What Will I Think of Next?

I may be qualifying for the Guinness Book of Records.  Can you guess how?  Believe me, you can't.  It's not my athletic accomplishments (I'm sure someone can sit in a recliner longer than I.)  It's definitely not my cooking prowess.  It's sure not my dog training ability.  Here it is: at age 74 I am having my teeth straightened--yes, wearing braces.

Here was my first stop this morning:

This was my first check-up on my Invisalign braces.  Dr. Barbre comes with great credentials--he's the one who made Susannah Metzger's smile so beautiful!

Now I can't get Dr. Barbre to say I'm the oldest patient he's had.  But...this morning I did get him to admit that, in order to get my teeth straight, I have the most Invisalign trays he's ever seen!  These trays are supposed to be worn two weeks, then changed.  But if, like me, you have 52 trays, the length of wear needs to be shortened to 10 days, or you (I) would never finish!  (I'm guessing about half that number is required for a reasonable age person--seriously!)  At best, calculating 52 X 10 equals an awfully long time. 

Which brings up a question some of my dear friends have asked.  Will I be around long enough to really benefit from this?  Isn't that a sweet thought?!!  I haven't told my girls yet because I think it just might freak them out, but I may want to be buried with a "smile."  A tooth-showing smile.

These things are really supposed to be worn 23 hours per day, removed only for eating and brushing and flossing and brushing the trays!  Shoot, all that takes almost an hour!  I was o.k. until someone pointed out to me at lunch the first day I had them that that was 20 minutes per meal.  My family will absolutely guffaw when they think of me eating a 20-minute meal.  I am ALWAYS the last one to finish.  Not to mention my morning coffee which I re-heat 15 times as I sip it.  (Or used to.)

I was prepared for everyone to say that they had never noticed my teeth being crooked.  So don't hesitate to say that if you feel called to.  But I have two kinda "fangy" ones on top, and the bottom ones are really a mess.  (To be truthful, there are actually 55 trays for the lower teeth.  See, I told you they were  bad.)  Some of my friends really got a charge out of how I determined that the lower ones were a problem.  I talked into a mirror to check to see if they showed.  They do!  No, I did not make a video.

I experienced the very worst, most awful repercussion of these braces after I left Dr. Barbre's office today.  I went to Costco!  There were all those wonderful samples, and I couldn't have a one!  I wasn't going to spend any of my precious hour popping these things out and in and brushing!  

Well, here I am with Dr. Barbre.  We're going to be seeing a lot of each other.