I never thought I would get braces, my teeth were crooked, but they had so much personality to them - it never bothered me. That is, until I got my wedding photos. The close up shots of my husband and I are in a box in the closet! Afterwards, I pondered with the idea of braces and 1 year later I decided to dive in.
I have a wonderful ortho who's staff is also wonderful and kind. They actually cater to children (many of my friends went there as children), but they are trustworthy and have been around for decades.
From September - February, I was (un)fortunate to sport palatal expanders. I couldn't talk for a week, let alone eat. The worst part is, I teach 2nd graders and teaching phonics while sounding like Elmer Fud is impossible. After a week, I was able to compensate and sounded just fine.
Now it's February and I had my top expander taken out and my top metal brackets and wire put on. Instead of 26, I look like I'm 16! I was afraid of how I would look, but it's not so bad. I also got a little surprise thrown in for good fun. I had to have an arch put behind my teeth to act as an anchor while my teeth are pulled back into position. Not so bad, I thought, until it actually was placed into my mouth! It has an acrylic "pad" that is digging into the roof of my mouth and it's so thick that I once again sound like Elmer Fud. I'm not sure my tongue will be able to compensate this time because of the thickness of the acrylic, there's no where for it to go. My students are darling and tell me it's okay, I'll learn how to talk again. I hope so, I can't teach sounding like this. I'll give it a week and if my speech has not improved I'll ask my ortho for a thinner replacement. I don't want to be a complainer, but I need to talk!
So that's my story. Any suggestions on a good floss for braces?
