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Author Topic: Story: The Heterodontist  (Read 8690 times)

Offline Braceface2015

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #15 on: 19. March 2023, 13:14:58 PM »
I'm really enjoying your story so far.

You have a nice balance between the conversation portion and the storytelling portion. It is very easy to read without getting lost in the details and moves at a nice pace. I can tell you've done your research and taken the time to put together a well-written story.

I'm adding it to TheArchive and will update it as you post more.

Offline bsma189

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #16 on: 19. March 2023, 16:52:26 PM »
I appreciate that you've made this a full story beyond just the 'i got braces' part

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #17 on: 19. March 2023, 16:57:31 PM »
6. Adoption

"Are you quite sure you don't want me to come with you?" Martin had asked over breakfast.

The drizzle was heavy enough that they wouldn't spend the day on the boat.  It was light enough that Mom would shoo them off the porch to find somewhere else to talk about whatever men talked about while fishing.  Martin should definitely rather go with them to ensure that some buttinski didn't turn a few sips of beer into a matter for CPS.

"There's really no point," I'd responded.  "Yvonne will drop me off afterwards.  And you'll see plenty enough of me wearing them."


It was Yvonne who responded to the jingling from above the door.

"How was the Thanksgiving dinner?" I asked.

"It was exhausting, but loads of fun.  I can't thank you enough for putting us in touch with Reverend Woods.  They got on like a house on fire.  I haven't seen Jimmy enjoying himself like that in a very long time."

Her smile would have reminded me of the business at hand this morning even if I had been able to forget.  Every time it seemed I might, someone would say how pleased they were that Jimmy had suggested a way forward.  Or how they felt sure Peter would propose an alternative to surgery or at least ensure that I had the very best surgeon.  Or that whatever I was about to have fitted this morning could only be an improvement.  Mom had even reassured Martin that Yvonne's really didn't look too bad at all.

Neither of the boys had yet had any first-hand experience with braces, but they both had very firm views about the colours I should get.  That hadn't been something I'd even considered.  Hers were no longer the sky blue I'd seen last week.  They were now dark red, although not in combination with the white and black that RJ had considered appropriate given that we were rooting for Gramps' team.


"Shorter hair suits you," I said to Jimmy as he ushered me into his consulting room.  That was mostly because I had no idea how to formulate a compliment about his no longer sporting that magnificent beard.

"Yvonne will assist me and tell you all about the appliance while I get on with fitting it," he said as he pulled over his ears the elastic ties of a surgical mask that explained his shaving.  "It won't take long."


Huge metal braces taunted me from replicas of my teeth on his work tray.  They disappeared as she tilted the chair back, and angled the light towards my mouth while he fitted his loupe.  "Open for me, please."  He removed my splint which Yvonne immediately rinsed and plopped into a fizzing cleaning bath.  I opened again as widely as I could to accommodate the enormous shiny mass in his hand.  "Only as wide as you would to put in your splint, please.  I don't want to hurt your joints."  I barely felt it until he pressed lightly on the upper and lower parts to click them into place.  He took a good look around with his mirror, removed it, disconnected the top and bottom sections and then set about repeatedly inserting, removing, adjusting, having me bite and grind, and then eventually polishing until he was satisfied.

Yvonne must have seen the trepidation in my eyes.  "Most people won't pay any attention, especially if you smile at them."  Hers had been one of the first things I'd noticed about her, but she wasn't wrong.  On a scale of one to five, my initial reaction had been a solid three, and it had definitely trended positive when she smiled.  "Yours is very similar to the version I'm wearing.  I'm sure you'll find it much nicer than your splint."


I finally asked the question everyone including me had been asking since I'd stood up out of this chair more than a week ago.  "Why does it need to have brackets?  I didn't think they were used on removable braces."

"They were Yvonne's solution to a confluence of problems.  Open please ..."

His attention returned to my mouth.  I turned mine to hers.

"One of his friends in England has been treating TMJ and apnoea successfully with a very clever appliance that fits onto both arches without getting in the way of the tongue.  Jimmy was so impressed that he immediately set about trying to address the one shortcoming that bothered him."

She stopped to remove and rinse her own appliance, and dab it dry with a paper towel.  She helped me don disposable gloves before handing it to me.

"I'm sure Jimmy told you that the purpose of proper tongue posture is to support and even expand the arch."  I nodded with my eyes.  "The problem is that his friend's appliance is rigid.  His idea was to try to allow the tongue to do the work that the jack-screws do in most conventional palate expanders.  That's a bit of a chicken-egg problem in the beginning for people with narrow arches, so he's looking at ways to expand the arch without anything bigger than this little horseshoe spring to get in the way of the tongue.  Brackets are the best solution he's come up with so far.  They'll let Peter use archwires to apply outwards force in the same way that they would with regular braces, except that they pull on sections of the framework rather than individual teeth."

