Chapter 3
After the talk I had with Ayako, I pushed the whole braces thing to the back of my mind. I had known from my previous dentist I had back home in North Carolina, that I required braces to fix issues I had with jaw pain and my teeth causing me to have some really nasty, almost migraine-like headaches. I was also told that I have lots of crowding issues as well as a lot of placement issues. Not only that, but I would get these toothaches and headaches throughout my middle and high school days. But, I hadn’t had an episode in months…and I liked it that way. But, I knew my luck would eventually run out. I had a visit with one of the dentists in the dental building. I automatically fell in love with Dr. Britt Kelly. She was great, even though she lectured me about my need for braces and recommended I see Dr. Rie Kusomaru.
I had had issues with pain since I came to San Mateo State…but my issues were minor, so I could sweep them under the rug. We were in the lead up to Thanksgiving when I was sitting up doing my math homework because I wanted to do some catching up before we had to hand our homework in before we took midterms. I was sitting down, concentrating on what I needed to do in my Geometry homework, when my jaw pain started coming in. I knew I was clenching my teeth due to stress from doing this work because I hated doing math homework. By the time I was finishing up, I was getting a full-blown headache. I knew I needed to lay down and rest. So I did.
I woke up about two hours later, and I felt as bad as I did when I laid down. In fact, I felt worse than I did when I laid down earlier. My head felt like it was in a vice. So, I popped some Motrin and decided that I wanted to head down to the athletic center and hit some softballs. But after I decided that, my stomach betrayed me and decided to feel all unhappy with me like I ate something I shouldn’t have and all I ate was some pizza down at the common five hours before. So, I decided to lay down again. I fell asleep again after covering back up on account of the chill coming in through the ocean breeze since we’re so close to the Pacific Ocean. The next morning, Friday, I woke up and felt awful. My head actually felt like it was going to explode, along with my jaws and teeth feeling really painful. My roommate came into the room and saw I was in so much pain. “Hailey-chan, you look miserable.” she said.
“I feel like someone beat me up so bad, Ayako. I tried taking Motrin, but it's doing absolutely nothing.” I said.
“Stay here and let me call in and see what we can do to work you in.” Ayako said. I saw Ayako get her cellphone dug out and make a phone call, talking to someone in Japanese. Thankfully, it was early in the morning when this happened. A few minutes later, Ayako came jogging back into the room.
“Get up and get ready. You have an appointment in the orthodontic wing of the dental building.” Ayako said grinning. Her brackets with purple rubber bands showing. I got up and got dressed in a pair of black leggings and a plaid skirt. I also wore an anime shirt with Japanese writing on it. About half an hour after getting up and ready, I was leaving our dorm room with Ayako in tow. We took the bus from the bus stop in front of our dorm building and got to the dental sciences building within a matter of ten or so minutes. I followed Ayako to the orthodontics wing of the building and they had an absolutely gorgeous atrium with all kinds of foliating plants and a huge saltwater fish tank in the middle of the waiting room. I followed Ayako to the receptionist desk as she told the girls she had someone who was having a dental emergency and needed to be seen as of Dr. Kusomaru.
Ayako sat me down with the necessary paperwork for me to fill out as she went back to the back room to get to her classes and what she needed to do in the clinic. Fifteen minutes later I was called back to one of the treatment rooms. I was greeted by Dr. Kusomaru, Ayako, and an assistant named Trina. Trina was a beautiful girl who was really tall and played on the women’s national championship basketball team. Trina put a set of cheek separators in my mouth as Dr. Kusomaru and Ayako dug around in my mouth looking at everything going on in there. After digging around in there, Dr. Kusomaru told Trina to make a scan of my mouth so she could study it. But before Trina started, the doctor turned to me “Hailey, you need braces, badly. I’m suspecting you have TMJ issues as well as crowding and other issues with your teeth. So I’m going to have Trina make scans of your teeth and we’re going to take x-rays so I can see what we have to work with.”
The doctor and Ayako left and Trina got to work making her scans. After about ten to fifteen minutes, Trina completed her work and we went to the x-ray room and she had me stand in front of a few machines as they took x-rays of my teeth. It was cool seeing as the x-rays discovered and showed off my nose piercing that I got as a student here and my parents have no idea I have it, yet. It was cool they could just scan my teeth compared to just doing molds of my teeth. After a few minutes, the orthodontist and Ayako came walking back into the room.
“Hailey, I’m not going to sugar coat what I’m about to say. You need braces – badly. You are getting a lot of structural damage in your jaw. You have severe TMJ. And you have a pretty bad overbite. What I want to do is I want to put brackets on you along with a Herbst appliance and expanders on both the top and bottom jaws. I think we can avoid jaw surgery if this works. I also want to try something experimental with your expanders where there is a small motor inside the plastic plate that will gently move the expanders every couple of days. Our lab will start on making the appliances as soon as I send them the molds. I would like to get started on everything right away. You’ll need spacers installed to make room for your expanders and herbst, though” Dr. Kusomaru said. I nodded my head.
“That sounds good, doc. I’m ready to get started but am worried about how to pay for everything.” I said.
“Well, the school is going to cover at least 90% of the costs and they might cover everything.” Dr. Kusomaru said. I signed all of the consent forms and everything.
“Excellent. You will not regret this. By the time you're in your senior year, you will have the smile of your dreams.” the doctor said. Dr. Kusomura and Trina inserted metal spacers in between my molars to make room for my appliances. Once satisfied by the placement of the metal spacers which are supposed to work faster than rubber spacers.
“Go grab something to eat and the lab should have everything done in about two hours.” Dr. Kusomaru said. I got up out of the chair and headed out of the building and decided to grab something to eat since it was almost 10 in the morning. I went and grabbed something to eat at The Common on campus and then headed off to the dental clinic after heading to the Student Bookstore to grab a couple of shirts and a hoodie.
