I rubbed my jaw and sighed. The panadol I had taken several hours before for my poor, agonized mouth had worn off, so I walked to the kitchen to take some more. It was October, 2007. For a whole week I had taken life relatively easy. Having braces put on hurt a lot, and it was, understandably, taking my mouth a long time to become accustomed to having bits of metal and plastic plastered to my teeth and wire cruelly pulling my mouth’s structure into another position. Even eating tomatoes was excruciating! Let us just say that mealtimes became interesting excursions, and panadol grew to be my faithful companion.
Fourteen months down the track, having my braces tightened hardly bothers me. I lie down in the dentist chair, confident that I won’t go through the same agonizing progress I went through the first few months. In fact, I can walk out of the dentist clinic and eat a steak for dinner and my mouth will feel as fine as if I had eaten marshmallows.
Braces can be seen as worse than worse, shameful, excruciating, and humiliating, but reality is, braces become as natural as without them. All you need is a positive, grateful and contented outlook to get you through the short time you have to wear them.
10 great things about braces:
Why do we need them and how do they work?
From time to time jaws aren’t shaped right. While some upper jaws are bigger than the lower jaws, called an overbite, sometimes the lower jaw is bigger than the upper jaw, which is called an underbite.
The most common reason for it though is that the adult teeth just don’t grow evenly. In a nutshell, braces work by applying steady pressure to your mouth for a certain amount of time, forcing your teeth to move into the perfect position. To help the jaws move, sometimes the orthodontist makes you wear rubber bands which are stretched from the back of your lower jaw to the front of your upper jaw on both sides. Generally, braces stay on for 18months to two years, although sometimes it is more – my Dad had them on for three and a half years!
How could we look at braces in a positive and enthusiastic way? Is it even humanly possible? What does the Bible say?
For starters, the Bible reminds us in Psalm 118:24, "this is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." God ordained the day you would have braces; he is still in control even if the pain in your mouth isn’t!
In Philippians 4:11, Paul shares with the Philippians that "…in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Although braces wasn’t on Paul’s mind at that time, he was in an even worse situation than we are, and yet he was as cool as a cucumber about it! Why not give this a go – thank God for your braces. Thank him for the orthodontists and thank him for the investment being invested into your mouth. Truly, we are blessed by the Lord!
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall, declares David in Psalm 18:29. With God’s help you can do all things – including enduring the pain of braces, not eating certain foods, and keeping on smiling day in and day out!
These are just some ways to remind myself to look on the bright side of having braces, and what God actually says about it! What can you think of that the Bible says about having a positive outlook regardless of the difficulties you face?
Honestly, braces aren’t that bad. Wearing braces can become much less of a deal when we choose to not make it one. What attitude are you going to have today?
Miss Jessica is a 14year old homeschool girl who lives in Australia. She loves the Lord and enjoys music, reading, history, computers and sewing. Jessica has a warped sense of humour and is always ready for a giggle. She helps her mum around the home and participates in the local church music team. You can find out more about Jess at her blog Little Miss Giggle.
Fourteen months down the track, having my braces tightened hardly bothers me. I lie down in the dentist chair, confident that I won’t go through the same agonizing progress I went through the first few months. In fact, I can walk out of the dentist clinic and eat a steak for dinner and my mouth will feel as fine as if I had eaten marshmallows.
Braces can be seen as worse than worse, shameful, excruciating, and humiliating, but reality is, braces become as natural as without them. All you need is a positive, grateful and contented outlook to get you through the short time you have to wear them.
10 great things about braces:
1. They change the way you speak and chew.
2. If you have them, a qualified, professionally trained orthodontist obviously thinks it is worth having them on.
3. You are given the continual opportunity to ‘live’ with pain and show endurance, joy and patience.
4. The orthodontist takes pains to make them as ‘fun’ as they can, by letting you choose colours for your braces and bands.
5. The orthodontists are relatively chirpy and want to get to know you and will talk to you. (even if they have their hands in your mouth!)
6. You are given another thing to look forward to… having your braces taken off!
7. Taking the pains to clean them well is very rewarding, and the orthodontist will be extremely impressed with you.
8. People notice when you have a good attitude about having braces on; it pays off.
9.It’s different!
10.You are left with a wonderful smile!
Why do we need them and how do they work?
