angles and is most effective when combined with method 1.
- The Finger/Nail Method. Using your fingers to push the food out from it's lodged position.
- The Mini-Toothbrush/Stick Method. By far the best option, but not the most user-friendly option especially when in public places and without a mirror.
Your Appointments
- Become friendly with your orthodontist! If you are going to be seeing this person every 4-6weeks for approximately 2 years, you may as well get to know them a little better!
- Yes, it is hard to converse when your orthodontist has their fingers in your mouth, so I tried to do most of the talking before and after my orthodontist began the sessions.
- Be aware of your tongue movement when the orthodontist is doing their thing in your mouth with your teeth. It may seem weird, but you don't want to experience accidental tongue-finger collisions.
- Don't have anything planned until at least 4 hours after your teeth extraction appointment- you'll only feel, look and sound like a fool.
Physical Appearance
- You will not instantly look like Katy Perry in her music video for TGIF, but I highly encourage you to aim high and give it a go anyway!
- You may enjoy poses with glasses that make you look geeky or brainy (I used 3D glasses once) or just being geeky in general...
- Smile, with your teeth! Who cares if you have braces! Teeth smiles always look so much happier, so go for it!
- If you get teeth pulled out, take photos of yourself trying to smile (and pout) you'll laugh about it later.
- When wearing lipstick, lick your braces. This is gross, but lipstick always somehow manages to get itself from your lips onto your brackets- especially obvious with red lipstick!
- Carry lip balm with you, always. I found that my lips were so much drier after I got braces. So lip balm was an essential item for the handbag.
The Braces Experience
- Metal detectors in airports are nightmares… This isn't true, but how funny would it be if braces actually made airport metal detectors go off! I mean maybe it wouldn't be that funny, but it certainly would be a story for the grandkids!
- Accidentally swallowing rubber bands is all part of the braces experience, well it was part of mine anyway (more than once or twice too!).
- Pain is gain.
- Braces are a commitment, just like any relationship, you have your highs and lows, but unlike real human relationships, you only need to commit for a certain period, and then you're free!
- Googling pictures of famous people who have or had braces can build you up during those hard times.