Amy's Braces and headgear
Elmsford Elementary was very class-conscious. By 4th grade, there was already a clearly defined "in" crowd, and Amy Hopkins was at the head of it. Her parents were wealthy for the area, throwing elaborate parties that the other families vied for invitations to.
So, at the age of 9, Amy was wearing trendy haircuts and clothes. Most of the other mothers thought their own daughters were too young for that kind of expense, and many of them thought Amy was growing up too fast. The kids who could be somewhat stylish were considered popular---as long as Amy liked them. Amy was the perfect size for her grade, not too tall or short, and her hair was a silky blond. Her clothes were
from The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, and other suburban-chic stores. She had lure eyes and a turned-up nose. She had a cute smile as well, in a little kid way, with a gap between her large front teeth that stuck out a little. Her overbite gave her a big smile or a little pout, depending on her mood.
Amy's dentist, Dr. Morris, didn't find her teeth so cute. He told her parents, "I'm
afraid that her jaws are disproportionate. She'll obviously need braces, and using an appliance now to affect her jaw growth will make her time in braces much shorter, as well as more comfortable."
So, Amy was fitted with a retainer-like device for her upper arch. It had an elastic across her front teeth. She felt it was unsightly and was embarrassed by the lisp. Every morning when she went to school, the appliance found it's way into her backpack. She did the same thing going to play with her friends. When she went out in public with her parents she kept her lips pressed together and avoided talking out loud. When Amy's friends came over to visit, she'd convince her mom to let her be
free of it "just this once", and she always won.
When Amy reached the 5th grade, Dr. Morris said, "This device simply is not working. I'm referring you to an orthodontist." Amy said, "I'm not wearing braces!" Dr. Morris said, "Mo, you'll probably get another appliance that will be more beneficial to you."
So Amy went to visit the orthodontist, Dr. Schwartz. He and his assistants took all the usual measurements in order to make some moulds for study purposes. Eventually, he made a new appliance and it was ready. It looked like an upper and lower retainer connected by plastic and wire. He said, "The other appliance did not exert enough force to restrain the growth of your upper jaw. So now, we have to step up our efforts to do that, and also try and promote the growth of your lower jaw. You will wear it all the time except for eating and cleaning it, of course, although it's going to be very difficult to speak, for at least a week."
Dr. Schwartz fitted it and fussed around, making tiny adjustments. Amy's mouth filled with saliva. It was hard to even swallow in the normal way, and she tried to say it was uncomfortable but she couldn't. She couldn't move her jaw and the plastic was where her tongue would normally go when she talked. Her eyes just widened when he brought out the headgear.
He showed her how to take it off and on, calling it "combination" headgear. He showed her how the two straps should fit against each cheek, and she had to move her ponytail to accommodate the straps over her head.
He said, "It's 14 hours a day. I want you to leave the facebow in 14 hours in a row, beginning now, and again as soon as you get home from school each day. You can take off the straps at first to relieve the pressure, but by a week from today it needs to be continuous, except of course when you remove it all for dinner."
Amy just nodded numbly, unable to protest verbally. Amy's mom took her home and said, "It's not too bad." Amy just cried.
Amy's dad came home for dinner and exclaimed, "What in the hell did they do to her?"
Amy's mom said, "It's just 14 hours a day, the stuff around her face and head anyway." Her dad said, "Well, that's a lot if she goes anywhere after school."
Amy tried to say "I'm not going anywhere with this!" But only a garbled mess of sound came out. Amy's mom said, "I don't think we should send her to school with it in until she can talk." Her dad agreed, "You can just wear it at home for now," and gave her a big bear hug. Amy smiled gratefully, the first smile of anytime since getting all the hardware.
Her parents never made her wear any of it out of the house. Dr. Schwartz suspected as much, but he couldn't do much without the parents support. Amy was spending the
month of July away at summer camp. Before she went away, Dr. Schwartz explained to both Amy and her mom, "I know this hasn't been worn quite as prescribed, but it's not a disaster. It is very important that you do wear this pretty regularly at camp. It needs to be in your mouth more than it isn't, and that goes for the headgear as well as the appliance."
Amy reluctantly agreed. Amy got off the bus at camp, wearing her appliance, but not the headgear. A really shy girl sat next to her. She was a fat girl with braces as well as glasses. Amy saw no point in talking with her, so she fell asleep for the ride. When the bus arrived at the camp, Amy walked out into the mass of girls and realized quickly that she was acting much less confident than her normal self. She was acting shy and self-conscious, like a geek. Determined not to let her orthodontia get in her way of camp popularity, she walked towards a small group of well-dressed,
attractive girls. On her way, she was approached by a total nerd, who smiled to reveal a similar appliance.
