… other than update my blog, that is.

Today I had an appointment with an orthodontist. In the last month or so my teeth have been bothering me - it feels as though they’ve moved and it’s becoming uncomfortable to chew. I’ve always had issues with my teeth, in that they’ve always been a bit out of alignment, but I didn’t have anything done when I was younger, I think because my mum didn’t want to put me through having braces.

So instead of going through it as a teenager, I’m going to go through it as an adult. There have been so many times where I’ve thought, “if I’d just done it when I started Honours, it would be over now” or “if I’d just done it when I started studying at tafe, it would be over now.” So, enough of the speculation and if onlies. I’m going to do it.

A guy at work had braces put on a few weeks ago and he only has to wear them for 5 months, which gave me hope that maybe I could get away with something similar, as my teeth aren’t too bad, they just need to be adjusted a little. Even so, I was feeling nervous when I went in for my appointment.

The orthodontist was really nice, and did a rather thorough examination, saying I have wonderful teeth with no decay or signs of decay, and then proceeded to rattle off a whole lot of dental terms describing my issues to his assistant, who dutifully wrote it all down. He then showed me a model of some teeth and how they were meant to align, and gave me a mirror and showed me how mine compared. For an initial consultation, I was actually pretty impressed, as some of the other dentists I’ve seen have given me the bum’s rush almost and then charged me some ridiculous amount of money for the privilege.

As expected, he said I’d need braces if I wanted to correct the problem, and at the end asked if I had any questions. I said my main question was how long I’d have to wear them. Alas, 6 months was not to be. He said it would be 18 months to 2 years, which is what I was expecting, but it didn’t make it any more pleasant to hear.

I then went into another room where they made moulds of my upper and lower teeth and took several photos. I’m having X-rays done on Friday, then I’m going back to him in a couple of weeks to talk about my options and the cost and whatever else. While I was waiting to get the moulds done, I actually felt a bit teary - I don’t know why. I was feeling a bit upset afterwards as well, but the more I’ve thought about it, the better I feel. I’m finally going to get something done to correct my teeth and prevent things getting any worse, and time goes by so quickly that hopefully it won’t feel like too long. That’s what I’ll tell myself, anyway.