The Big Reveal!

So yesterday I got my braces off!!! And what an amazing feeling it was to finally see my real teeth again! If you've ever had braces, you'll remember the thrill you felt when you ran your tongue over those smooth, straight, pearly whites for the first time. I got the braces removed first thing in the morning and by 11:00 AM, I was grinning like an idiot at any coworker I could corner, daring them to bask in the glow of my totally awesome perfect smile.

It's the little things you didn't realize you were missing that make moments like this special. Although I had no problem smiling at people when I had the clear braces on, you'd better believe I have no inhibitions about smiling now. And the orthodontist was so amazing - not only did I get a very sweet card signed by all the staff from her office, she presented me with a care package that included sticky candies, toffee, a Mars Bar and of course, a tooth brush. I ate the toffees as soon as I left her office on my way back to work. I didn't realize how much I'd missed the squooshy goodness of that candy. On my way home from work that same day, I stopped by the local farmer's market and bought a big bag of fresh, crunchy apples. There's something so satisfying about sinking your teeth into a juicy apple, let me tell you.

All in all, my second experience with braces was certainly a good one. I know it could have been worse if I'd had a set of metal brackets and wires slapped on my teeth. I've had interested glances, friendly compliments and most importantly, no comments at all; it was the people who never noticed my braces who really stood out for me. The fact the majority of people I came across didn't realize I had braces on made the experience of having them even more fun.

As if to drive the point home, I went to the mall with a friend after work today and we visited a couple of stores to look around. At one store, we had a conversation with a sales girl who had lovely teeth and a fine set of metal braces as well. I couldn't help but smile as I talked to her, knowing that my year+ time with SimpliClear had never made my treatment so noticeable. I wish she'd known about the SimpliClear option before she began her way to a better smile.

So now the second phase begins in treatment and I'm preparing to get a retainer fitted in two days. As a responsible adult, I have promised myself that this time, THIS time, I'm going to follow through and wear the thing to make sure I won't ever have braces again. This promise will be easier to keep this time around because I'm going to get a retainer made with a clear wire. I'll be able to reinforce my lovely smile while still enjoying the benefits of clear wire technology!

Am I going to keep smiling? You bet! And I'm going to start to tell people how I got this great grin too. Straight teeth make you feel like a million bucks, believe me. And I want everyone I meet to know that you can smile just as big as I can without the hassle of worrying about how your teeth look on the journey there.

Thanks for reading!
Liz

Random High-Five Friday!

So I apologize that I’ve been absent from this blog for so long, but to be absolutely truthful, I haven’t had much to report. I’m chalking this up to the fact that I haven’t had a single person point out my braces over the last few months. I haven’t even caught anybody checking them out on the sly. Not that I mind that I haven’t had anything to report; I’m taking it as a good sign that nobody has seemed to notice my dental work!

However, yesterday I was standing in line at the grocery store and the lady behind the checkout counter kept darting glances at my braces. She seemed to be gearing up for a question.

“Hey - when did you get your braces?” she asked me finally.
“About nine months ago,” I said, feeling a bit self-conscious.
“Well, those are pretty great,” she said nodding towards me, still staring at my teeth, “I can barely see them.”

Well, a compliment is always a swell way to break the ice. We ended up chatting about her dentist’s recommendations for teeth-straightening treatments while she scanned my groceries through the checkout. I told her about my SimpliClear braces and why the clear wire they used was such a big deal.

“You know,” she said as she handed me my receipt, “you don’t look like you really need braces.”
“Well, I don’t look like I need them now,” I said, “they are pretty effective!”
She grinned: “Right on!” and gave me a high five.

It’s not every day that I get high-fived by anyone, let alone strangers in a grocery store. But it goes to show that people really do notice things like straight teeth and a nice smile. It also shows that some people can get pretty enthusiastic about dental work as well!

The Results are In! Month #3

Hello dear SimpliClear blog followers!

Sorry if I grossed you out with the lovely teeth pics, but I wanted to give everybody an idea of how the braces treatment is working out thus far. If you go through this kind of experience with teeth straightening, chances are you might get a bit discouraged now and then because you might not perceive the results on a day-to-day basis. I’m lucky however, in that I have been undergoing this process with an orthodontist who has been very focussed on keeping a complete record of the whole experience. I was just sent these recent pictures from the radiographics clinic and was able to see for the first time just how much has changed in the last three months!

