Learning To Smile Again

I recently had the great joy of having my braces removed from

Right After They Came Off!

my teeth; I was probably lucky only to have them for two years, but I must admit I was never all that comfortable about having them. I was always conscious of people being able to see them, and because of this I never really opened my mouth when I smiled. It's a little unfortunate and I'm not very proud of it; I shouldn't really feel ashamed with who I am, no matter what I look like. However, what happened happened, and now with hindsight I am much the wiser. It wasn't completely my fault; some people less accepting than others, which did have an effect on me. It was a shame that I was made to feel bad for having them at a later age than most people, whereas I was probably much better equipped to deal with it all and I would likely have had them for longer. Anyway, those days are behind me and now I have very nice straight teeth. It's not the end of my trips to the orthodontist; I still have to wear a retainer and have check ups. The retainers are designed to be as invisible as possible, which I think is the deliberate act of those making them, feeling pity for those who have braces for however many years.

Now that I have my nice teeth to show off- and now I realise it doesn't matter anyway- I am learning to smile again. It's not easy to change habits, and this isn't your usual one to change, but I'm slowly getting there. A few weeks ago, quite soon after I got them off, our local Umpires Association had a fun prizegiving night and I was awarded the mock 'straightest teeth' award. Along with this came a set of 6 'daily' toothbrushes from the $2 store, quite nicely branded 'Dr Crust.' Suffice it to say I put those to one side! Everyone wanted me to show off my teeth when I got the award, and it was a really strange sensation doing the opposite of what I had subconsciously done for so long.

Just to add to the fun I've also had a couple of Dentist appointments, which have helped make my teeth nice and clean and healthy. I'm now a lot more serious about looking after my teeth than I was as a kid, something that the experience has taught me. I guess a lot of effort has gone into them, I should look after them! Another side effect of having braces was that I stopped chewing my finger nails, necessarily, which was a nasty habit of mine. Since then my fingers have become nice and healthy, though not being used to cutting my nails, they tend to grow quite long before I cut them! But I don't mind that, it's actually nice to have long, healthy finger nails when compared to what they were like before.

So now whenever I go out, I won't ever be afraid to flash a toothy smile at people, not just because I have good teeth but because I know I shouldn't be afraid of what other people think anyway.

Q.E.D