My visit to Kansas City

Coming to Kansas City to speak at the Gini Awards for SCL was a true honor. I am not a public speaker by any means and most people who know me tend to know I’m more on the shy side. However, speaking about my experience with SCL and what it has done for me reminded me just how blessed and lucky I am to have been one of the chosen kids to get braces. I didn’t just get braces, I got confidence and self esteem to smile without wondering if people are judging me on my teeth.

Dr. Colby says I should be moving into my last wires shortly and he’s planning on having my braces off “this winter”. That means December-January or March-February It’s sooner than I had planned. I still feel as though I just got them. I mean, I got them April 28th, 2010. Who says I’m ready to have them off? I really don’t mind them.

I no longer need jaw surgery. My bite is pretty “right on”. The only minor problem is my midlines don’t meet up as good as they should, but it’s not noticeable if I don’t point it out. To be honest, my teeth are straight and I can bite better than I ever have before so I’m not too upset about midlines.

My next appointment is on Halloween! It looks like I will be eating applesauce instead of caramel-covered apples!

When an orthodontist comes through your cashier lane

To be honest it has been a while since I’ve last blogged. Nothing too drastic has changed on my teeth. I am still wearing my rubber bands. I have learned they can be quite entertaining to people. Little kids especially get really intrigued by them! As a cashier, I see hundreds of people a day. Of course it’s in my job description to smile. It’s a must for me to show braces because quite frankly I just don’t have a good “closed lipped” smile. One day, a week or so ago, I had a guy come through my lane. I asked him my routine questions and the only thing he replied back with is, “Who is your orthodontist?” I was confused because I had only asked him, “Did you find everything okay today?” He was stunned by my braces! I then went on my spiel about SCL and about Dr. Steven Colby in Edina, MN. I live in River Falls, WI, so Edina is a bit of a drive, but worth it to have such an amazing orthodontist! So far I have loved my treatment. Sure, braces are stereotyped as only for children and young teens, so I do look younger than I am, but I wouldn't change it. I have waited too many years for braces to become sad about people’s comments calling me a baby-face or too old for braces. When did braces come equipped with an age limit?

Back to my customer: He just loved Dr. Colby’s work so much and congratulated me up and down saying, “He is making your smile look just beautiful and your teeth just gorgeous! I am an orthodontist myself so I can see you’re in good hands with your teeth!”

His comments made me really happy and renewed my confidence as a 20 year old with braces. Since all my friends have already gone through the braces stage I am doing this alone. It’s just nice to know there are other people that focus on the end result rather than questioning my age because I have metal in my mouth.

Besides, changing my band colors is like painting my nails. I love picking the color! I decided to try gold once which turned into an embarrassing few weeks. It is not a color I recommend. It just doesn't work well. Yellow isn't too bad, but gold is a NO-NO!