The day has finally come to share with you a very personal and meaningful journey in my life. My journey with adult braces. I have to say I'm always so hesitant to write about stories such as these because they really hit home, but I feel I was placed on this Earth for a purpose and if I can touch somebodys life through my testimony, so be it and at the same time you'll learn so much more about me.
The very first picture above is me with braces now. The picture was probably taken a week ago (Nov 2014). Not too shabby huh? I like to think I can rock out those braces pretty nicely hehe. ;) The picture below is me in 2012 I believe, and with no braces. Looking at my smile you're probably thinking there was nothing wrong with my smile to begin with. But I always tell people there is always more than what the eye can see.
Before braces, to be totally honest I was perfectly content with my upper set of teeth. Although there was some spacing. The top was never really an issue to me it was the bottom set of teeth. I used to have a lot of crowding at the bottom. I don't have a picture to show you guys but if you go to my youtube channel and watch my tutorials you will be able to see that I had crowding.
www.youtube.com/arisegurafashion And while you're there make sure to subscribe to my channel and drop me a line! :D
It wasn't just for the crowding and spacing that I needed braces. It was also because I need dental implants for missing molars. It is always best to get braces done first before implants so teeth are already in perfect alignment. Once the dental implants are put in they don't ever move or shift. So I made it top priority to get braces done.
So why was it so important for me to take care of my teeth as an adult? My answer is simple, because I never got the opportunity to as a child.
Believe it or not as a child my parents never took me to the dentist and they never enforced good dental hygiene. Both of my parents came from Spanish speaking countries. They spoke Spanish their whole lives. When they came to the United States they did not know any English. It could have been the language barrier, it could have been that they didn't know themselves to go and get checked up by a dentist on a regular basis. And perhaps that's why they never knew to take me. Their mentality was you go to the dentist when your teeth start hurting...well, we all know by that time, it's too late.
When I turned 17 I went to the dentist for the very first time with a lot of pain. By that time I needed route canals, extractions, and fillings done on my teeth. And as you know when you hit a certain age insurance/ medical assistance cuts off. That's exactly what happened to me. Leaving me all alone to get an immense amount of work done with no financial help.
I've had thee WORST experiences with Dentists. Most of them looked at me and my teeth like if I was a lost cause, most just had this look on their face and attitude like Where do I even start? Sigh* Yeah, it was really discouraging especially these people not even knowing my background and where I came from.
I went most of my teenage years and my 20's with missing molars. When I would smile you could see the obvious spaces in my mouth. Let me tell you it was not cute. Cheesing really big for pictures was such a challenge and when I had a heartfelt laugh I was so self conscious to open up my mouth big. My job requires me to be in a close proximity to my clients. People would question my missing teeth!! I mean not a lot of people would point it out, maybe 2 that I can remember, but why would you ask about it? Yes, I'm missing teeth, thank you for pointing it out, and you really don't need to know why. lol
It has been an emotional roller coaster with my teeth. Especially when people would say there is nothing wrong with them, but remember what I said in the beginning of this post, there is always more than what the eye can see. I would always wish and dream for that perfect movie star smile that I never had the opportunity to have, that is until now. I can be bitter about how I grew up and how I missed out on a lot. I can easily blame my parents and resent them. But I don't see it that way. All of what I went through has made me the person I am today. It makes me sensible to certain things and situations because you never know what a person can be battling with. I am so knowledgeable on dental hygiene now and literally obsessed but for good. You best believe I teach my son diligently about keeping good dental hygiene. I never want any of my children to go through the physical and mental pain that I did.
So as you can see I have really taken matters into my own hands to take care of my teeth. I'm about 8 months into my treatment and I will keep you guys updated when the braces come off and when I'll be getting dental implants.
This is my progress as of right now. I've never had really bad pain with them just discomfort of poking wires and rubbing on the side of my mouth. It is awkward to smile because my teeth feel like they are sticking way out. You can see in this pic we're trying to close up some spacing but other than that they are looking really great. For treatment I decided to go to a dental school which is MUSC and a medical student is doing the treatment for me with supervision of Faculty.
The staff has been so amazing. I've had the best experience ever. My orthodontist Stephanie Furlong is the sweetest. She knows how bad I've wanted this and I've even expressed to her that after all this is done I will literally cry. It's things like this that make me thankful for my journey and I just thank God that I've grown so much because of it and along the way I've met some really AWESOME people. I so look forward to the day like they do in Extreme Makeover and hold the hand held mirror, when they see their beautiful perfect teeth for the first time! That day is coming!
xoxo,
Marilu