Lisping and spitting the nerd said, "Hi! I have the same thing as you do." Amy had had her mouth closed, so she asked, "How did you know?" The nerd said, "The way it
sticks your lower jaw forward. Did you just get it?" Amy said, "No", wanting to end the conversation. The nerd said, "Wow. You really have a hard time talking for
having it for a while."
Amy said, "I don’t usually wear it during the day." She turned away and continued towards her target group of girls. She said, "Hi, I'm Amy. Are you here for the horse camp?" It came out pretty garbled.
The obvious leader said, "What have you got in your mouth? I can barely understand
you." About this time Amy was wishing she had worn it to school. Amy popped the appliance out, and stuck it in her backpack as she said, "I don't really have to wear it during the day, so I'm not used to talking with it."
The leader, Jenny, said, "Have you looked at your teeth? If mine looked like that I'd wear my braces all the time." The girls snickered as Amy turned red. One of the other girls said, "And we are not here for the 'horth' camp. We're here for cheerleading." A third girl said, "Better make sure nobody tries to saddle you up with your horsey mouth." as they walked away from Amy. Amy thought she would die of embarrassment. At least they were in a whole different section, so she wasn't too late. She just would
make sure that nobody in her camping group saw her in her appliance or headgear.
The last day of camp finally arrived and Amy boarded the bus. She almost forgot, but at the last minute she thought to put her appliance in, to trick her parents into thinking that she had been obedient. She got her bottom teeth set into it, and then tried to bite down but she couldn't get her top teeth to go in. She took it out and tried again, with top teeth first, but it wouldn't work. Her top teeth had moved too far forward. And, when she thought about it, she couldn't quite bring her lips together over her front teeth. She felt a little sick. A month ago she could close her lips over her teeth even with the wire. Her teeth had become noticeable worse, and she would need a new appliance. Amy wondered how much worse it would be. She
pushed desperately on the wires to make it fit, but nothing worked. When she got off the bus and went to her parents, they immediately noticed that she wasn't wearing it. Amy confessed that her appliance had been in her backpack all month and that it no longer fit. Her parents were understandably angry. She hadn't even worn it to sleep! Her dad said, "We've been very lenient with you, maybe too lenient. You've been making decisions about your treatment and you obviously do not have the maturity to handle it. Also, you took advantage of our trust. If you could have made it fit, you
never would have been honest about not wearing it." Amy couldn't argue...that had been her plan.
So, at the age of 9, Amy was wearing trendy haircuts and clothes. Most of the other mothers thought their own daughters were too young for that kind of expense, and many of them thought Amy was growing up too fast. The kids who could be somewhat stylish were considered popular---as long as Amy liked them. Amy was the perfect size for her grade, not too tall or short, and her hair was a silky blond. Her clothes were
from The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, and other suburban-chic stores. She had lure eyes and a turned-up nose. She had a cute smile as well, in a little kid way, with a gap between her large front teeth that stuck out a little. Her overbite gave her a big smile or a little pout, depending on her mood.
Amy's dentist, Dr. Morris, didn't find her teeth so cute. He told her parents, "I'm
afraid that her jaws are disproportionate. She'll obviously need braces, and using an appliance now to affect her jaw growth will make her time in braces much shorter, as well as more comfortable."
So, Amy was fitted with a retainer-like device for her upper arch. It had an elastic across her front teeth. She felt it was unsightly and was embarrassed by the lisp. Every morning when she went to school, the appliance found it's way into her backpack. She did the same thing going to play with her friends. When she went out in public with her parents she kept her lips pressed together and avoided talking out loud. When Amy's friends came over to visit, she'd convince her mom to let her be
free of it "just this once", and she always won.
When Amy reached the 5th grade, Dr. Morris said, "This device simply is not working. I'm referring you to an orthodontist." Amy said, "I'm not wearing braces!" Dr. Morris said, "Mo, you'll probably get another appliance that will be more beneficial to you."
So Amy went to visit the orthodontist, Dr. Schwartz. He and his assistants took all the usual measurements in order to make some moulds for study purposes. Eventually, he made a new appliance and it was ready. It looked like an upper and lower retainer connected by plastic and wire. He said, "The other appliance did not exert enough force to restrain the growth of your upper jaw. So now, we have to step up our efforts to do that, and also try and promote the growth of your lower jaw. You will wear it all the time except for eating and cleaning it, of course, although it's going to be very difficult to speak, for at least a week."
Dr. Schwartz fitted it and fussed around, making tiny adjustments. Amy's mouth filled with saliva. It was hard to even swallow in the normal way, and she tried to say it was uncomfortable but she couldn't. She couldn't move her jaw and the plastic was where her tongue would normally go when she talked. Her eyes just widened when he brought out the headgear.