I’ve had a few comments recently about how my teeth seem to be looking different. Usually, I just chalk that up to people being nice and offering some encouragement. However, lately, I’ve been noticing some changes myself. My orthodontist just recently adjusted my braces by adopting a stiffer wire and added linked elastic ties to the brackets. These tools are supposed to provide a more dramatic change in the coming weeks. Most importantly, the linked elastics are going to begin closing the gap between my front teeth. I’ve had them on for only a week and I can already see a change! Even these pictures don’t illustrate how much things have shifted in the last couple of days.

It’s kind of funny, but I’m still noticing people with braces when I’m out and about. Today I got on the bus and the driver had braces complete with pink elastic ties! The guy must have been in his late 30’s. I say All The Power to him - not for just wearing the braces but for rocking the pink elastics as well! I’m not sure if he noticed my braces, but it was nice to think that there are all sorts of people out there who are on their way to a better smile :)

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for now. These pictures sure gave me the encouragement to keep going and also gave me a shot of excitement about what I can look forward to at the end!

Take care y’all,
Liz

Results! and the Great Curry Catastrophe of 2011

Well, I walked into my bosses office the other day and he casually asked me how the braces were working out. I said that they seemed to be working just fine and that I thought any day now I’d start to see some results. He squinted at me in an analytical way and declared that my teeth were already looking better. I was totally thrilled. And, on closer inspection of my dental situation that evening, I determined he was absolutely right!

However, I had a terrible scare a couple of weeks ago when I went out for dinner and a movie with my dad and stupidly decided to get a curry chicken dish off the menu at the restaurant. Yeah, curry chicken is absolutely fabulous, but it probably isn’t the best thing to eat when you’ve got braces. I found this out in short order when we arrived at the movie theatre and I went to the washrooms to brush my teeth before the show. Holy crap - when I looked at my teeth in the mirror, it seemed as though I had just ingested pure sunflower essence a la neon lemon. I freaked out for a minute. My first thought was - “Can I even go to work tomorrow? I mean, if I’m working in a retail store and have day-glo yellow teeth, isn’t someone going to be turned off by that?”

After I calmed down, I figured that the absolutely insane fluorescent lighting in the washroom was partially to blame for the extreme coloration. Nevertheless, my viewing of “The Green Hornet” (which was pretty entertaining, btw, if only because Kato was so awesome and totally hot, but I digress...) was punctuated by moments of panic about the state of my braces.

Returning home, I took another look at my teeth and realized that the braces and wire themselves were not yellow, just the orthodontist’s elastics that held them in place. Since I was due to visit the orthodontist in two days, I could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the elastics would be replaced while they adjusted my braces. Whew! This was certainly good timing!

When I visited the orthodontist that week, I sheepishly admitted that I’d indulged in some curry a few days before. I was told that curry was definitely a no-no food for braces, along with any foods that contained yellow food coloring. Apparently yellow is the danger color for braces. This was very good to know.

Once the new elastics had been applied, I was allowed to give myself a glance in the mirror. I was pleased to see that my braces had returned to their lovely clear state! The curry coloring had certainly effected the elastic bands, but it had in no way effected the brackets or the wire. It was quite a relief when I realized that SimpliClear had not let me down!

Anyway, I am happy to say that my trials with braces are indeed paying off. My lower teeth have moved significantly and are almost completely in line again! The big difference is going to come later, when the gap between my two front teeth closes up forever. A little difference is a big encouragement to keep going and to see this treatment through to the end!

And I have resolved to go out for Indian Food the moment these braces are off.

Peace out,
Liz

Eating well with braces 101

I LOVE soup so I thought I’d share a recipe with you. When you first get your braces put on or after the orthodontist makes that dreaded adjustment, your teeth are going to feel a bit sore for a day or two. Because of this, I have been compiling a database of scrumptious soup recipes to get me through the “ow” days. This has been a bit of a challenge, because I’ve recently gone on a super-healthy veggie-rich diet for the new year, so I’ve had to adjust and modify some of the recipes I’ve found to conform to a low-fat, veggie-friendly alternative.
However, there was no need to adjust this recipe - it’s got everything - lots of healthy veggies, low fat, smooth-textured (braces-friendly) and incredibly delicious!!! Get out your soup pot and prepare for yummyness!

