Braces. That is all I have to say. Is it not silly how people spend years and money with braces just to take them off and go on about their teeth journey with retainers? You are never free. First it is the braces now the retainers.
I had my braces on for years, just to sit on an orthopedic chair with my dentist telling me that I need to wear retainers. I thought I was done, apparently not. Now I will suffer wearing plastic retainers for three months to report back to my dentist, the worst part is that not only are they uncomfortable but make me talk oddly. For some reason I can not talk normally, let alone pronounce words with the letter “S”.
With currently having a rough time getting used to my retainers I know I will be just fine, I am just dramatic. The process of braces were temporary but knowing that the retainers are permanent I have to learn to grow with them. I am sure I am not the only one who was disappointed finding out that there are extra steps into having a perfect smile, I will admit it is worth it–to me at least.
Students from this school have gone above and beyond for their oral health–I mean, yes take care of your teeth! But is it really worth the pain, money and time? We will find out the journey other students have gone through for those pearly whites.
“I had my braces since last year to middle school on and off,” senior Abraham Coronado said. “After my braces, I started invisalign and then I went back to braces and now I’m just wearing retainers. I never wore my retainers and still don’t, so I went back and forth and I’m about to go back to invisalign. I tried to put them back on recently after a few months without putting them on, it hurt so bad. Before I had an expander and then after a while my gums started growing over them and they had to cut it out of me and it hurt but I would do it again, I did it a few times and I’m about to restart invisalign I would say it is worth it because my teeth were a mess, they were bad and now they aren’t as bad.”
Going back and forth from braces to invisalign to retainers back to invisalign sounds like a lot of work. Having great teeth just means more work as some students would say, the more you keep up with them the less work it is.
“I think the only thing about retainers is that it is too much work,” junior Sariah Murden said. “You have to wash them and brush them out. My journey with braces had me overreacting because I really thought I had to go through a liquid diet, but no. They did help me though, it took away my sweet tooth. After finding out I needed retainers I just knew I wasn’t going to keep up with them, and it was true because I stopped wearing them for four months. Retainers are only painful if you haven’t been wearing them for a really long time and if you try to put them back on, which I am doing right now. It hurts and it feels tight but that is my fault so keep up with your retainers unless you want them to shift around.”
Retainers and braces might just get the best of us but for others some of their journeys were not as bad. From personal experience I would say breaking a bracket or getting your braces tightened was the cherry on top for this whole experience, and I am glad someone can agree with me.
“Getting my braces tightened was horrible,,” senior Madeleine Galicia said. “I could not stand it. I did not stop eating certain foods, I ended up breaking a bracket eating a burger, I have eaten many hard things but no, the burger did it. After I got them off and found out I needed retainers I was mad. I had them for two and a half years just to have retainers, I mean after a while you do get used to it but just having plastic in your mouth was not a good feeling for me. I hated it. I would say it is worth it but I will also say to keep in track with your retainers, you wouldn’t want all that pain and suffering to go down the drain.”
Many people would say to keep in track with your retainers but what if you break them or lose them? That could be the end of it all for those people (or maybe they are just fine.)
“I lost my retainers,” senior Coral Arriaga said. “The thing is I had to get wired retainers, it was wire over my teeth and plastic on the roof of my mouth, I would spit all over the place trying to talk. My teeth were normal, but then I got a weird pimple above my front tooth, so I went to the dentist and they popped it then my front tooth fell and as I started going to elementary, my tooth started growing from were they popped the pimple, my teeth having gaps and shifting everywhere made kids bully me. I went to the dentist and they gave me braces in fifth grade then I took them off and they were good and that’s when I got retainers, and lost them. I don’t plan on getting new ones, I think my teeth are fine.”
With lots of stories being told about students’ journeys with their braces and retainers and overall experience I think it is safe to say that we all thought it stopped at braces. If you have gone this far with your oral health, keep it up! It is true when some say you would not want all the time and money put into those braces to be a waste, be sure to keep up with what you need to take care of…unless you want to start all over.
“I think teeth do stop shifting at one point,” Arriaga said. “I had a tooth that was shifting a lot but then it stopped moving around but I am overall glad with my journey, I love my smile.”
