invisa-what?

Hello. Today was an interesting day. I question whether to tell you the highlight of my day, because I risk opening a can of worms. Or giving you all some ammo to use against me.

I went to the orthodontist. That's right. See, I used to have braces, back in the day. Oh and did I squeeze every element of dorkiness out of them. Orange and black rubber bands to commemorate Halloween? Sure! Bright pink rubber bands because I only wore bright pink clothes and lipstick in 5th grade? Bring it on! (An aside: the first color of lipstick I ever wore was called "Circus Pink." It was an Estee-Lauder lipstick that came as part of a free gift for something my mother bought. Yes, I swear, it was called Circus Pink. And I wore it. On my face. My brown face. I'm almost recovered from the humiliation).

So, I wore braces and then I wore a retainer. The retainer broke at some point in high school. The orthodontist said I didn't need one, so I stopped wearing it. And one of my teeth has shifted over the years. I've always been annoyed and self-conscious about it, but what was I going to do? Get braces all over again? No thanks.

A few weeks ago I had a dental checkup and asked my dentist what he thought regarding treating the shifted teeth. Should I see an orthodontist? He checked it out and said "A very good idea. Very good." Sheesh. Thanks. I didn't smile for the rest of the day.

But I made an appointment, and went today. A few things:

1) Kids in orthodontist's offices are annoying.
2) I felt like a loser
3) The orthodontist had an electronic check-in system. It was literally like an airport check-in kiosk - but you don't swipe your credit card, you type in your name. How weird? But the kids were all into it, so I guess it makes sense.
4) My mom came with me. See #2.

The orthodontist lady turned out to be surpringly nice and smart. And she didn't yell at me for not flossing or for eating Now-and-Laters (very bad for braces, let me tell you).

She recommended that I think about Invisalign. Have you heard of these things? A series of clear plastic molds that fit over your teeth. You get fitted for a series of plastic molds that slowly shift your teeth into the position you want. Apparently you can't see them on your teeth. And you keep them on 24/7. I don't think so. Like you wouldn't see that my teeth have a plastic cover? Like the plastic cover grandparents have on their furniture so it doesn't get dirty? You know it's there. And you slide all over the place when you sit on that stuff.

But still, I do want to fix my teeth. Or is this something I should just accept as my fate? And to be honest they are not bad at all, it's a minor thing. But in my head I'm convinced it's Bugs Bunny-esque.

See. I did it again. Ammo.