On retainer

On retainer

Jan 15

I am currently on retainer.

That is, after more than a year on braces, my benevolent dentist, Dr. Vicente Javier, Jr. of Delgado Clinic in Kamuning (how’s that for a plug!) removed them last Saturday in favor of a retainer. Wearing the retainer is not that difficult once the owner learns how to speak through it. What I do remember is the ceremony of taking off the braces – there was a loud pop as my dentist cut through the metal. The entire scene reminded me of how an escape convict would look for an ax to remove his handcuffs.

I had to wear braces at past-40 because of a widening gap between my two front teeth. Benevolent doctor gave me a choice: porcelain crowns that would last up to ten years or braces for a more permanent solution. Had he told me IN DETAIL what wearing braces entail, I might have gone for the quickie ten-year solution. Still, I am proud of myself for making it this far with my metal mouth now less of a distraction.

Why are more people my age getting braces? Let me share with you my theory. When we were young, dental clinics were (totally not without basis) known as torture chambers. One simply does not go there until it’s a matter of life and death. I was phobic about going to the dentist because as a child, I had to suffer through my eldest brother’s shouts of pain while he was inside with the dentist. Then he would come out into the reception area, pale, weak and uncommunicative. Like he had wandered into enemy territory and was taken as prisoner of war. My father had the same phobia as well. Doc Javier treated him with the same tender loving care as he did all his patients.

Today, technology has reached the dentist’s chair. Doc Javier treats his patients with anesthetic accupuncture. You see long needles but hardly feel a thing when he sticks a centimeter or so of it in your ear and on your hand. Or so he says. I’ve never had a chance to try it. He also has a sting gun where you hear a sound but don’t feel any penetration at all in your gums as the anesthesia is embedded. Or there is the usual injection after which the patient feels numb and the doctor can simply hammer away. I like it that my dentist plays samba music while working on my teeth. He also gives me squeeze balls for each hand to relieve my stress and so I can’t box him as a kneejerk reaction to pain.

So in a full cycle of life, I emerged triumphant last Saturday from my dental appointment, on retainer and proud of beating the enemy which is fear and fear alone. This prisoner of war has regained her freedom! Well, until next month when I have to visit Doc Javier again for a regular check-up.

Thanks Doc Javier and his ever cheerful secretary, Luz!