I despise my braces. Every month I am required to go see the orthodontist to verify that they are okay. The orthodontist examines my mouth and fixes and tightens my brackets and wires. When he is done playing in my mouth, my gums are so sore that I can't chew.

The orthodontist tells me not to chew gum, eat popcorn, whole apples, corn on the cob, and a bunch of other stuff. I hardly ever obey him. Sometimes I will eat a whole apple and some corn on the cob, then a bracket will pop off and I will have to get it fixed. Other times, I will pop a wire and it will stick into my cheek. If this happens in school, it is convenient because I get to skip classes to go to the orthodontist.

I love to chew gum. I usually have at least one piece a day and won't give it up because of my braces. When the orthodontist notices that I have a bent wire, he will ask, "Have you been chewing gum?" Of course, I will say no, but he knows.

On one of my visits to the orthodontist, I found out that I now had to wear headgear and elastics. My headgear was to be worn at night and my elastics were to be worn all the time. When I tried my dog collar on for the first time, after my parents had kissed me goodnight, I took it off because it made my gums sore. All the other times that I was supposed to wear it, I took it off in my sleep. I couldn't help it. When I had to wear my elastics, I wore them for awhile, but they hurt my gums too, so I took them out and I put them on the floor, in the trash, on my dresser, and in many other places. Before I knew it, my room had turned into an elastic factory. After a few lectures from my orthodontist and parents, I decided that I had better wear them.

Sometimes I will even have carrots for lunch, which will get stuck in my braces and I can't get them out. I try using my tongue and fingernails, but nothing works. Most people don't brush their teeth at school so I end up walking around with orange pieces of carrots in my braces. When the teacher asks me a question, and I open my mouth to speak, she ends up turning the other way so she doesn't have to see my carrots. Other times I eat popcorn which also gets stuck in my braces. I will go over to the water fountain and swish water from side to side in my mouth, which helps, but people look at me like I'm crazy. I guess they are not used to having braces.

This is my third year wearing braces. It seems as if I have had them on for decades. I can't wait to get them off.n