A gift to myself.......... (2009)

Don't my teeth look great? Perfect smile? Adalei accidentally took this picture of me and as I was going to delete it, I realized that it shows my teeth. For those of you that don't know, I've had braces on my teeth for the last 30 weeks. I wasn't sure whether I should get the braces on or not. Now that I'm finishing treatment, I am so glad that I did it. It was worth every cent it cost. And the time went really fast. First of all, I want to thank my excellent dentist, Dr. Tanner that suggested I get braces before a mouth guard (for grinding my teeth). And secondly for referring me to an orthodontist that gave me a very nice discount.

I had braces when I was 18 yrs old and after my retainer broke my teeth moved forward some. Back in those days, the orthodontists didn't think you needed to wear a retainer long term so my teeth did gradually move.

I was really uncomfortable with my teeth because I would get food stuck between my teeth when I ate meals. I always felt like I had food hanging out from between my teeth after eating and before brushing. This especially bothered me at work after lunch. Once in awhile someone would tell me that I had food stuck and I would attend to it. The other embarrassing issue with my teeth was that people often told me I had something black between my front teeth. There wasn't anything between my front teeth except air that looked black from looking into my mouth. The orthodontist called this a black diamond. As you age, your gums recede and it causes these black diamonds.

I am so thrilled to have my teeth straightened and the black diamonds eliminated. It's even easy to floss now! I love my teeth once again! I'm hoping that with my mouth guard, I will be able to keep my teeth straight for the next 50 years!!! Thanks Nate - I am so happy! I appreciate consulting with you! You are a dentist that I trust 100%.