The “Chen family” most certainly has a hereditary disease called the “ugly teeth disease”. Every-single-one of us has had to wear braces in a stage of our lives (all thanks to Grandpa!). Well, except for those who are still too small to know what braces are :up:

But despite all of us being on the same boat (or so to speak), we have all had different experiences, and I think my personal experience is somewhat more dramatic than that of my cousins’ (which is against my will, of course) :blush:
You see, I had to surgically remove 2 of my 4 wisdom teeth when I was 19 years old. The procedure was a pretty simple one — I sat on the dentist’s chair, the dentist anaesthetized my mouth and after a while, she started drilling and I could feel that she was cutting my wisdom tooth into four parts. When she was done, she dug each of the parts out one-by-one. And finally she sutured the opening. The entire procedure took between 45 minutes and an hour, depending on how strongly my wisdom teeth were stuck in my gums :shock:
My mouth was swollen after each surgery, which were scheduled a week after the other. I couldn’t eat solid foods, and it was just too painful to talk (which was even more depressing). My Mum treated me like a princess, and the blood scared the sh*t out of my sister :biggrin: After removing my wisdom teeth, I had to have 6 of my remaining teeth manually removed, one during each consecutive weekend. And at the end of 2 months, I had 8 teeth less than any adult :biggrin:
And then, began my journey of wearing the braces for the next 4.5 years, which was nothing remotely close to sweet and dandy. I couldn’t eat hard foods, no eating drumstick like the KFC advertisement, no chewing gums. There was once I broke my braces while eating murukku (a kind of Indian snacks).
To put it simply, I had to visit the dentist every month, and she would tighten my braces so that my mal-aligned teeth would budge. At one point, I was even asked to wear a head-gear for 16 hours a day (pic).
I had my braces removed in September 2003, and is it worth all the lost blood and painful and terrifying experience, you ask?

You bet! :vodka:


I wish we had braces back in my days.
Nice entry on braces and crooked teeth.
I remember a girl in my class whom I used to have a crush on. We were 10 and she sat in front of me. She would peer over to see my drawings and whatever I scribbled on my exercise book – and flash the brightest smile I’ll always remember. All because she was the only one with those shiny braces.
And I totally dig novelty and she was the sweetest one I ever laid my eyes upon. Amanda.
Thanks for the reminder, Pelf.
wuching: I’m sure they did, because my paternal aunt (born in 1959) had her braces in her teens..
cynewulf: OMG, that’s just sooo sweet!! So how’s Amanda now? Are you keeping in touch with her?
Wow… Why do you need to remove 2 wisdom teeth Pelf? The Chen family member all so lenglui and lengchai!
*shudder* at your procedure. I’ve known people going under GA (General Anaesthesia) to remove their wisdom teeth. It is a big thing. LOL.
Wa
So charm
I can only imagine the pain you have gone through
But of course, the current pelf is pretty with a stunning smile ^-^
jie…i didnt have braces, i refused to have braces. what happened to me huh? :P
littlepolaris: I had to have 2 wisdom teeth removed to make way for the braces :)
helen: Some people have their wisdom teeth removed because they hurt. But I’ve heard that our wisdom teeth could fall out anytime, right?
yenjai: Aww, thanks! :blush:
ed: My darling, you’re a LEE, not a CHEN, but we treat you the same :biggrin:
I am thinking of fixing the braces for the third time. I love the steel bars attached to my teeth. It looks cool. Will see what Mom has to say. What do you think?