My New Happy: Is Perfect Worth It?

Monday, May 19, 2014

Is Perfect Worth It?


With the exception of the most confident among us, women can be very critical of their own appearance.  Personally,  I don't like my stomach, my butt is too flat, my nose is very prominent, and I have always battled with my curly hair.  

However, I think we all have at least one feature that we take pride in.  For me it's always been my smile.  I was fortunate and didn't need braces in my teens.  Actually, after paying for braces for two kids, I think my parents were the lucky ones.  We could have gone on several world tours for the amount of money that went into those boys mouths. But back to me :).

Up until about 5 years ago, my teeth were perfectly straight, and I felt confident flashing a big smile.  But then things started to go a little crooked, and my front top teeth began to overlap. My dentist told me it has to do with gravity, causing my facial muscles to change and my teeth to shift.  Really, gravity again?  Other than holding us down on this planet, I'm starting to think that gravity is evil. 

My once perfect smile is now a crooked mess, and I'm very conscious of my teeth all the time. I'm not a very vain person - I don't tend to look in the mirror that much, but my smile is my thing. 

Even though he says he loves me just the way I am (can we all say awww...), for my birthday hubby gave me Invisalign!  Hallelujah - such a thoughtful gift.  I've had several friends straighten their teeth with Invisalign.  It took about 12 months and they had great results.

I eagerly went to my consultation appointment, excited to find out how long until my perfect smile was back.

Womp, womp, womp.  The tragic turn to our story.  Guess who has an overbite and a misaligned jaw?  Okay, fine - Invisalign can still fix that, right?  Womp, womp, womp. The answer is no.  Guess who Dr. S wants to put in traditional metal braces for 30 - 36 months?  

Oh heck no.  I have never had any pain, chewing problems or issues with my jaw. If it's not broke, why fix it?  I've read about people getting braces at my age and never getting used to the new "geography" of their mouth.  I can't even imagine wearing them for the next 3 years.  I would be 50 before they came off.  The boys think it's hysterical that I might have to go through what they did with their treatment.  Ungrateful children.

All I want are my straight teeth back, but now I've opened up a can of worms.  I have an appointment next week to have x-rays and impressions, and then Dr. S will give me his final recommendations.  He did tell me that if I insist, he can just do Invisalign to fix my front teeth, but he feels he would be doing me a disservice by not addressing the underlying problems. 

Maybe I should just concentrate on all of the things I have to smile about instead of what that smile looks like.



I'm going to have to decide if perfect is worth it.  Right now I have no idea.  I guess I'll wait and see what Dr. S has to say next week.  Stay tuned...

19 comments:

  1. From the pictures I have seen, you still have a stunning smile!!
    No one ever told me my teeth would age ... but they do move! Coincidently (yes, again Lana!) I was hunting through photos yesterday to find one to accompany a writing assignment, and I noticed the changes in my teeth at college graduation. (In fact, I pulled the photo out of the album with me to my dentist appointment this week. For some reason I feel a need to show them how much different my mouth really was back then! (Not that I want braces either ... !) And I won't even comment on how white and young-looking my pre-coffee enamel was!

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    1. You are very kind. Luckily all my pictures are kind of far away :) It's such a bummer that our teeth/mouths age too!

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    2. Oh no - I think my mind is aging too! I just reread what I wrote in my comment yesterday, and found some missing words!

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  2. Your teeth look lovely...but I understand...I am really hating my teeth right now and plan to talk with my dentist.

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    1. Thanks so much for the kind words. We'll see what happens!

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  3. My tween girl says I need to get braces just so I can commiserate on the pain with her. Keep us posted on what you decide to do.

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    1. I will let everyone know once I meet with the ortho again.

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  4. I can relate. I had braces and didn't wear my headgear because I was in college and had roommates. So now, it's as if I never had the braces. Crooked city in this mouth. I've made my peace with it though, now that my Super Modeling career didn't pan out. lol

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    1. This made me laugh! I might end up making peace with my crooked teeth too.

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  5. Most of the time "perfect" is just exactly how you are.

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    1. You're exactly right - which is what my hubby says too :)

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  6. I have never heard of that before! I know what you mean about having a part of you that you really like. . . . I know what it's like for that part to change. Best of luck with your decision!

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  7. Isn't that annoying? I have always had great teeth too and then a crown broke and the dentist had to pull my tooth!! I felt awful, I cried in the chair. His attitude is just get the implant...so far I haven't had $2500 to invest in one tooth. I am so self-conscious as I know believe I look like an extra from deliverance. What shall we do?

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    1. I'm so sorry to hear about your tooth. I have a molar in the back that is "dying" even though it's had a root canal. I'm going to have to have an implant one of these days, but I agree, it's so expensive.

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  8. My teeth have always been a mess - crooked and a gap between the front two - so I have never had the experience of a perfect smile. I am a little self-conscious about them, but hey, a non-perfect smile hasn't really affected me adversely, and there are much worse things to worry about in life! Sorry to hear about your dental woes though. And thanks for dropping by my blog, I appreciate your kind comment.
    Love Curtise xxx

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    1. You are 100% right - crooked teeth are not the end of the world! I keep reminding myself of this as I make my decision. Thanks for stopping by and reading!

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  9. Yeah. I pretty much always smile with my mouth closed. Sigh.

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