ANJA McBRIDE

I’ve written before about my long journey with my oral health, which is affected greatly by the condition I inherited from my mother, Gorlin Syndrome. For the past eight years of my life, I’ve undergone nine oral surgeries to remove tumors in my jaw. While beneficial to my health, these surgeries gave my teeth a lot of extra space to move around in my jaw and the only way to really, permanently fix this is to get braces. However, we weren’t given the go-ahead to do so for a long time, knowing that a few more of my teeth still needed to grow before even starting to plan the process to get braces on.

Then it finally happened. Over the summer, we were at long last given the green light to achieve what I had been dreaming of since I was just a tiny, eight-year-old little girl: straight teeth. The process took a few weeks, but with a couple of orthodontic meetings behind us, the plan was set in stone, and I would be getting braces in September. Oh, wait, sorry, can we reschedule that? I wanted to have one last Halloween in my childhood, unrestricted by the diet I knew would come with braces, needing to keep them intact without braces or wire popping out of place when I bit into certain foods. For example, the most stereotypical restrictions associated with braces include caramel and popcorn, so I had to have one last EPIC Halloween with seven of my friends, and then it was set.

November 11, 2021, 1:45 p.m. I sat in the orthodontist’s chair with my mouth pried open as metal and wire were glued into my mouth. And so I did that, and an hour and 15 minutes later, it was done. I looked in the mirror, feeling the new corrugated structure that now lived behind my lips. It was difficult for my lips to close over the brackets, and my teeth were no longer smooth. I was then given a bag with toothbrushes, floss, floss picks, toothpaste, and pamphlets on how to brush correctly with braces on.

After that, Mom and I went home, and I watched the Ace Ventura movies for the first time. About four hours after I got my braces on, the pain started to amplify. Over the next 48 hours, I was on a pretty rigid Tylenol routine and didn’t even try to chew food, sticking to a soft food diet because of the pain. It’s now been a month with them on and pretty much the only thing I miss and can’t eat with braces on is Takis.

Not every part of having braces is excellent and I haven’t had them tightened, so I don’t yet have a complete picture of how this journey will be, but overall I’ve adjusted to them fairly well so far and am still thrilled to one day have a smile I can proudly show off.

One highlight, aside from all the ice cream I’ve eaten this month, was being able to show my friends and family, all of whom have always been supportive of my oral journey, and know how long I’ve waited for this moment, my braces. After the first two days of pain and discomfort and the general struggle to get used to the metal in my mouth, it made my week so much better the following Monday when I ran into my BFF in the hallway between classes and she screamed in excitement as we hugged.

So, will this be a long process that will involve times of uncertainty and discomfort? Yes. But will it be worth it? Definitely, and with the support of my family and friends, I can’t wait to see how it goes.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Anja McBride is a junior this year, and loves to read and play tennis.