Decided to write some stories for the quarantine.  More chapters coming soon.  Suggestions appreciated!


CHAPTER 1

It was official, I needed to see the dentist.  At 22, I hadn’t been in over a year and I was far overdue for a check-up.  I called Dr. Rose’s office (it was the closest) and decided to schedule an appointment for tomorrow afternoon.  After all, a little teeth cleaning couldn’t hurt, right?  Dr. Rose was actually new in town.  The old dentist that used to work at the old practice passed away and she moved in to fill the position.  From what I read online, the entire building got a sleek remodel, making it look really modern and fancy.  That night I slept well, excited to satisfy my conscience. 


The next morning, I slept in until about 11:30.  I ate a small breakfast and drove over to the dentist office.  As expected, the once gray structure now sparkled in the sunlight.  The whole facility was actually very inviting and I gleefully trotted inside.  The receptionist told me to sit down in a plush waiting room.  All around were velvet chairs and vibrant flowers.  It wasn’t long before a young lady beckoned me into an exam room.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Rose and I will be doing your dental cleaning today.  Lay there and I’ll take a look.”

I ease myself into the chair and stare up into the beautiful face of Dr. Rose.

“Ok, it looks like you have some cavities.  Some of these will require fillings.  We can knock those out today if you would like?”

I didn’t have anything else planned. “That sounds good!” I say.

She stares straight at me. “Perfect, we will need to use an anesthetic so will you please sign this waiver really quick?”

She hands me the waiver and I flip through some pages until I reach the signature lines.  I scribble in my name and hand it back to her.

“Okay, let's get started!” 

She has gorgeous eyes and a sparkling smile.  I’m almost mesmerized as everything goes black.  Here and there I catch glimpses of dental instruments and metal contraptions before fading out again.  Her face flashes by like a slideshow moving too quickly.  At some point, I see a blue light flash in front of my eyes.  Finally, I come to.  I can’t feel anything around my mouth but Dr. Rose assures me it is just the numbing agent they used.  She tells me to schedule a follow up appointment for the next day to check on everything and hands me a note for the receptionist.

CHAPTER 3

Cut to my drive to Dr. Rose’s office, I am running through my head all the ways I will demand release from these contraptions stuck in my mouth.  When I arrive, the receptionist directs me to the row of velvet chairs before Dr. Rose leads me back to her office.  The second the door closes, I unleash my fury: “I woh noh whu wu fuh e ey ouff fuh I vevah wu fafe e auff wau!”  Oh my god,  I CAN’T EVEN TALK?!

Dr. Rose interjects, “I see you are getting used to your appliances.  I had a patient right after you yesterday so I didn’t have time to go over this with you which is why I arranged this follow-up appointment.  How does everything feel?”

Again I try to say something but all that comes out are broken, unintelligible noises.

“Yes, it is difficult to talk at first.  I’m also sure you discovered eating can be tricky too.  But in time, everything will feel normal.  Would you like a run through of your treatment plan?”

I was still very confused about what she meant.  Treatment Plan?

She continued, “As many people don’t know, I am not only a dentist, but also a part time orthodontist!  I’m sure you’ve seen braces before, well, that’s what you have!  I also added on some appliances in order to fix various problems with your bite, tongue posture, etc…  When I examined your mouth yesterday, I noticed some problems that could be effectively fixed with orthodontics.  So, I decided to surprise you with a discount treatment!  That waiver you signed had all the details about these braces and everything.  Since you signed off on it, I decided to do it all in the same day.”

This still isn’t registering with me.  What kind of treatment is she talking about?  Then it hits me.  I should have read the fine print.  I think back to how I flipped through the waiver without even reading it.

Dr. Rose interrupts my thought process.  “So, after I filled your cavities, I then took molds of your teeth.  Luckily, I had all of the right sizes for your appliances on hand.  First, I installed your upper expander.  This consists of a large acrylic plate combined with an expansion screw.  I needed to make it as large as possible in order to expand your palate evenly.  Then, I put in your lower expander.  This also has an acrylic plate with expansion screw.  Next, I needed to correct your tongue thrust.  Normally, a conventional tongue crib is used.  However, I have been developing some new appliances in my lab and decided to use them here.  I call it a tongue cage.  Unlike the tongue crib where the appliance can be bypassed on the sides and underneath, the tongue cage fully surrounds the tongue.  This allows for the most efficient and compliant treatment possible.  By restricting movement of the tongue entirely, a tongue thrust is impossible.  This is placed in between depressions in your expanders so everything fits snugly.  Next, I put on typical braces to align your teeth correctly.  I used bands on your molars, premolars, and canines in order to anchor your expanders sufficiently though.  Finally, I needed to fix your overbite.  For this, I installed a Herbst appliance.  But, I had to add 2 additional arms on each side in order to stay functional during your long treatment time.”

Long treatment time?  How long would I have this excessive orthodontia for?

“I have also cemented everything in so it can’t be taken out.  This makes it easy to comply, just let the appliances do their job!  I will also be adding some more stuff today to improve some of your habits and make for an overall beautiful smile!”

I see her grab something off a nearby table.  She puts in a lip spreader and starts to fiddle around in my mouth.  She pulls out a blue light and shines it a few times.  When she removes the lip spreader I feel as if my lips are still being held at bay. 

“I have just installed a lip bumper.  This will keep your lips away from your teeth to fix your lip-chewing habit.  You can see what it looks like.”

