Well it's a few months on since I lost my tooth, and I have been feeling more self-conscious than ever about my mouth. Now not only are my teeth wonky and all different colours, there is also a massive gap if I smile too widely.
I had to go back a couple of times since then to fix up some crappy fillings screwed up no doubt by that charlatan dentist in Scotland who wrecked my mouth in the first place. A perfect example of the NHS not working one little bit (he was charging them for work and doing temporary fixes on my teeth. One of them was in there for 8 years). So I'm another thousand dollars in the hole. And my teeth, although now structurally sound, still look like shite.
Sooooo...off to the other tooth doctor I went to find out what braces could do to fix my teeth. There is something very weird about going to the orthodontist as an adult. The only person in the waiting area unaccompanied by a minor, I felt a bit dodgy. Almost like the time I went to see Finding Nemo at the cinema by myself and could almost feel the parents and guardians of everyone in the room bristling at my presence. Uncomfortable.
Not only this but they made me feel paradoxically juvenile by insisting that all of my earrings were removed before they put me in this ultra-futuristic machine that took a 3D xray of my entire head. I had considerable difficulty getting the piercings out, there's about 7 of them and most of them have not been undone since they were installed. After this my humiliation was prolonged by massive plastic lip spatulas which were installed while some very close up photos of my horrid teeth were taken. Then they filled my mouth with those trays of gunk before sending me on my way ($600 lighter).
A few weeks later and it was back to the office to receive the verdict on my treatment from the orthodontist. I tried to approach reception to announce my arrival but this time was waved away to a touch screen that printed out a ticket. Hmmn, I'm not sure why but I really didn't like this. Then they made me wait for nearly an hour after my appt was due (presumably running late due to lots of children pinging their braces off). By the time I actually met the woman I was so tired i could hardly keep my eyes open. She then casually informed me that i would need 2 years of braces and another year of retainers. At this point I could get some cosmetic dentistry to make my teeth look better. But I would be wearing a retainer for the rest of my life at night.
Hmmn. I said I would think about it.
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