Braces journey

I started wearing braces in 2018. Majority of my life I’ve always wanted to wear braces because I had an overbite which means my upper teeth was overlapping my lower teeth. It was one of my biggest insecurities to the point that whenever I laugh, I always cover my teeth because I didn’t like the way it looked. I wasn’t able to say some words properly due to the way my teeth were formed. Then when I started university, I was 17 and in the UK under NHS, if you are below 18 you could get free braces depending on your situation. There were downsides to getting the free braces but I still went for it. The downside was it could make your lower teeth come forward which could possibly prolong the time of wearing braces. Having braces was a painful process to be honest, I used to go for check-up once every month and they would readjust the braces which was quite painful. I could eat normally just that I couldn’t chew bones or chewing gum because it could possibly break the braces and chewing gum was quite uncomfortable with braces. I was supposed to take off my braces in 2020 but covid came and it took longer than expected due to restrictions.

I became tired of wearing braces and I wanted to take it off because I felt my teeth had been corrected but I can’t take it off on my own only a professional orthodontist can do that. I graduated in 2020 and I had to come back to Nigeria. I started looking for dental practices in Nigeria and I had different consultations with orthodontists and they told me I couldn’t remove it because I wasn’t done with my treatment. I was so devasted and I cried at a point because I really wanted to take them off. I did my NYSC in Abuja and I started looking for centers. I found one which was quite affordable and he told me I would take it off in less than six months as far as I keep coming for my check-ups which I did and in less than six months I actually took it off this year February 2022. I would say it was one of the happiest days of my life because I couldn’t feel my teeth for four years and I wore it for so long. Now my teeth is well arranged and I’m done with the process. I was given retainers to help maintain the position off my teeth but I didn’t wear them lol.