Foods You Can Eat With Braces

 Here's a quiz about the foods you can (and can't) eat when you have braces.  This derives from the usual food choices most orthodontists tend to recommend.
However, when I had braces, I remember having all sorts of forbidden foods (even chewing gum!).  

Observing Braces

Even for those who have never had braces, they can provide interesting memories. Often friends and acquaintances will undergo orthodontic treatment. Here is a true account of being an observer of braces by one of my readers who goes by the name RUBBERBOOTS,

Me, I've never worn braces, & was pretty much oblivious to them throughout grade school, though I do remember a couple of instances:

There was a kid in my Grade 7 class, his name was John, who had braces with rubber bands. I remember him being playfully harassed by a classmate along the lines of, "How do you like wearing braces? And how about those elastics?" John took a deep breath and replied gently, "Oh yes, I just L-O-V-E my braces." And then, "Yeah, sure, I really L-O-V-E my elastics." In both cases, he deliberately drew out the word "love," extending it over several syllables. His voice was literally dripping with sarcasm.

In high school, the younger brother of a close friend got full metal braces & accompanying headgear. He called it "the works." I saw him around his house frequently in his full regalia, and he also wore it when taking driving lessons at the age of 16. He pretty much took it all in stride, though he complained privately to me on more than one occasion. [Oddly, this kid later became friends with Arthur, the younger brother of John from my first reminiscence.]

For reasons that escape me now, I thought I wanted to become a teacher when I was in my 20's, so I attended teacher's training college for a year. During my practice teaching sessions out in the field, I became much more aware of the proliferation of headgear on junior high & high-school students. I recall a kid slumped in his seat during Grade 9 history class. He looked normal in every other way: lanky build, scruffy hair, clad daily in a t-shirt & blue jeans, but with a cervical headgear perpetually wrapped round his neck. For the 3 weeks I was assigned to the class, he wore it constantly, never once removing it, not even for a moment. His parents must have been very strict. I couldn't help but feel bad for him, even though the expression on his face was inscrutable. I couldn't tell if he were truly depressed, or merely indifferent, or simply being stoic. Maybe it bothered me more than it bothered him?

Now, I never saw him interact much with any of his classmates, not that there was much chance for that in the formal classroom environment. On the other hand, I never saw anyone "razz" him about his appearance, and while he was the only kid in his class in headgear, I remember spotting at least 2 or 3 others in the hallways in full headgear, so he wasn't completely alone. One day, I happened to be seated at the back of the classroom, observing the regular teacher conduct an impromptu class workshop, during which students were encouraged to discuss topical issues informally amongst themselves, each partnered by a classmate or two. During a lull in the proceedings, one rather immature student wearing overalls wandered back to where I was seated and tried to strike up a conversation with me, something I knew I should discourage. "You need to get back to your workshop," I said somewhat sharply. "Who's your partner?" To my amazement, he indicated the kid in the headgear, though he took care to refer to him as "the boy in the blue shirt," without mentioning his orthodontia. How very politically correct of him!

Happy Ortho Health Month!

October: the spooky, scary month of Halloween, Trick or Treats, and chewy candy.

And appropriately also Orthodontic Health Month. 

Seasons Greetings to all my readers!!

True Account: Getting Braces

Here is a true account of getting braces, as told to Storycorps by a young orthodontic patient. This present day account has many similarities with older experiences of orthodontia.   

100 Reasons To Hate Braces

 
A braces oriented work on Wattpad.