I refused to even look at my headgear for the rest of the day. The double tongue cribs were already miserable enough I was not about to add the headgear to my problems. I quickly found out that eating was almost impossible and the drool was constant. I was dreading dinner with my parents, but I knew they’d be upset if I did not go so I decided to suck it up and let them see the newest additions to my mouth. Unsurprisingly, my mom gave me a speech on how happy I would be with the final results that was meant to be encouraging however left me feeling hopeless. I slurped my way through the meal cringing every time the fork got caught on my tongue crib.
It took a week before I worked up the courage to leave the house again when I was forced out to get groceries. I still had not brought myself to put the headgear on. I was walking down the aisle in the store looking for something soft enough to be able to chew when I heard a very garbled voice call, “Grathie!”
I turned to see Greg, the guy my age from the orthodontist office, waving at me from down the aisle. Even from a distance I could see how full his mouth was. I waved back and made my way towards him. “Hi Greg, how awre you,” I asked trying to keep my speech as clear as possible.
“I’m good, how’s your new headgear holding up?” Greg asked me. Up close I could see how much plastic was truly in his mouth. He had to speak with his teeth clamped together to keep the appliance in place.
“Honethtly I haven’t worn ith,” I replied. Greg’s face looked horrified.
“Trutht me you will regret not wearing it,” he said ominously. “I didn’t wear my activator at firtht but he thomehow will alwayth know.”
I left the store with Greg’s words ringing in my head. There’s no way Dr. White would find out I was not wearing my headgear, right? I’m sure Greg was just being paranoid. I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous for my appointment tomorrow. If Dr. White found out I can’t imagine what he’d do. It couldn’t get any worse than wearing headgear though.
