Metal Mouth Misery

Yesterday I went to my orthodontist for my 7th(?) adjustment. It was my 5th month on braces and my bill is now half paid (thank you, God!). This time I'm wearing blue-green elastics, I've been meaning to wear these 2 adjustments ago because they look kind of cool and not too flashy.

Upon initial inspection, Doc said only about a millimeter gap on my upper right teeth remained, which he will have to close before he starts pushing my 4 upper front teeth inwards. That is scheduled on my next adjustment (2 weeks from now) to totally close the remaining large gaps. By then, the upper wire will have to be replaced with a thicker one with several coils. "It even made M* cry when we installed it last time", he added. He was talking about a common acquaintance of ours who is also under his dental treatment. Though I feel I have a high tolerance for pain, I took it as a warning so I might be ready when my turn comes.

The whole day after that, I felt the pain on my upper front teeth as they were being pressed together from 1 bracket to another by elastics, as opposed to the usual adjustment of 1 elastic to 1 bracket. I'm sure it wasn't just psychological, even after hearing the warning from Doc. I couldn't bite using my front teeth; nor could I push them with my tongue. I could barely press my lips together tightly without feeling some pain. Heck, I could even feel the pain without touching them or moving my mouth! Oh well, as they say, no-pain-no-gain.