He showed her how to take it off and on, calling it "combination" headgear. He showed her how the two straps should fit against each cheek, and she had to move her ponytail to accommodate the straps over her head.
He said, "It's 14 hours a day. I want you to leave the facebow in 14 hours in a row, beginning now, and again as soon as you get home from school each day. You can take off the straps at first to relieve the pressure, but by a week from today it needs to be continuous, except of course when you remove it all for dinner."
Amy just nodded numbly, unable to protest verbally. Amy's mom took her home and said, "It's not too bad." Amy just cried.
Amy's dad came home for dinner and exclaimed, "What in the hell did they do to her?"
Amy's mom said, "It's just 14 hours a day, the stuff around her face and head anyway." Her dad said, "Well, that's a lot if she goes anywhere after school."
Amy tried to say "I'm not going anywhere with this!" But only a garbled mess of sound came out. Amy's mom said, "I don't think we should send her to school with it in until she can talk." Her dad agreed, "You can just wear it at home for now," and gave her a big bear hug. Amy smiled gratefully, the first smile of anytime since getting all the hardware.
Her parents never made her wear any of it out of the house. Dr. Schwartz suspected as much, but he couldn't do much without the parents support. Amy was spending the
month of July away at summer camp. Before she went away, Dr. Schwartz explained to both Amy and her mom, "I know this hasn't been worn quite as prescribed, but it's not a disaster. It is very important that you do wear this pretty regularly at camp. It needs to be in your mouth more than it isn't, and that goes for the headgear as well as the appliance."
Amy reluctantly agreed. Amy got off the bus at camp, wearing her appliance, but not the headgear. A really shy girl sat next to her. She was a fat girl with braces as well as glasses. Amy saw no point in talking with her, so she fell asleep for the ride. When the bus arrived at the camp, Amy walked out into the mass of girls and realized quickly that she was acting much less confident than her normal self. She was acting shy and self-conscious, like a geek. Determined not to let her orthodontia get in her way of camp popularity, she walked towards a small group of well-dressed,
attractive girls. On her way, she was approached by a total nerd, who smiled to reveal a similar appliance.
Lisping and spitting the nerd said, "Hi! I have the same thing as you do." Amy had had her mouth closed, so she asked, "How did you know?" The nerd said, "The way it
sticks your lower jaw forward. Did you just get it?" Amy said, "No", wanting to end the conversation. The nerd said, "Wow. You really have a hard time talking for
having it for a while."
Amy said, "I don’t usually wear it during the day." She turned away and continued towards her target group of girls. She said, "Hi, I'm Amy. Are you here for the horse camp?" It came out pretty garbled.
The obvious leader said, "What have you got in your mouth? I can barely understand
you." About this time Amy was wishing she had worn it to school. Amy popped the appliance out, and stuck it in her backpack as she said, "I don't really have to wear it during the day, so I'm not used to talking with it."
The leader, Jenny, said, "Have you looked at your teeth? If mine looked like that I'd wear my braces all the time." The girls snickered as Amy turned red. One of the other girls said, "And we are not here for the 'horth' camp. We're here for cheerleading." A third girl said, "Better make sure nobody tries to saddle you up with your horsey mouth." as they walked away from Amy. Amy thought she would die of embarrassment. At least they were in a whole different section, so she wasn't too late. She just would
make sure that nobody in her camping group saw her in her appliance or headgear.
The last day of camp finally arrived and Amy boarded the bus. She almost forgot, but at the last minute she thought to put her appliance in, to trick her parents into thinking that she had been obedient. She got her bottom teeth set into it, and then tried to bite down but she couldn't get her top teeth to go in. She took it out and tried again, with top teeth first, but it wouldn't work. Her top teeth had moved too far forward. And, when she thought about it, she couldn't quite bring her lips together over her front teeth. She felt a little sick. A month ago she could close her lips over her teeth even with the wire. Her teeth had become noticeable worse, and she would need a new appliance. Amy wondered how much worse it would be. She
pushed desperately on the wires to make it fit, but nothing worked. When she got off the bus and went to her parents, they immediately noticed that she wasn't wearing it. Amy confessed that her appliance had been in her backpack all month and that it no longer fit. Her parents were understandably angry. She hadn't even worn it to sleep! Her dad said, "We've been very lenient with you, maybe too lenient. You've been making decisions about your treatment and you obviously do not have the maturity to handle it. Also, you took advantage of our trust. If you could have made it fit, you
never would have been honest about not wearing it." Amy couldn't argue...that had been her plan.