A few patients have guessed I’m being treated with lingual braces after noticing the slight change in my speech and I can’t resist telling everyone else!
Many friends have told me they thought my smile was fine before I embarked on braces, and I agree, it wasn’t too bad. But I wasn’t happy. In my lower arch, I had one tooth which was set back and twisted so that when a photograph was taken from above, it almost looked like I had a missing tooth.
Then there was the issue of my bite, which was off centre. When I chewed, the teeth on the right side didn’t meet, which meant the left hand side of the mouth was always working harder. That is starting to change but it is this aspect of the treatment which is taking most time.
Asif has told me that I am likely to have braces on for about 16 months. And I don’t mind. That’s not to say I like having the metalwork inside my mouth but there are positive side-effects. Confession time – I bite my nails! I have had to stop chewing them because the braces make it impossible, and, I can confide that being careful about what I eat is good for my figure. So, I’m down a dress size, I have longer nails and my smile is getting straighter every day. What’s not to love?
