I just got back from having a new crown put on a tooth. The dentist fiddled with it a few times, saying he was "tightening" it. That reminded me of the period when I had braces, back in high school. Every three months I had to go see Dr. M., the orthodontist. He had an office that was about three miles from my high school, so I had to ride my bike up Backlick Road to the medical building on Little River Turnpike in Annandale, Va. Not so bad during the summer, but not a lot of fun in a Northern Virginia winter. He'd tighten the silver metal bands on my teeth, attach new rubber bands, and I'd hurt like hell. Then I'd get back on my bike and head back down the road in 40° weather. If anyone thinks that cold has no impact on metal and teeth, try that on for size.
I was lucky, though. My teeth were straightened out in only 18 months. I've known people who had to wear them for years.
Posted by Linkmeister at March 11, 2008 12:42 PM | TrackBackI had my teeth straightened in 15 months. It was to make room for my wisdom teeth. Which grew in after the braces and destroyed my molars. Thanks, Dr. Lamb!
Posted by: SeattleDan at March 11, 2008 07:49 PMI got lucky. They pulled four during the orthodontistry and that really did make room for the wisdom teeth. Those grew in just fine.
Posted by: Linkmeister at March 11, 2008 07:55 PMSix teeth yanked out, braces for 2 years, wisdom teeth grew in, 4 dug out at the same time, teeth crooked again. It hurt me physically but I feel worse for my folks who took out a loan to finance it. I'm sure things have improved since then. :)
Posted by: ali at March 12, 2008 08:31 AM