There's No Such Thing As A Mistake, Part 2

I came home after my appointment with the ortho on Tuesday to find that the elastic bands around my teeth had already come loose in two places. I was so angry about this that I almost punched a wall. How many times do I have to keep going back to that office to make sure that I'm getting the proper treatment that I should be receiving?  I went late in the day, knowing that he would not be in the office.

I was greeted by one of the dental assistants, who I like very much. She's always been kind and we've chatted from time to time. She took one look and said to me, "Honestly, does he think that patients are stupid?  Or that they don't notice?  I have patients coming in two and three times a month to fix wires and brackets and tubes. If he just took care of them properly the first time, those visits would be unnecessary. And if someone complains, he calls them crazy."  Or dead wood as the case may be.

Maybe I should have been surprised to hear her say this, but I wasn't. I think I know that my orthodontist has both empathy and behavior issues, and I figured that I wasn't the only one to be on the receiving end of this treatment. She spent a full 45 minutes fixing and redoing the metal tubes that he had installed so that they'd be secure. I asked her point blank, "Really, really, how much time do you think I have left?"

She said that honestly, it was 2-3 months tops. This is in keeping with what he said on Tuesday, and quite frankly, all that I will tolerate. Two to three months will put us at three years exactly, and it is NOT going beyond that. I've decided, most emphatically, that this is over in July. The retainers will begin then, but all of the colossal--and painful--moving and shifting will end.

That said, I've started to experiment with being excited. I've been toyed with so much this year, that it has been hard to let myself be vulnerable enough to believe that this will actually end. But hearing it from her, a voice I can trust, in corroboration not only with him, but what I believe in my own heart has allowed me to begin to taste anticipation on the very tip of my tongue. Quite simply, I like how it feels, and how that feeling is growing in me each day.  I am ready to end this fraught, disillusioned relationship with my ortho, and move on to something much more peaceful, clear, healthy and joyful.

And cast a spotlight on the unquestioningly bright smile that accompanies all of that.