"Bite for me please ..."

The appliance in my hand resembled a retainer except that the plate part was split in half, and made of thin moulded metal instead of plastic.  Each half extended to parts that wrapped around and partially over the molars.  These were connected by a metal bar over the front teeth to which the brackets had been welded.  Unless one looked closely, it looked just like the brackets and wires on regular fixed braces.


That's only half the story," Jimmy said as he began working on the lower half of his appliance.  Once again, I craned my eyes towards Yvonne.

She reinserted hers, taking the opportunity to show me how I should insert and remove mine.  "It turns out there's an unexpected benefit to a removable appliance that looks like a fixed one.  Braces are no longer unusual on adults."  She gestured to hers.  "I found that it was much easier to wear mine than to explain why I sometimes wasn't.  Other test subjects reported the same thing.  It seems that social pressure can actually encourage compliance.  We're thinking about incorporating the idea as an option into more of our removables."


"Just a few more seconds.  I've almost finished."

Jimmy reconnected the top and bottom parts of his appliance and returned it to my mouth.

"How does that feel?"

My joints were a little achy after all of the biting, grinding and opening wide, but the appliance itself was remarkably comfortable.  I could barely feel the moulded palatal sections apart from the little nubs that he'd said would help train my tongue.  The roughness of the brackets was something I'd forgotten about, but even that wasn't too bad.  It was hard to judge how the pistons felt.  I could feel them against my cheeks and I imagined I could hear them too, but they weren't at all troublesome.  It was hardly discreet, despite the pale pink elastic chain Yvonne had recommended, but everyone had been right.  On balance, it was better than the plastic splint.  I'd be just one more of the many adults I'd noticed the past week who wore braces on their teeth, even if mine did look quite a bit chunkier than most.


"Thank you," I said.

"No, thank you," Jimmy responded as he switched off his light.

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #18 on: 19. March 2023, 17:26:53 PM »
I'm really enjoying your story so far.

You have a nice balance between the conversation portion and the storytelling portion. It is very easy to read without getting lost in the details and moves at a nice pace. I can tell you've done your research and taken the time to put together a well-written story.

I'm adding it to TheArchive and will update it as you post more.


Thank you for your kind comments.

Thank you too for the offer to add it to TheArchive.  Before you do, kindly clarify:
1.  what TheArchive is,
2.  where TheArchive is to be found,
3.  who has access to TheArchive,
4.  whether I have access to TheArchive, and
5.  what rules apply to works stored/published on TheArchive.

I'd like the story to be read by people, of course.  But I would prefer at least some say-so about the vehicle.  I submitted this story to this forum deliberately, partly in thanks to authors whose works have given me much entertainment, and partly because it's a reasonably well-regulated forum that tries to stay clear of immoral, unethical, illegal and otherwise dodgy intercourse.

Offline Braceface2015

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #19 on: 19. March 2023, 17:56:45 PM »
TheArchive is the largest collection of braces-related stories on the internet.

Anyone who has contributed to The Forum can have access to my collection.

TheArchive is meant to be a place for people to access stories that have been lost from other places for many reasons and to store new stories so they don't get lost. It is not meant to be the only place a story can be found. There are lots of places to post stories on the internet.

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #20 on: 19. March 2023, 18:41:08 PM »
I have no desire to start, or to perpetuate, a fight.

I've heard many references to TheArchive, but none (on this forum, at least) that refers to it in any direct way.

Why (the hell) not?

"can have access" is not the same as "has access."

What, where, how, who, when?

Am I stupid, or is this one of the best-protected secrets on the net?  Is there any reason not to promote openly, transparently and directly the worthy goal of protecting stories for perpetuity?  That presumably costs you money, so why be so shy about it?

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #21 on: 19. March 2023, 19:02:05 PM »
7. Adaptation

"You can take it out if you feel self-conscious about wearing it in public right away.  Jimmy doesn't have to know."

That ended the internal debate that had lasted more or less the whole way.  I shook my head, and smiled instead.

We weren't ever going to be looking at sewing machines, and I'd been a little sceptical when Yvonne had proposed such a popular restaurant.  I'd wondered how comfortable either of us would be discussing delicate matters when Tybee Island would be teeming with Thanksgiving weekend visitors.

"I feel naked without something in my mouth now, but it was years before I was as confident as you."

