The Wonder of Braces

A random post again.

No, actually it is not that random.

Today is the 2nd of Ramadhan 1433, 22nd of July 2012.

My phone is still alive, and so am I, alhamdulillah.

I went to the orthodontist at Metro Specialist Hospital for my braces appointment. It was supposed to be at 4.30 pm and it looked like I was the last patient who was waiting outside the room. I could hear the doctor talking and nagging inside the room, drilling something onto the poor patient's teeth.

I brought Cecelia Ahern's 'A Place Called Here', of which I have read 3-4 years ago, but decided to read again. I must say, this book is one of Ahern's boring books. I love Cecelia Ahern! I have read all of her books! (though I haven't bought the recently released one, which is half A4-sized and a bit expensive, gotta wait for the normal paperback size). I've reread 'The Book of Tomorrow' the week before, and I was so captivated with the storyline that I decided to revise all her other books. 

Okay, enough about Cecelia Ahern. Back to 'Braces' story.

So, I waited and waited patiently and hungrily for the nurse to call out my name. Then, at about 4.55, the patient inside the room came out. I waited for the nurse to call my name. 

Just when I was about to close my eyes, the nurse called me and smiled upon seeing me almost dozing off. 

Went inside, took off my glasses, put the 'sunglasses'. sat on the yellow dentist chair, the orthodontist lowered the chair, followed his every instruction:-

Open wider!

Close!

Bite!

Open!

Bite!

Then he twisted some sort of wires, tightened my braces, which made my teeth and gum feeling sore. Your teeth are moving, of course it hurts!

Back at home for iftar, my teeth hurt as I chewed the Rendang Daging. But my hunger overpowered my pain and I successfully sliced and chewed through the meat! Yeehaa!!

At night, I couldn't really sleep because it was very painful. But nothing could beat the pain I first felt when I first got my braces last year. I couldn't sleep properly and I almost cried because of the intense pain! ALMOST okay, almost. I did not cry. 

Anyway, I survived, woke up early for sahur. My teeth hurt still. You want to know the sensation?

Open your mouth really wide, expose your teeth, then ask someone to punch your teeth. Yeah, that was how it felt like, I think. Because no one ever punched me, haha. But majority of those who wear braces describe the pain as being like that- getting your teeth punched by someone, or getting your teeth being hit by a high-speed baseball. 

I checked out my teeth at the mirror, and I was surprised (still surprised) and delighted to find out that the gaps had been half-filled in just one night! The wonder of braces, you see? Haha, I guess it will take another two or three appointments for the gaps to be fully closed. Another year to go, or maybe another year after that. I only got my teeth checked 6-7 times in a year. 

My teeth still hurt as I'm typing this. No pain, no gain, right?