A Little Background

I'm currently 37 years old, and I've had issues with crooked teeth ever since I was a tot with a propensity to keep my thumb between them. One of my very first memories was my father telling me that if I didn't stop sucking my thumb my teeth were going to grow to the floor. That thought terrified me and I kicked the habit cold turkey. A questionable parenting technique for sure, but you can't argue with the results.

Fast forward a few years and few cavity fillings later and I found myself at an orthodontist office at about 9 years old having some apparatus installed to spread my upper teeth a little wider. That went ok I suppose, but when the day came that a decision needed to be made about braces, I freaked. I literally remember sitting in the orthodontist's chair and pitching a fit to avoid the dreaded process. Another round of questionable parenting ensured that I got my way on the issue, but this time the results were not so favorable. Here's what my teeth look like now:

So probably not the worst set of chompers you've ever seen, but it's no picnic in there either. Across the top, you can see the tooth just to the right of my front tooth is actually completely sideways. The opposing one on the left juts out quite a bit. The incisor on the right is very protruded, and then all the molars kind of point inward. Across the bottom the crowding has caused the tooth just to the left of the front one to slip clear behind both its neighbors, and all the rest to be mis-aligned.

So I now have a teenage son in braces (we didn't give him a choice) and I realize that it's really not that big of a deal. Watching his smile improve has been an inspiration for me. He has done quite well with them, and I'm sure I will too. Time to go back and see what it would take to straighten this mess out. I asked my mother in jest if she would still pay for them, but unfortunately she said no.

I do want to address something here, and that is that I don't feel in any way that my teeth have held me back in life. This has not been detrimental to my career or my love life. I have not even been particularly self-conscious about this. I also have been very blessed with healthy teeth that have given me no trouble. But I am in such a position now that I can splurge a little, and correcting my smile is something that I wanted to treat myself to. For that ability, I am also very thankful. But if this course of treatment was not feasible for me, that would be fine too.

Wish me luck!