Smile

edit: I has just going to write about a dream I had and it turned into this long ass poston a subject I think I have talked about before. Oh well, here is my life story haha

I got braces when I was 17, right before I started my senior year of high school. I was so angry getting them. The thing is my teeth were perfectly straight my whole life. I still had one of my baby teeth though and my adult tooth was in the roof of my mouth under the skin hidden sideways and never coming down. It didn't bother me and I was prepared to leave it that way. I was told that the chances of it absenting up there as an adult was pretty likely. The solution to that problem was neither easy nor painless.

First the baby tooth had to come out to make room for the adult tooth. I feel like this is all some great metaphor for growing up. In order for my other teeth to remain in position while they brought the adult tooth down I had to get braces. I remember at 12 I longed for braces like all my friends had and I could pick the colors in the rubber bands. At 17 no one had their braces anymore and they were the last thing I wanted. That wasn't even the worst of it. I now had a missing tooth. At the same time they removed that tooth they sliced open the roof of my mouth creating a little door of flesh that was opened up to reveal my adult tooth. They stuck a bracket to that tooth with a little gold chain that attached to the braces in the area that my tooth needed to fit into. They closed the door of flesh and sewed it up with the little chain coming out of it. Not only did I have braces but I had a chain and a missing tooth. Every month they would crank that chain a little until the tooth came down. After much pain and time the tooth emerged, however it was backwards and they now twirked the chain as to no longer bring it down but around. All that metal pushing and pulling inside my mouth was aggravating and I couldn't get away from it.

Finally it was in place but my orthodontist wasn't happy. She wanted my teeth to be completely perfect. Every month I would ask if I could get my braces off and every month she said no. It went on this way for years. At the same time I was stuck in my little town after high school and wanting nothing more then to leave. Because of money and family problems I had to wait out 2 years in community college while everyone I knew was away at college. I felt as trapped at my teeth did in their case of metal. Finally I was accepted to my #1 choice in schools and 5 months away from moving when I lied to my orthodontist and said I was moving the next weekend and I needed my braces off before I left. When I got them removed it was probably one of the most gratifying days of my life. I was moving out of town to study what I love and the metal cage in my mouth was gone. I remember that I couldn't stop smiling. I walked out of the orthodontist office smiling with my mouth open with all my teeth showing for the first time in year. I walked out to my car smiling this huge all teeth smile. A man in his car smiled at me and said "You have a beautiful smile, never stop smiling." I never went back to the orthodontist again. I skipped out on all my appointments.

Today I had a dream that I had just stopped going to the orthodontist before I got my braces off and I still had parts of them on even though most the brackets had come off. I woke up to discover to my groggy surprise that I didn't have braces anymore. I ran my tongue over my smooth teeth and smiled my big all toothy smile.