Today, I reached a milestone in my life. For those of you that don’t know me or haven’t seen me in the last two years, this might be news to u. In November 2004, I started wearing braces. For more details on this (why, how, etc..) you can check http://www.archwired.com/First_Day_Detola.htm. Anyway it is with great pleasure that I announce to you that I got my upper braces removed this morning! I cannot begin to explain how excited I have been all day- my mirror has been my greatest companion, so has my camera. Infact, I am currently working on a new smile, lol. Unfortunately, I won’t be putting any picture of me on my blog, for security purposes; hence I can only send you a picture by request, at a token fee of course. ;)
I must say wearing braces for the past 2 years has been an experience. My braces and I have generated different comments from people wherever I go. Some people think I am nuts wearing braces now and not when I was younger, some think I have lots of money to waste, some think I travelled to Mecca and got gold teeth there (this I think is the most ludicrous comment I have received so far. No offense meant to the holy land Mecca but please what resemblance does braces and gold teeth have???) some think I am vain, some think I am brave, and a few have been inspired. Like they always say, you cannot satisfy everyone therefore I have learnt not to be moved by what people say. Most importantly, I thank God for family & friends that have been very supportive and encouraging; they have made the experience bearable for me.
A key highlight of the journey was realising that God cares about my braces. Strange you might think but it's true. Sometimes we think God only cares about the big things of this world and not minor issues like Detola's braces. I remember when I was coming to the UK for my masters and I told my dentist in Nigeria. She said to me that seeing a dentist in the UK is pretty expensive which indeed is for real. This was definitely not good news and I was apprehensive over what I had heard. Nevertheless, deep down inside of me I knew God will sort me out. Anyway to cut a long story short, let’s just say I got an exemption and am not paying a single penny to see the dentist here. This indeed is the Lord’s doing.
I still have a few months to wear the lower braces but it is definitely worth the wait. I will keep looking forward to every dental appointment as this means I am getting closer to the time when I finally get the lower braces off. Boy, I am so looking forward to the new look!
In closing, I would like to encourage anyone out there who has been putting off something they know they need to do. Maybe it is starting a new job, moving to a different town, getting out of an abusive relationship, giving to the less privileged, loosing weight, exercising or even wearing braces like me (smile). I challenge u to make a commitment to yourself to do it. If I could get braces at the age of 24 then I am sure God can help you do what you need to do. It is never to late. Just ask him.
OMG!
ReplyDeleteDetola! You cannot begin to imagine how happy I am to be reading your post about your braces. I also went to the site where you had your first day in braces experience. And it took two years before you could remove the upper braces? Simply awesome! You know.. I really feel inspired by your experience. My main problem is not to do with my teeth itself. I have a serious cross bite on the right side of my mouth. Its so severe that I cant remember ever being able to chew with that side of my mouth. This has caused me massive discomfort and the fact that I can only chew with the left side has resulted in me not chewing food properly and eating too fast at meals. Even though people on the outside see my beautiful white teeth whenever I smile, they never see the psychological pain I felt inside. This was not even obvious to my parents until about six years ago when I actually showed them. I remember my mom saying something like its almost my fault for never trying to chew with the right side of my mouth. Her reasoning was that the more I tried, then the problem would correct itself. I tried so hard to chew as she had explained cos it sounded simple enough. But I just could never get the upper and lower jaws to meet. About two years ago while I was still in the UK, I went to see a dentist to see if the problem could be resolved. This was like one of the saddest days of my life. This guy bluntly told me that they could not do anything for me. He said the only option was surgery which would mean they will have to break my jaw.. put pins inside and I would be in pain for months. I was so freaked out that I promised myself I would not raise the issue again. Luckily for me, I just happened to mention it to the dentist during a routine check up here in India and he assured me that braces will solve my problem. I cannot begin to explain to you how happy I felt. He took a cast of my dentition and explained the upper braces will stay for a month before the lower one would go in. I only just got the braces gummed to my teeth on Saturday and the wires will go in on Wednesday. I am already having second thoughts I tell you. All the insides of my mouth is full of scratches from the braces. But like you said in your post, the thought of me being able to chew with the right side of my mouth is all that is keeping me strong. I cant wait until its corrected. I haven’t cooked up the post for my blog yet.. but I will post pictures as soon as the wires go in. Thanks for sharing your braces experience on the world wide web.. lol Take care
PS: Just realized we are name sakes (as in Tola)
Now I understand...
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