The manager rushed over to offer a hasty apology once we'd been seated.  The table was rather cramped, but it was in the quiet corner Yvonne preferred when she met with clients, and we weren't sipping expensive cocktails in the endless line.

"Barb's right to be proud of you.  What on earth did you say to Jimmy last week?"

"I let him do most of the talking.  I said that I like his thinking, but that's about it.  I'm just glad he was receptive to the idea of speaking with Trevor.  You said that went well, didn't you?"

"Better than well, but things started turning around even before I told him they were looking for volunteers.  He started phoning some of the dentists in town immediately after you left, and he's already taken on his first patients in years.  I assumed you must have told him to pull himself together."

"I'd never do that, but I'm glad to hear that he's feeling more positive.  Does it bother him at all that Trevor wears a dog collar?"

"I don't think so, and it doesn't seem to bother anyone that we're not religious either.  One of the other guys on the cooking team was actually Jewish.  And a therapist, wouldn't you know it!  I'm sure we'll get a call when some deserving kid needs braces or something.  The world would be a better place if there were more ministers like him.  And people like you."


*  *  *

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #22 on: 19. March 2023, 19:16:24 PM »
The story has a very promising start. The amount of detail and description you put into this story is far superior to anything I have or ever will write. Additionally, the theme is unique. I have never read anything with a similar theme to this. This is my honest view. I hope you add more onto this. It truly is an amazing story.

Thank you.  I appreciate the support.

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #23 on: 19. March 2023, 19:17:36 PM »
Great start

Thank you.  I hope the ending met your expectations.

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #24 on: 19. March 2023, 19:19:49 PM »
Hi an interesting start a little bit hard to understand in a couple of places but all in all a good beginning to Samantha's treatment as always it will be interesting to see what she gets

Hi Kelly-Marie

I did say it would be about a paradigm shift, didn't I?  ;)

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #25 on: 19. March 2023, 19:21:13 PM »
Excellent start! I like your writing style

Thank you.  That means more than I can express.  Writing is much harder than I imagined.

Offline Braceface2015

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #26 on: 19. March 2023, 19:22:58 PM »
The Archive is not a secret nor is it meant to be.

Because I have many of the stories posted in the club section, I ask everyone to contribute to the Forum first. I was getting requests from people who made zero contribution, to have access. It isn't fair to Marty and the rest of the team here to give everyone access to the stories in the club section. I also don't post the link to TheArchive because it violates one or more of the rules.

I private messaged you the links to TheArchive and you are welcome to check out the stories I have in the collection. I don't make any money doing this and it doesn't cost me anything except my time. If Marty and the team feel like posting the links, they are welcome to do it.

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #27 on: 19. March 2023, 19:29:55 PM »
The Archive is not a secret nor is it meant to be.

Because I have many of the stories posted in the club section, I ask everyone to contribute to the Forum first. I was getting requests from people who made zero contribution, to have access. It isn't fair to Marty and the rest of the team here to give everyone access to the stories in the club section. I also don't post the link to TheArchive because it violates one or more of the rules.

I private messaged you the links to TheArchive and you are welcome to check out the stories I have in the collection. I don't make any money doing this and it doesn't cost me anything except my time. If Marty and the team feel like posting the links, they are welcome to do it.

Thank you.  Admission: I'd found my way to TheArchive some time ago -- I just found it a little ridiculous that such an apparently obvious synergy would give rise to such conflict on this forum.  I applaud your objective, and would like to think that you and Marty could work something out.  I won't claim that I wrote this story only with that in mind ...

Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #28 on: 19. March 2023, 19:34:11 PM »
Ugh, this shit again.

I honestly thought I'd triggered you with my reference to orthotropics  ;D  I had intended to tease in order to lead readers down a garden path, so this caught me out until I realised what you intended.

Thank you for your support.


Offline Charlie0186

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Re: Story: The Heterodontist
« Reply #29 on: 19. March 2023, 19:38:50 PM »
First of all, I don't care what others say, your spending a bit of time formatting that last chapter did make it a lot easier and more pleasant to read, so thank you!

So, the story so far... definitely NOT the normal "I went to the ortho, who filled my mouth with metal" stories. But something to make you think! I'd be interested in the background that led you to write such a story...

You're the maven of the unexpected -- I love your work and take this as a great compliment.  Thank you most sincerely.

My answers to question about the inspiration probably wouldn't be very satisfactory.  If I had to pick one, it would have to be an argument in favour of what it is to live in community, although this was (hopefully) only obvious in the last part of the story.

And I did learn a valuable lesson about formatting.