Skills Mastered During Three Years of Orthodontics

I used to hate the dentist.
I hated the high-pitched whining sound and the treatment that felt like it was vibrating my brain.

I started seeing an orthodontist when I was in my second year of junior high school. As for what my teeth looked like, I had snaggleteeth. I had them on both the left and right sides, and when I smiled, my mouth wouldn't close.
It didn't cause any particular problems, but my mother, who was dissatisfied with her own teeth, suggested, "Do you want to get braces?"
Honestly, I wasn't keen on it at first, but after my mother explained in detail how inconvenient my snaggleteeth would be in the future, I started to think she might be right and felt like, "Maybe I should get them." In any case, I didn't have a strong will of my own.

When I went to a well-regarded orthodontic clinic at the next station, they took impressions of my teeth and explained in detail the steps the treatment would follow.
It was decided that I would visit this clinic once every two weeks. First, I had to have two permanent teeth pulled from both the top and bottom, but no matter how many times the doctor counted, it seemed I had one less tooth on the bottom. I guessed that the previous dentist might have pulled it (or pulled it for me?), but because I had one less, my teeth were better aligned than the top ones, and above all, I felt lucky that I had one less tooth to extract.

The hardest part was when they took the impressions; a gum-like substance would go deep into my mouth, and I had to wait several minutes for it to harden. It made me feel like I was going to gag, so I just waited mindlessly for time to pass.
I realized that if I didn't solve the "gagging" problem, I wouldn't be able to get through the orthodontic treatment. Ever since I was a child, I couldn't stand it when a doctor checked my throat during a cold and pressed my tongue down with a wooden stick. The orthodontic impression process was the same, as it touched the back of my tongue.

After having three teeth pulled, I went in every two weeks to have them tightened, gradually fitting my canines into the spaces left by the extractions. During that time, I struggled with various issues, such as the orthodontic appliances rubbing against the inside of my mouth and causing five canker sores at once.
If someone asked me if I would do it again, I would answer without hesitation, "Absolutely not."

Then, one day in my third year of high school, I became a sparkling-toothed Yoshiko, and I had all the appliances removed from my teeth.
And so, my mouth was clean. Even when I smiled, my mouth didn't stay open.

Over those three years, I had stopped hating getting my teeth treated so much. And above all, I had learned the trick of keeping my tongue flat against the bottom of my mouth so it wouldn't have to be pressed down when a doctor checked my throat during a cold. Since then, I have mastered the skill of having my throat checked for swelling without needing to be pressed down by a stick.

The way to overcome a weakness might be found in an unexpectedly distant place.