July 23, 2024
Relationships in life are incredibly important. I learned this at the very young age of 6 years old when I started my interactions with Morrone, Kaye, and Yucha. The bond I created with Dr. Kaye and the staff is just the tip of the iceberg. I needed a crazy number of appliances, orthodontic visits, and an unbelievable number of rubber bands. When I was finally done, everyone at the orthodontist felt like family. Every time I tell this story, I picture Dr. Kaye with a bucket of popcorn saying, "I did a great job with those teeth."
The start of my story goes back to when I first met Dr. Kaye in 2012. Six-year-old me with a weird crossbite was scared, nervous, and honestly freaked out. I walked through the front door, and I saw a wall of smiles. Every visit, I scanned that wall. I thought one day I was going to have a smile that looked exactly like that. Somehow, in my kid brain, I imagined sitting in one of their chairs and magically having my teeth appear perfect. Very quickly I learned that this was not going to be quick or fun. My first relationship was with an appliance called the expander.
The expander and I did not see eye to eye on most things. It was a very clingy relationship. I told it to stop hurting me and its response was "Your only relief is by eating ice cream". I consumed a decent amount of ice cream which stopped the pain in my mouth. However, it did not last very long. We broke up after 2 years, but I couldn't stay single for long. This led to my next appliance, the spinner.
The spinner and I had a committed three-year relationship. It wasn't as painful as I expected. Surprisingly, it was always something fun to play with. However, Dr. Kaye wasn't a fan. He threatened to break us up because I was still tongue- thrusting. So, the plot twist came when Dr. Kaye added spikes in my mouth that attacked my tongue! As if this wasn't bad enough, he threatened my worst nightmare, remove both and insert a cage! Luckily, it never came to that, and my spinner relationship did come to a successful end.
My next three-year relationship was with horrifying braces. Now, around 50% of people wear braces, but not everyone receives braces with a Herbst appliance. Talk about a third wheel that wouldn't leave me alone. Unlike my expander, no amount of ice cream would satisfy the pain they caused together. These two appliances, plus the never-ending amount of rubber bands, were by far the worst and most toxic relationship ever. It was a three-year relationship that I just couldn't break up. When it was finally over, the outcome was an amazing smile. I finally had the relationship I wanted... with myself.
I looked at the wall full of smiles. I went to the mirror. They were the same. I saw Dr. Kaye, Dr. Yucha, and the staff smiling at me. Over 8 years of my life was spent with different appliances, but it was 1000% worth it! The path taken was not easy. Everyone I encountered at Morrone, Kaye, and Yucha Orthodontics was extremely kind and understanding. My time with Dr. Kaye created an unforgettable connection and by far the best relationship I could have imagined. It would be an honor for me to win this scholarship and share this story with many more, but either way, I already won because I formed an amazing relationship and of course my wonderful smile!