After returning to the Dental Clinic, I walked in and checked in with the receptionist. After going to sit down, I looked at my cell phone and saw it was 11:40 in the morning. So, I had plenty of time before going in and getting my braces put on. Shortly after I sat down in the waiting area, Ayako came out and sat with me. “Are you nervous to get braces, Hailey-chan?” Ayako asked.
“I’m scared witless.” I replied.
“What scares you about getting braces, Hailey-chan?” Ayako asks.
“I think it's the whole process of getting them. I mean my molars are sore from those spacers that were inserted between my teeth. But I think it's the whole process of getting them. The idea that I'll be ugly after getting them installed on my teeth. My mouth hurting afterward and not being able to talk or eat.” I replied. Ayako smiled her braced smile.
“I assure you, you won't look ugly. It doesn’t hurt to get them put on. The most you’ll feel during the process of getting them is pressure. The pain comes afterward and that doesn’t last long. I assure you that the spacers you have are the worst your braces are going to hurt. For you, it's going to be really awkward after getting them just because you’re going to have a bunch of stuff in your mouth that has never been there before.” Ayako replied. I raised my head and looked at her.
“Besides, I’ll be there to help you get used to your new braces. That I can assure you.” I smiled at Ayako because I know she means what she says. I wasn’t prepared for what came next. “C’mon, Hailey-chan! Let’s start a new chapter in your life. Your braces chapter.” Ayako and I got up and started walking toward the treatment area.
We walked past the reception area to one of the installation rooms. Ayako patted on the chair so I would sit down. I sat down and got comfortable before everything began. Shortly after, Dr Kusomura and Trina walked in along with Ayako already being there. Dr. Kusomura and I made small talk while Ayako and Trina prepared the metal tray with tools and stuff for my own braces installation. Once Ayako and Trina got everything out, the installation began.
Dr. Kusomura and Ayako walked out while Trina started cleaning and prepping my teeth. After she scrubbed them with toothpaste, I got up and rinsed my mouth and flossed my teeth for the last time sans braces. When I sat back down, Trina started prepping my teeth with foul tasting chemicals. “The stuff I’m brushing on your teeth is going to help prepare them for Dr. Kusomura to place your brackets.” Trina explained while she worked on prepping my teeth. She got done prepping them and went to get the doctor and Ayako.
I sat there thinking “what in the world am I doing” while I was waiting for everyone to arrive. Once the doctor, Ayako and Trina arrived back. The installation began. Ayako began by removing the metal spacers from between my teeth. It felt so good to finally have no more spring between my teeth. I hear the orthodontist ask Trina for a band. I feel it being fitted to my molar. Once they find out which size fits, they pull the band off and put dental concrete on it and set the band on my tooth. They do this for all my remaining molars. It’s explained to me that each of the bands that were put on my molars, have headgear tubes on it because that’s all they had at the time. Next I hear the orthodontist ask Trina for the cap and expander for my herbst appliance. They fitted it on my other molars to ensure fit. Once fit was confirmed, it was removed from my mouth, cement put in the caps, and then refitted into my mouth. I feel the caps being wedged onto my teeth and the cement take hold. Then the orthodontist asks for trays which have my brackets embedded in silicone to be put on my teeth. I see the orthodontist put glue on each bracket and that whole setup is put on my teeth. Next a bright, blue light is being shown on my teeth and I can feel the glue harden making the brackets irremovable. The orthodontist removes the silicone and my cheek retractors and I’m free to feel brackets and caps with my tongue which is a totally foriegn feeling in my mouth. Next, the orthodontist applies the pistons on my caps to connect my herbst appliance. I feel her pull my lip away and start screwing the piston into place and as she works around my mouth to put everything together. She tells the assistant what size wire to put into place on my brackets and then I’m asked to choose one or two colors to put on my brackets. I pick black and pink. The orthodontist starts threading the wire through my brackets and the assistant starts applying the colors. I can feel the pressure start to build in my mouth as each band is placed on my brackets. My mouth feels so weird right now. The orthodontist tells me that I’m supposed to have these on for the next three years and I’m supposed to come in every six weeks to have my wires changed out. She then tells the assistant to show me how to take care of my new braces. Trina shows me how to brush my teeth and how to care for my new accessories. She then hands me a goodie bag full of stuff I need for taking care of my new braces. I will make my next appointment for six weeks. I walked out of the orthodontic wing of the dental clinic and made my way to the bathroom. When I walked into the ladies bathroom, I did my business, washed my hands, and looked in the mirror since I didn’t get a chance to look at them in the clinic. I stood there, stone faced and then smiled. I could see the brackets that now adorned every tooth and the wire that now showed just how crooked my teeth really were. As I looked in the mirror, I started crying. Crying because I saw myself as ugly and no one would want to date me. But I was crying because I was happy. Happy I’m finally taking a step to better my oral health and to have a better smile than I ever did before. I walked out of the dental sciences building and headed back to the bus stop and headed back to the apartment.
I got back to the apartment and sifted through the stuff I got from the orthodontists office. Stuff like flosses, wax, electric toothbrush, water flosser, disclosing tablets, and other things. So, I knew I needed to go to the store and pick some stuff up. So, I contacted an Uber and went to our local department store. I went directly to their drug section and bought some Motrin and Acetaminophen. I also picked up some mouthwash, little Christmas tree brushes, and some other stuff I needed. I wanted to get ahead of the pain as much as I could. I grabbed some other soft foods and a few other things and headed back to the dorms. I really didn’t feel much pain until I was ready to go to bed around 11 pm that night. At that time, my teeth were throbbing but it wasn't too bad overall.
