Hi
Sarahxxx and welcome!
Wow - so much of your story rings true with me. In fact pretty much all of it, word for word! I understand 100% where you're coming from with everything - the extractions, the gaps, the kissing issue - it's like looking in a mirror!
Like you, more than the pain or discomfort of extractions I was so unbelievably anxious from the point of view of vanity and how terrible I thought it was going to look, especially in these 10 days before getting my braces fitted. Now I don't know which teeth you're having out, but after having my premolars out (the ones just in front of the molars - not sure if they're called the 1st or 2nd ones) last Tuesday
not one single person has noticed a thing. It's incredible! Again like you, I am a very smiley person and it has been tricky sometimes to resist the urge to flash a big beaming smile at cherished friends but I already care and think about it so much less after just 1 week. Only if I want to have a real big chuckle at something in public do I bother to cover my mouth with my hand. I truly believe that even if you do smile wide enough for the gaps to show a little bit, the honest truth is that other people are so wrapped up in their own lives (and quite rightly so) that they just don't notice or register what they see. I too was convinced I wouldn't want to leave the house for weeks and stocked up on magazines and dvds but I happily survived a long work trip to London to meet very important clients the very day after, went out to the cinema with a huge group of people 3 days after, met my "childhood sweetheart" at the theatre 4 days after and proceeded to go for drinks and dancing til 4am. And don't think I'm superhuman or especially brave, I'm generally quite a baby when it comes to wallowing in self-pity and often lack strength of will and confidence: you
will recover physically
and mentally sooo much quicker than you fear right now - I promise!
I haven't seen my boyfriend since the extractions and to be honest am slightly worried like you about dealing with being "intimate" with braces but please take comfort in what the others have said here. Absolutely
anyone worth kissing won't give a d**m!! I'm sure with a little care at first you will be able to carry on just as before.
I've realised I'm speaking here like an old hand but I've yet to even get my braces and have relatively very little experience of this whole thing. But to see how "easy" the whole extraction process and recovery can be (touch wood!
) check out my thread in the Braces Stories forum and for all the rest please know that here you'll find all the support you need in the next 20 months. And then some!
Please sleep easy tonight - you're gonna be fine!
x
