Reading this made me laugh because I’m literally counting down the days until my braces come off, and I keep having these weird dreams where I immediately bite into a caramel apple and all my teeth fall out. My ortho keeps saying “just a few more weeks,” but every time I see someone eating popcorn or biting into a sandwich, I get this mix of jealousy and terror. I’ve already started planning my “first meal” post-braces, but now I’m rethinking the apple thing... Maybe I’ll stick to something safer like pancakes, just in case.
I totally relate to the paranoia about breaking the retainer too. I’m convinced I’ll sneeze and it’ll shatter or something. The idea of running my tongue over smooth teeth sounds amazing, but also kind of freaks me out? Like, what if they feel too slippery and I can’t stop touching them in public. Anyway, it’s reassuring to hear nothing disastrous happened with your apple experiment. Guess I’ll just have to take it slow and hope my teeth survive their first taste of freedom.
That feeling of wanting to bite into everything you couldn’t eat for years is so real. I remember thinking I’d immediately go for a steak sandwich, but honestly, my teeth felt kind of sensitive for a while after the braces came off. Did your ortho mention if you might have some soreness at first? I ended up sticking with soft foods for a bit, just to be safe. And yeah, the retainer paranoia is legit—I was convinced mine would snap if I even looked at it wrong, but it’s sturdier than it seems. The smooth-teeth thing is weird at first, but you get used to it pretty quick. Ever heard of people accidentally biting their cheek more after braces? That happened to me for weeks...
Yeah, I totally get that cheek-biting thing—it happened to me a lot, especially when I was eating fast. My ortho did warn that my teeth might be sore, but I underestimated how weird it’d feel. I was nervous about my retainer too... kept checking it for cracks.
I get where you're coming from about being nervous with the retainer, but honestly, I found the transition a bit smoother than I expected. The cheek-biting was annoying, sure, but after a week or so my mouth just sort of adjusted. I did worry about cracking my retainer at first—kept taking it out to inspect it—but eventually realized they're sturdier than they look. I guess everyone’s experience is a bit different, but sometimes the anxiety is worse than the reality.
Haha, I totally get the paranoia about breaking the retainer. I kept thinking I’d snap mine just by biting into a sandwich. Turns out, it survived my midnight snack attacks just fine. The cheek-biting thing was real though... like my mouth was suddenly too small for all its parts. But yeah, after a bit, it all just felt normal again. Funny how our brains make a bigger deal out of it than our mouths do.
