Getting Braces

A month ago, Mum, Immy and I were sitting on the train. Next stop would be ours. I grabbed my book and MP3 player and put them into my bag.

We were going to get my braces put on. I was a bit nervous. I had been assured by Imogen and Charlotte, who have both had braces, that it isn't as bad as it is made out to be. I was trying to believe them.

We rushed off the train and onto the street. It was pouring with rain. I dug in my bag and pulled out my amazing cat umbrella.

We walked down the busy street, trying to find somewhere for morning tea. After a lot of walking we found a cafe and Mum bought me a milkshake and apple pie. The milkshake was very yummy and the apple pie warmed me up. I hurriedly ate them up before we had to dash over to the orthodontist's. We went up the lift and came out in a waiting room.

After brushing my teeth, we sat down to wait. I had only just put my bag down when a lady came out of a room.

"Sophie?" she asked. I got up again and followed her in.

The orthodontist smiled and told me to sit down. He talked me through what they were doing. I soon forgot to be scared as I listened.

While finding fitting metal bands for my teeth, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the metal band onto one of my teeth. I felt scared again as they picked up a piece of sand paper.

"You won't like this," the orthodontist said and he was right. He sandpapered the tooth until it fitted into the band. I was very relieved when it finally fitted in.

After taking some new x rays, the old ones being out of date, he started to put the braces onto my teeth. It took a long time and was very boring. It didn't actually hurt at all.

"What colour bands would you like?" I was asked.

I looked at the colours shown to me and picked a nice bright purple. It didn't take long after that for them to finish putting the braces on and Mum to be allowed in. She smiled.

"Immy said you would pick that colour," she told me.

I smiled as best I could. My mouth felt like it couldn't fit everything in it.

After being told all about how to look after my braces and what not to eat, we went back to the train station.

On the way home I told Immy all about.

"You look like a chipmunk," she told me and took a photo.

Mum and Imogen ate their lunch on the way home, but after trying to nibble some of mine I gave up. I knew someone would make me something soft to eat when we got home. I was right. Charlotte was willing to make me some custard to eat instead.

The next day my braces started to hurt, but after a few days they calmed down and I got used to them.

As I still have baby teeth I will have to go back to the dentist next week and have two of them pulled out. I am not looking forward to it!

Orthodontist and Dentist

I was quivering with nerves as I entered the orthodontist. What would he say when he found out that I hadn't wiggled my baby teeth out? I can't have my braces fitted with those teeth still in my mouth. Would he be angry?

It turned out that the orthodontist wasn't angry. He just smiled and joked about it. He poked about in my mouth a bit and then he looked at the x-rays he had of my mouth. He turned to Mum.

Me after teeth came out

"Sophie will have to have three teeth taken out," he said. I stared. Three teeth? I had never even h one tooth taken out by the dentist, let alone three.

Mum rang up the dentist and arranged for me to go and have my teeth out.

Yesterday afternoon, Mum, Imogen, Charlotte, Gemma-Rose and I hopped into the car to go off to the dentist. Mum, Imogen, Charlotte and Gemma-Rose were going just for check ups.

I was worried. Charlotte had already had four teeth taken out before she got braces. She said there was nothing to worry about, but I still worried. Charlotte told me that the worst bit after the anaesthetic was the noise and the crack as the tooth came out. It didn't sound nice.

An awful photo of my teeth

I sat down in the waiting room while everyone else got their teeth checked, and I thought about having three teeth out. I wondered which teeth. I was starting to think that the anaesthetic must be really painful if it was the worst part of having teeth out, when it was my turn to go in.

The dentist smiled at me as I entered and sat down in the chair. "I will start by putting the anaesthetic in," he told me.

"Are you going to take the teeth out before or after checking her teeth?" Mum asked.

"After. I'm just putting in the anaesthetic first so it can start taking effect," the dentist said. I closed my eyes as the needle went in. I opened them a few seconds later.

I hardly noticed what he was doing. I was too busy listening to what he was saying. Not all of it was on the subject of my teeth.

Then the dentist examined my teeth. I was not worried about them having any cavities or anything. I was not even thinking about what he was doing. I was thinking about all Charlotte had said about having teeth taken out.

"The inside of your mouth will hurt a bit more," the dentist said. I started to pay attention again. I suddenly realised that he had finished checking my teeth. What was wrong? Why was I feeling no pain? The dentist was still smiling and I could hardly feel my upper mouth. It turns out that all the teeth that were going to be pulled out were in the top half of my mouth.

Nothing was wrong, and in a few minutes the dentist was getting a tool to take out the teeth.

He started on the left side of my mouth. I closed my eyes again.

My mouth after the teeth came out, can you see the big gaps?

"Got it!" The dentist said. I opened my eyes at once. The dentist had my tooth and was putting it down on the tray. I had felt nothing.

The next one came out the same way. I was hardly feeling anything.

"Two more to go!" said the dentist as he put gauze in my mouth.

"Two more?" Mum asked. "Wasn't she going to have three out?"

"I was told four. I will check if you like." The dentist looked at the letter he had from the orthodontist. "No, it is definitely four."

"The orthodontist must have changed his mind," Mum said. The dentist agreed.

He started to take the next tooth out. I was trying to bite onto the gauze and have my mouth open at the same time. It was not easy.

The dentist kept putting his tool around my tooth and pulling, but the tooth did not come out. I was starting to feel a bit scared again. The dentist talked to the nurse and she went off to get something.

"The adult tooth has grown up the side of the tooth I am trying to get out, but it is in the way of my tool," the dentist explained. "I am going to get it out with a different tool."

As soon as he tried it with the new tool, the tooth came out. It still had a huge root.

The last tooth came out as smoothly as the first two. I was very glad. I got some more gauze to absorb the blood and was then able to go home. At first I tried to talk, but then I worked out it was no use and I just nodded and shook my head.

As soon as I was home, I sat in front of the TV and watched a movie till dinner.

By dinner time the bleeding had stopped enough for me to take the gauze out to eat. My mouth was still very numb.

Mum and Imogen made me custard for dinner as I couldn't eat burgers. It was very nice, but the only problem was that it was hard to get it off the spoon without my top lip. It took a long time to eat. By the time I was finished everyone else had finished washing the dishes. They had given me the night off.

Mum let me watch another movie in the evening. I was very grateful. The movie took my mind off the teeth or rather lack of teeth.

This morning I was feeling a bit better, but not brave enough to try some toast for breakfast. I made porridge instead.

It is still a bit tricky to eat with so few teeth, but at least I am eating proper food again!

I don't want to have any more teeth taken out, even though it was not as bad as everyone made out.

On to the next step, braces!