Yam-Carrot-Ginger Soup

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of butter or 2 tbsp. of olive oil
2 yams - cubed
1 large onion - chopped
1 apple - peeled, cored and cubed
3 carrots - sliced
1/2 cup red lentils
1 tsp. fresh ginger - minced or grated
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
4 cups vegetable stock
plain yogurt

Directions:
In a large stock pot, melt the butter or heat the oil. Add the yams, onion, apple and carrots. Fry on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. (Hint: I like to cook my veggies a bit longer on medium heat to caramelize them - it really adds a lot of flavor. Cook your veggies for 20 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, to get the best results.)

Add the lentils, ginger, spices, salt and vegetable stock. If the vegetables are not completely covered, add a bit (a cup or so) more water. Heat on high until the mixture begins to boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat and blend it until smooth. I like to use my trusty hand-held blender but you can also blend the soup in batches using a traditional blender.

If the soup is too thick for your liking, add some more water, stir and return it to heat for another 10 minutes. When you serve it, add a scoop or two of plain yogurt, if you want, which will give you some added flavor. I like this soup nice and thick, with a couple of pieces of soft bread and low-fat margarine for dipping!

Bon Appetit!

SimpliClear Spokeslady

I work part-time in a retail store because I am a student and all. This makes the fact that I have clear braces all the more important because I am constantly talking to and smiling at people all day. So far, I’ve had a few people do a quick analytical double-take when I give them a big grin and tell them to have a nice day. It seems as though they think they see something, but aren’t quite sure if they’re looking at braces on my teeth or what and they are too polite to stare. I’m content to let ‘em wonder.

I told my co-workers about my braces right off the bat when I arrived at work today because I wanted to complain to them about the fact that I am not allowed to eat any candy right now. When I reflect back on what I was eating for lunch in high school in grade 9, I cringe to think about how my braces must have looked. For lunch I would typically indulge in an instant noodle cup, a piece of chocolate cake from the cafeteria and a diet pepsi from the north hall vending machine. So nutritious! And I’m pretty sure I wasn’t carrying a toothbrush with me on any given day. I wonder what I must have looked like with cake stuck in my braces during my afternoon classes. Yikes.

That’s the biggest difference I’ve found, now that I’m an adult orthodontic patient. You go a little further when you’re taking care of your braces and of course, your appearance in general. I’ve been toting around a little travel toothbrush which I use to scrub my teeth after every snack and meal. It’s a bit more of a hassle, but I’d rather endure a few minutes of brushing than obsess about whether I had something stuck in my teeth. Gracious! It’s just good common sense!

Anyway, my co-workers were eager to check out the braces when they found out I was wearing them. They had heard about BioMers and SimpliClear before, because I had told them about what my friend George was developing and had also let them know that I was interested in trying out the product for myself. I asked them for their honest opinion. The consensus was, now that they had seen the real thing for themselves, that they were kind of surprised that the braces were as clear as they were. They were actually kind of amazed at how unnoticeable they were - I don’t think they had been expecting that the “virtually invisible” claim SimpliClear was making would actually be true.

Anyway, I’m getting used to having these things on my teeth and, to be honest, apart from the food restrictions, they haven’t really been much of a bother. The orthodontist’s office called me today for a follow-up to see how I was doing. I told them I had no complaints. Braces are braces and it is a bit of a challenge getting used to having these things in your mouth. But so far, the fact that they are mystifying people who are seeing them at a glance proves that, at least, I don’t have to worry about any cosmetic effects.

On a side note, I was on my way home on the bus tonight and there was a young fellow standing about two meters from me who had a complete set of metal braces. I could see them clear as day from where I was standing. I wanted to go up to him and let him know that we were kind of buddies - braces buddies, if you will, but I decided against it. After all, he had those metal braces firmly affixed in his mouth already - and I didn’t think it would be wise to let him know that he could have had a more pleasing alternative!

So here’s to all my future braces buddies. I hope you guys have a chance to learn about these clear braces before you start down the path to dental perfection!

Over and out, Liz

My braces

Here's a zoomed-in pic of what my braces look like for curious readers. Tell me what you think.
Liz