Mouthwear Stories: My Treatment

This story was retrieved from the old M's Mouthwear website from an internet archive. My Treatment

I had braces of some kind or another on my teeth for about five years, from fifth grade through tenth grade. My treatment started with an upper retainer with a tongue guard. Apparently my tongue was having a lot of fun going between my two front teeth and staying there while I was asleep. Of course, this caused one front one tooth to point backward into my mouth and the other tooth to point frontward out between my lips. I was supposed to wear the retainer all the time to prevent my front teeth from getting any more out of position. We couldn't put the braces on yet because some of my permanent teeth had not come in. The tongue guard made it very difficult to talk normally so I wore it only at night and around the house. The next step was the braces. As soon as we determined I was not going to get any permanent upper lateral incisors (the pair just behind the two front teeth) (they were congenitally missing) we pulled the baby incisors and slapped the braces on. I was funny looking because I had these big, out of control front teeth with nothing next to them except an archwire spanning the gap back to the canines (the sharp, pointy teeth). Each tooth had a bracket cemented to the outside of it, and the first molars had bands around them. The second molars we left alone and my wisdom teeth had not come in. It was this way on both the uppers and the lowers, except the lowers were not missing any incisors. The upper molar bands had headgear anchor tubes on them and both archwires had loops in them to accommodate elastics (the little rubber bands). One major thing we had to do was pull all the upper teeth forward to fill in the gaps where my lateral incisors should have been. This involved lots of those little green elastics which went from one bracket to the next. As soon as the teeth were positioned reasonably well, we started working on the bite. I was hoping for a headgear which wrapped around the back of the neck because I had seen them and I really liked looking at them. The anticipation of feeling cold, wet metal wires between my lips most of the time was enticing. Also, the procedure of sticking those two long, sharp wires into the back of my small mouth looked like it would take some concentration. On the other hand, there was this dorky kid at school who had a headgear which wrapped over the top of his head and it looked incredibly stupid so I was pretty sure I wouldn't need one of those. I started getting suspicious when I got a new upper archwire and it had these gold-colored hooks on either side of the incisors (the front teeth). People would ask me what they were and what they were for and I didn't know. You guessed it, I got an over-the-top headgear. Of course, I was supposed to wear it all the time and of course, I wore it only at night and around the house. Sleeping with it was a bothersome because when I lay on my side, the straps with the elastic on them imprinted pretty heavily on the side of my face. It also caused some drooling. To this day, I get grossed out by waking up with a wet pillow. After the headgear came the standard elastics. I had two rubber bands on each side stretching from the upper canines (which were now in the lateral incisor position) and the first bicuspids (also moved forward) down and back to the lower canines and first bicuspids. Eventually the braces came off and I started smiling more. I had full upper and lower retainers. Of course, I was supposed to wear the retainers all the time and of course, I wore them only at night. After two or three years I actually threw them out, promising myself I would never again do anything remotely orthodontic. Of course, I was wrong. Whenever I was feeling low and wishing for my braces again, I would go into the bathroom and lock the door. The privacy in the bathroom was not very secure because anyone could unlock the door by putting a hairpin or small screwdriver into the hole in the knob on the outside. Therefore, I pulled the first drawer out of the vanity cabinet and left it there. That way, even if someone picked the lock, the door would only open an inch or two, and they couldn't see very much of what was going on inside. Anyway, I would get out my sister's retainers and look at them, wishing I still had mine so I could put them in and run my tongue over them, reveling in the feel of smooth plastic and metal inside my mouth, covering my palate, wrapping around my teeth and causing me to lisp my esses. While I was at college I went and got a teeny tiny retainer for my lower front teeth. It was a clip which anchored on my lower canines and covered my four lower incisors with plastic and metal. It was not easy for people to tell I had it in because it didn't show all the time and it had little impact on my speech. I wore it mostly to my job as a consultant in the computer labs. People would come up to my PC (where I would be reading netnews) and ask me questions. They interacted with me in a slightly different way when I had the clip in. I'm sure some people could tell I had the retainer but with others, it might have been my heightened awareness that was making me feel good. One time this tall, attractive girl came up and she was unusually smiley and friendly. I didn't understand what was up until I became aware of something funny in her speech. When I noticed a small glint in her mouth I figured out she had a lower clip in, just like mine. After I started working I started thinking about getting another set of retainers. The orthodontist looked at my X-rays and said, "Well, you have plenty of jaw, it's just positioned wrong." I have a very recessive chin and his idea was to correct that. It would have required surgery, having my jaw wired shut for three months, and then braces for three years. Instead, I got retainers but not true Hawley devices. They were made of clear plastic and were heat-molded to a cast of my teeth. They didn't cover my palate, and they had sharp edges which were uncomfortable. Fortunately, the pressure from my jaws caused them to start cracking after six months. As soon as bits started flaking off of them, I shopped for another orthodontist. This time, the guy was going to give me a regular upper Hawley with another lower clip. I got him to switch the lower to a full retainer and when it came back from the lab, it had a little extra hardware on it - I don't know what for. The latest addition to my collection is a thing to keep me from snoring at night. It has upper and lower rubber trays to hold the teeth and four small posts at the canines for elastics. It also has sliding tubes bolted on at the upper molars and lower canines (a Herbst). Basically, it keeps my jaw from falling down into my throat when I sleep on my back and it limits side to side jaw movement. It works but I can't wear it in public because it's so huge I can't talk with it in.