Braces and wisdom teeth
story by Bree Moore ≫
The dentist is never a fun place to be. It just feels uncomfortable, with people touching inside your mouth for a long period of time. Getting the news that you have to get braces or have to get your wisdom teeth taken out is something no one really wants to go through. The metal in the mouth that pokes and annoys you all day long, and the surgeries that leave you in pain almost don’t seem worth it.
Carlee Norris, Frosh., had her wisdom teeth taken out at just 10 years old. The day she had the surgery, she went in feeling nervous because she was put under during the procedure.
“All I remember before the surgery was them putting an IV in my arm,” said Norris, “And I know I started to feel pain because I hate needles, but they told me to count down from ten and soon enough I was asleep by six
Later, when Norris woke up, her mom told her that she kept asking where her tongue was because she couldn’t find it, and the moist gauze kept coming out of her mouth because she didn’t like the feeling of having it in. Throughout the recovery she ate ice cream, yogurt, and drank a lot of smoothies. She also slept a lot to help with the pain.
A few years later, Norris found out that she was on the path to getting braces. From May 2013- January 2015 she had a silver smile. For her, they did take some time getting used to, and it felt weird getting them on and off.
“The worst part about braces for me was getting them on and getting them tightened because my mouth was really sore for a couple of weeks,” said Norris.
Nicole Tener, Jr., knows first-hand that hearing that you’re getting your wisdom teeth removed during spring break is not a way to set up the greatest break. On the other hand, once Tener heard she was getting her wisdom teeth taken out she was relieved because they were causing her so much trouble eating.
Coming out of surgery she did not remember much besides the IV placed in her arm. On her way home she was still loopy from the anesthetic. She was constantly changing the station to find a particular song that she liked: “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars.
“I would just constantly change the station to find the Bruno Mars song because it was all I wanted to listen to, and my dad told me I would not stop dancing in the car after surgery,” said Tener.
In the week that followed, she was allowed to eat. She ate jello, ice cream, and mashed potatoes. Tener was instructed to eat only soft foods for a week or more, because she did not get stitches. She had open sockets and couldn’t get food in them.
When Zoe Dameron, Soph., found herself getting braces, the news brought tears to her eyes because it was the last thing she wanted to get right before high school. All the sores and scratches never felt good and tore her her gums up, and it was an adventure going through the tightening and new stages in braces.
“When I first got my braces off I thought I looked like a horse because of how much bigger my teeth looked and I was laughing at first,” said Dameron “I also thought my teeth were really slimy, but overall I was super happy to have my braces off.”
Unexpectedly, Dameron was sent to the emergency room after a hard workout at cheer practice that involved getting knocked in the face stunting. Dameron was scared the whole way there because she didn’t know what was going to happen with her teeth. During the procedure, all she really remembers is the sound of her teeth crunching as the dentist moved them back into place. As soon as her teeth were back in place, she had to start her braces procedure again for 3 more weeks.
“The funniest thing that I did after the surgery would probably be crying to my mom that I was going to have to get braces again because I hated braces so much – even though I wasn’t going to have to get braces again,” said Dameron.
