Braces are Super Cool!

Here I am, in my mid-30’s and I just decided to get braces. Why now you may be asking yourself? As the baby of four in my family, I kind of got the shaft when it came to dental work (sorry Mom & Dad!). My brother right in front of me had rows of teeth like a shark and he had braces and headgear and everything else for his entire high school career! At the time, I was not really jealous. So when I rolled around, my parents thought, well, hers are straight enough. Well I beg to differ!

Coming from the generation of orthodontic perfection, I always felt self-conscious about my teeth. My tops were fine, but my bottoms were definitely super crowded. I have always wanted to have perfect teeth for my own sense of self. I certainly didn’t want them in college so I decided at a young age that I would get them when I was pregnant. My thoughts were that I might as well get the not-feeling-pretty stage over at once – be pregnant, chubby and get braces. But when I was pregnant, the last thing I wanted to do was add another flaw to my body. Let’s just say that I wasn’t the pregnant woman who just looked like she had a basketball in her tummy! So braces were on hold again. And again, and again during the next two pregnancies. And then, some brilliant person invented Invisalign. My perception of braces was changed forever!

I’ve had Invisalign for two months now. I posted a scary way-too-close-up photo of me with my Invisalign trays – you can hardly tell they are on. This is the ticket! Although I have to admit, it was a rocky beginning. I broke my first set of trays after the first week. My orthodontist informed me that he only knows of one other patient who has done that. OK, maybe I had too much wine that night and pulled a little too hard! But now I’m in my groove. You have to keep your braces on all day and night and take them off only to eat. This is kind of a pain, but I’m hoping to lose a few lbs as a result. So far, that’s not looking hopeful. I’m pretty sure my metabolism is my true enemy and adjusts accordingly to hold onto fat for as long as possible. The only way to beat my metabolism is to do this psycho diet of no carbs, sugar, dairy, alcohol or life – which I started yesterday. So I apologize in advance if I start getting really sassy in my writing!

My orthodontist is Dr. Grant Coleman of Drs. Hull & Coleman Orthodontics at www.bracesincharlotte.com. He is fabulous! He is funny and down-to-earth, not to mention they just did an incredible renovation at their Arboretum office. For the working world, Drs. Hull & Coleman also have an uptown Invisalign-only office so you get in and out pretty quickly. With four kids, I’m pretty sure we’ll be spending a lot of time in the future at this practice. I would highly recommend them.

Where do you go for Orthodontics for you or your family?