In the beginning...

Growing up a girl from Newport MN, I’ve always known I needed braces. It’s a necessity I could not afford; nor could my mom. When I was about 9-10 years old, I really started to notice that my adult teeth were not coming in correctly straight and let’s just say I was not the girl with the prettiest smile. Kids around my age had metal braces on. I did not. I was amazed by how many different colors there were to choose from. I wondered when I was going to have braces and what my first color was going to be!

Time went on and I was about 12-13 now, I still hadn’t had braces. Now living in Hastings MN, it was harder and harder to fit in. Middle school is not a fun place to be when you are one of the outcasts. Most of my friends already had their braces so their teeth were perfect! Bright white and Straight! Well my teeth are white, but not perfectly straight. At this time in my life I have started to notice I was becoming more and more insecure about myself. I wasn’t the girl in class with the best clothes, the best hair, the best makeup, the best SHOES, or the prettiest smile. I was average, below average if I had to judge myself. I had friends; they had straight teeth and cute boyfriends. I just had my friends. I didn’t love smiling back then. I would smile around people I knew but people I had just met I would just give a grin. Just say polite things and grin with my mouth closed!!

My mom had taken me to many orthodontist appointments time and time again and I’ve gotten my teeth checked out for braces so many times but could still never afford to get the braces on! They always told my mom the same story over again: “Your insurance does not cover braces…but she needs them!” It also did not help that at occasional dental appointments, my dentist would remind me how badly I need to see an orthodontist for braces… “Well it’s easier said than done and paid for,” I finally told her. I was just a teenager stuck with insecurity, still trying to stay positive.

It was at the end of my 7th grade year when my mom got a better job in River Falls WI. So we moved to a new town, which meant having to make new friends, and trying to overcome how insecure I really am.

First day of 8th grade, EVERYBODY LOVED ME! Except a group of some pretty harsh girls. That was also the year the Lindsay Lohan movie Mean Girls came out in theatres. I did make some new friends the first day. I decided I was just going to be myself as much as possible because not smiling wasn’t me. I just said to myself every day, “Some day you’ll get braces!” One memory of mine is when this girl had told me, “Christina you are so beautiful. If only you had straight teeth, you’d be the talk of every teenage guy’s lunch table!” L A great compliment gone straight down the drain; I didn’t know whether to take it as a positive comment or negative. But I said “thanks” and walked off to lunch.