I look in the mirror she hands me and see a translucent bar running under my upper and lower lips.  This effectively holds my lips permanently apart from each other so the braces and tie-dye acrylic are painfully obvious.

Dr. Rose goes on explaining her handiwork.  “Along with your modified appliances, you will also have a modified treatment time.  My main goal is to prevent a relapse so I will be lowering the tightness of your appliances but in turn instituting a longer treatment.  This way, your mouth will transform more slowly and naturally.  You will have the Herbst appliances and lip bumpers in for about 120 months.  After I remove those, The expanders, tongue cage, and braces will remain in place for another 60 months.  It will all be worth it in the end!  Any questions?”

All the metal and plastic in my mouth is starting to make sense now.  If I open my mouth wide enough I can just barely make out a little metal cage surrounding my tongue.  I can also see the little metal screws in my upper and lower palates she was talking about.  I try to calculate how long I have to wear these appliances.  180 months?  Isn’t that 15 years?!  I can’t deal with this for 15 YEARS!  I will not only be trying to make a living in braces.  But I will also be visiting my family for the next 15 years, IN BRACES!  I try to plead with Dr. Rose, “huh e wayey foo e fufe fwemeht fih?”  But my speech is still impossible to understand.

“Like I said,” continues Dr. Rose, “Talking and eating will be tricky for a short while.  But you will get used to your appliances.  Soon, you won’t even know they’re there!  I will schedule you an appointment in a month to see how you’re doing.  Until then, contact me if there are any problems.”

She hands me a copy of the waiver as well as an overview of my treatment plan and runs off into another room.

Great story, I love it!

Nice Story!

This is amazing!
Please don't let us wait a month until the next part.

I think this is obvious, but just to clear any doubts, yes this is fiction.

CHAPTER 4

When I arrive home, I read over the waiver thoroughly this time.  Sure enough, it says that I am agreeing to an orthodontic treatment and will accept whatever is prescribed.  Apparently I’m paying $5000 for this.  Even lower and in finer print it says if I do not comply with the full treatment plan, I will have to pay an additional $5000.  So I suppose I’ll be stuck with the braces for the time being.  Maybe next visit I can cut out some sort of a deal.


I dry to drink some simple liquids for lunch.  Swallowing is nearly impossible but with some sucking and a whole lot of slurping, I manage to get some water down.  I once again skip food as I just don’t know how I’m supposed to eat.  As I fall asleep I dread going to work in the morning. 

I decide to call in sick because there is no way I’m going to work without being able to talk.  For the entire day, I practice talking in front of a mirror.  But no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to form comprehensible words.

Fast forward to tomorrow… I have decided to go into work as I can’t take sick days forever.  I try to hide my face as I walk into the office but a number of pedestrians as well as the receptionist notice my braces and tie-dye acrylic.   She gives me a questioning look but I shrug it off.  Only a few times throughout the day do people notice my appliances.  There are a couple stares and some confused faces but overall not too much embarrassment.    Then a coworker, Tom, walks up to me and ask if I want to go to a dinner party with him tonight.  How can I decline?  I nod a yes and that’s when he asks about my braces.  I just shrug and say: “bwatheth.”  He stares for a moment but then leaves to talk to someone else.

That night, I arrive at one of those fancy Brazilian style bistros where they bring around platters of meat.  I nervously walk inside and find a group of co-workers sitting around a table, chatting.  I take a seat and give a little wave, “Heyh.”  About half of them notice my braces.  Then, the waiter comes around taking drink orders.  When he gets to me, I simply point at an existing glass of water and he seems to understand.  Everyone at the table has noticed my braces by now but they stay silent for the sake of politeness.  However, when they bring the first plate of beef over I start to drool uncontrollably.  A small puddle of saliva is forming on the tablecloth and everybody is staring.  I try to suck it in but just end up slobbering even more.  I take a piece of steak and try to ignore the constant stares shooting in my direction.  Unfortunately, everybody is trying to watch me eat like it’s a movie!  I cut a small piece of meat and insert it into my mouth.  I bite down, the acrylic plates smashing it like a trash compactor.  Meat juice dribbles down my chin and into my lap.  I see people huddled together, whispering about me.  I attempt to chew some more.  The flattened beef is now to the tongue cage.  I furiously try slurping and sucking through the bars and down my throat much to the amusement of the gathering crowd.  But my attempts were in vain.  The meat just won’t go through.  I resort to eating crackers.  At least those can be crushed and the crumbs sucked through my tongue cage.  When the diners realize the show’s over, they begin eating their own food.  When they aren’t paying attention, I try eating the steak again.  This time, I cut it into minuscule pieces.  Luckily, they make it through my obstructed mouth and I’m able to swallow them.  I look up to see some of the diners staring again.  It’s really starting to tick me off.

I try to stand up for myself: “whithen huyth, thohp thaweg ah weh wihk ihw ihn a hoddam thoo!”

One, now two, and soon everybody breaks into laughter.  My face goes bright red and I run out of the restaurant, crying.

Nice story so far! Keep it up, looking forward to further parts.

Such an extreme treatment! Love it.

I could imagine that to help him with eating he will get a feeding tube through the nose.
And to get rid of the saliva the ortho could install another unimaginable contraption that feeds another tube through the nose into the back of his mouth which sucks out all the saliva or puts it into the feeding tube into his stomach. Clearly, the apparatus will have to be worn somewhere on his body. Maybe on a neck collar/brace.

To help with communication he will have to learn sign language and to make apparent that he can't speek he will get huge colorful hearing aids to wear for the length of his treatment.