Tough Like a Girl #34 – Smile

4 responses to “Tough Like a Girl #34 – Smile”

1. Huzzah! A chance to share my own orthodontics story.

   I saw an orthodontist from the age of 7 all the way through high school, due to an overbite and a narrow jaw. I went through two hyraxes, braces, retainers, and a few other orthodontic appliances that I’m probably forgetting. Both of my hyraxes were a bar straight across my mouth, and I remember constantly getting food stuck above the bar. By the end of high school, I was left with an underbite and a narrow jaw.

   At that point, my orthodontist gave up. He told me to wait until I stopped growing, and then have jaw surgery. Of course, by the time I stopped growing, I was no longer under my parents, insurance. Since getting dental insurance of my own, I haven’t bothered to have the surgery done, because I’ve just gotten used to the underbite. Maybe, I’ll look into it again someday.

   Fortunately, our dentist doesn’t think our daughter will need braces, but she still has a few permanent molars to come in. If she does end up needing them, then I’ll definitely recommend this book to her. Looking forward to the next episode, as always.

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   1. Breaking News! My daughter read both Smile and Sisters, while sleeping over at a friend’s house last Saturday night. She gave both books an enthusiastic thumbs up.

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      1. Woo-hoo!

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2. This is one of my girls’ favorites. Their original copy has been re-read so many times, it’s falling apart. They now have a second copy which … didn’t stay in good shape very long. I’m having flashbacks to how badly I took care of my comics when I was their age. Definitely my kids.

   I don’t think my enjoyment is just reflected from theirs. I dig Raina’s artistic style, and there’s lots of bits that stand out. The chaotic panels during the earthquake. The visual gag of Raina showing her friends the retainer plus fake front teeth that she can pop out. The exaggerated motions of the orthodontist adjusting her braces. I’ll hold off on more, but I enjoy so much of her storytelling.

   Wait, Raina was “too old” for The Little Mermaid? I saw it in the theater when I was 21! *insert fake outrage here*

   This book taps into something that almost everybody sympathizes with: orthodonture stories. Mine is boring. Most of my teeth are a little crooked, especially my top canines which poke a little forward making fang-like bites into apples. But my family couldn’t afford fixing it, so I lived with it. But I did get kicked in the jaw in my 20s in a Tae Kwon Do tournament, so I wear a bite guard at night to manage jaw pain.

   But as you may guess, my daughters inherited those problems, one having a few teeth turned almost 90 degrees. So they both went thru round 1 during 4th grade, and the worst started round 2 for 8th grade. She was so happy to have the braces off before starting high school this month. Now she’s got the retainer, and the purple glitter one just arrived, so that’s fun. During round 1, they both had a palette expander to widen their upper mouth with the crank like you described, but they were too young to do it themselves, so lucky me got to do it. But I’m lucky my girls are such good sports and didn’t experience major discomfort.

   I’m glad my punchers enjoyed this book! If you want more about Raina’s family, “Sisters” delivers in spades. But “Drama” is also a favorite. I don’t know which I’d lobby for more. It’s ok, I’ll wait. Till next time!

   She-Ra? Aw man, I still haven’t started season 2!! Better get cracking!

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