After walking into the dentist office that dreadful day, I heard the phrase I’ll never forget: “We think it’s best that you get braces.”

My heart skipped a beat. I was terrified that I was going to be stuck with metal brackets on my teeth until I kicked the bucket.

With my luck, the apocalypse would occur the day before my orthodontist said, “All done.”

Before you spend what feels like six hours getting your braces on, you have to get an analysis of your entire mouth, teeth, and jaw. The orthodontists took so many pictures of my mouth and teeth to see, as they called it, what needed to be “adjusted.”

This was an extensive process, and the worst was yet to come.

After the pictures, they had to do the dreaded impressions. When the orthodontist made me sink my teeth into what felt like a squid, I honestly wanted to vomit.

I began contemplating if having straight teeth was really worth all of this trouble.

And although I was grateful for what the braces were going to do for me, I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy experience. Honestly, my main concern at the time was how long I would have to be called “brace face.”

After having set the bear trap in my mouth, the hygienist thoroughly explained all the foods I could eat and ones that I couldn’t.

She told me to stay away from gum, apples, popcorn, corn on the cob, sticky candy of any kind, and tortilla chips. Although the list was ten miles long, I made the mistake of not listening to a single word she had said.

I deeply regret not listening to her.

So, of course, my mom and I decided to go to Biscuitville directly after getting my braces.

This was my first mistake.

The crunchy bacon and the crispy hash-browns felt like I was chewing on bricks because my mouth was so sore. All I could do was cry because of the pain I felt while I ate. After that, I was left to eat Jello and pudding for a week straight (I wish I was exaggerating). I felt like I was a farm animal eating slop out of a trough.

As time went on, each visit became slightly easier; however, I wasn’t in the clear yet.

I was instructed to use rubber bands to pull my teeth every way possible in order to align them. I felt like an idiot putting my entire fist in my mouth just to put those suckers in.

And of course when you get rubber bands on, everyone and their mothers want to see your braces and make you feel even worse than you already did.

The feeling of having braces is like being a shark with three rows of teeth. No matter what you eat, there is almost a 100% chance of something getting its way into your brackets. You would not believe how much time I spend trying to maneuver things out of there. I’m practically a master now.

It has been almost two and a half years, and I still have the train tracks covering my teeth.

But with each visit, I know I am getting closer to getting my braces off, even if it feels like it’s never going to happen.

Needless to say, my gums are still sore.

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