I was a little boy, 11 years old, starting the 6th grade with front teeth that seemed a mile apart to me. It was surely true I was in desperate need of braces. But first, I needed to get to the basics to start me off.

First, I got a palate expander, to well, expand my palate. It was a large piece of metal that went up across the entire roof of my mouth. To get the fit right they had to give me a mold in my mouth that tasted like play-dough. Man, I hated that stuff. It made me gag big time! Once I got the palate expander my parents had to tighten it daily by turning a key in the back of my mouth. That was rough! Then the key broke and we didn’t realize it so it never worked. We eventually went and got a new one.

When I got that expander out, it was one of the highlights of my experience at the orthodontist. I, then of course, got braces on. The braces had brackets which got food stuck in them also. They were okay for the most part though. I ended up also having to use rubber bands with them. These rubber bands had to be clipped on to my braces and they would easily break and fall out. Then I would constantly have to keep putting them back in. I had the braces for over two and a half years and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Although I did miss gum a lot.

When I got my braces off this February, I thought to myself that this was IT–they were going to be off, I could eat whatever I want, and I would have that perfect beautiful smile. But, there’s always a catch. You have to know that there’s always a catch when it comes to teeth care. Your teeth can go back to their original form that they were in before braces. This scared me. Just as I thought it was over, I now had to get wretched retainers. I had to get two permanent retainers one on the top and one on the bottom. These have to stay on permanently for the rest of my life! Luckily, they are glued behind my teeth. Then I had to be fitted for a temporary Hawley retainer. This has to be clicked in and out of my mouth and worn all day except for when I’m eating and brushing my teeth. I have to wear it everyday for an entire year. After that, I have to wear it for the rest of my life at night. This made me really upset. But now I’ve come to the realization that it’s not all that bad. Although it does get pretty annoying having to take out my retainer every single time that I have to eat. On top of that, my permanent retainer on the bottom came out recently, and they had to glue it back in.

Right now, I am still wearing the palate expander, but have gotten used to it. I’ve learned through this experience that if you really want that perfect smile you have to work for it through your entire lifetime. Once the braces come off, there’s still a long road ahead.