From time to time jaws aren’t shaped right. While some upper jaws are bigger than the lower jaws, called an overbite, sometimes the lower jaw is bigger than the upper jaw, which is called an underbite.
The most common reason for it though is that the adult teeth just don’t grow evenly. In a nutshell, braces work by applying steady pressure to your mouth for a certain amount of time, forcing your teeth to move into the perfect position. To help the jaws move, sometimes the orthodontist makes you wear rubber bands which are stretched from the back of your lower jaw to the front of your upper jaw on both sides. Generally, braces stay on for 18months to two years, although sometimes it is more – my Dad had them on for three and a half years!
How could we look at braces in a positive and enthusiastic way? Is it even humanly possible? What does the Bible say?
For starters, the Bible reminds us in Psalm 118:24, "this is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." God ordained the day you would have braces; he is still in control even if the pain in your mouth isn’t!
In Philippians 4:11, Paul shares with the Philippians that "…in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Although braces wasn’t on Paul’s mind at that time, he was in an even worse situation than we are, and yet he was as cool as a cucumber about it! Why not give this a go – thank God for your braces. Thank him for the orthodontists and thank him for the investment being invested into your mouth. Truly, we are blessed by the Lord!
For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall, declares David in Psalm 18:29. With God’s help you can do all things – including enduring the pain of braces, not eating certain foods, and keeping on smiling day in and day out!
These are just some ways to remind myself to look on the bright side of having braces, and what God actually says about it! What can you think of that the Bible says about having a positive outlook regardless of the difficulties you face?
Honestly, braces aren’t that bad. Wearing braces can become much less of a deal when we choose to not make it one. What attitude are you going to have today?
Miss Jessica is a 14year old homeschool girl who lives in Australia. She loves the Lord and enjoys music, reading, history, computers and sewing. Jessica has a warped sense of humour and is always ready for a giggle. She helps her mum around the home and participates in the local church music team. You can find out more about Jess at her blog Little Miss Giggle.
7 comments:
I have had my braces since.......2007 and i'm getting them off monday!!!! I'm so excited!
By the way...Good Work on the post!
Thumbs up! That was an excellent article! =)
I also have braces, though they're not the normal metal kind - they're the invisible plastic kind called Invisalign. In a way though they have been a blessing, since you have to take them out to eat and then brush your teeth immediately afterwards, it has definitely kept me from "snacking" too much! Every time I look at a piece of food I want to eat outside of mealtimes, I think to myself, is that really worth brushing my teeth for? LOL! Of course, the answer is usually no! =)
Thank you for the reminder to rejoice and be content in all situations! =) I really enjoyed reading your article.
Looking unto Jesus,
~ Lacy
A Godly Maiden
I too have had braces. As a matter of fact, I had them when I was 30 years old. It's a cute story catually. When I was courting my husband he said that 'someday he would get me braces' My teeth were very crooked and I didn't like to smile much. After our third child, we had received a financial blessing and we were thinking of getting a new refrigerator, but it suddenly dawned o me that we had enough for braces. Right there in Best Buy I stopped walking, looked at my husband and when he asked what was wrong I said, "I just really want braces." He agreed and that week I had my first appointment. :O) I still wear my retainers at night, because I want to keep the smile I have now. There are days that I get busy and tired and forget to put them in and I begin to notice my teeth shifting back. So don't forget to wear those! ~Sisterlisa
Wow, now I'm actually looking forward to the adventure of having braces!
It is a truly wonderful thing indeed to know that your time is up and your braces can come off and you can eat a whole apple without cutting it and crunch on ice cubes without feeling guilty and eat chewing gum again! Yahoo!
It can be a challenge sometimes to "keep smiling" during the painful times, but I found it rewarding to be able to honestly tell younger children that, though they could hurt, braces arn't that bad. I've had mine on for over 5 years, and am getting them off next year, Lord willing. I am going to spend that whole week learning to sing Praises with a retainer. :) Braces are a blessing, but I will be very glad to be done!
I've had braces as well. It was a real adventure, as I got them put on and taken off twice! I also had to deal with appliances that widend my jaws, and two types of retainers. All this took me three years! Now that that is all done I have wires cemented behind my teeth, to keep everything in place. I'm very thankful I don't need to wear retainers any longer. What a great blessing that my parents could afford this! I have such nice straight teeth now!
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