It’s been a while since I had my braces taken off. Probably almost six years ago already. But I have always had what they call a permanent retainer on the back of my front teeth. If you’ve had braces, you know what I’m talking about. Just a little wire cemented to the back of your teeth to help keep them straight after you get your braces off.
Now the retainer on my bottom teeth had come of years ago, shortly after it was put on, so I’ve only had the top one for a while now. About a month ago though, one of the edges broke off. I went into the dentist and she insisted on cementing it back on. I said that was fine with me as long as I wouldn’t need to come back in two weeks to have it put back on again.
Turns out it was about five weeks before it broke off again and I was back in her office. This time it was coming off. Ten minutes later I was driving back to work and feeling like my teeth were about to fall out. After having this piece of metal holding my teeth together for six years, it was really weird to finally have it off. It kind of feels like when you’re not wearing underwear because they are all dirty. You know that nothing is going to happen and nobody else is ever going to know, but just the thought that something could happen is enough to make you worry.
But luckily, 24 hours after the procedure, they are finally starting to feel normal again. I have no more fear biting into my sandwich at lunch. My teeth are going to be fine.
