Anna Curzan, delivered a wonderful TED talk, What Makes a Word "Real." While you wonder if "hangry," "unfriend" and "multislacking" are real words, let me give three real words that are ignored at your own risk: wear your retainer.

After years of complaining about an overbite (think thumb under front teeth), I set out to correct it as an adult. After 2 years of braces and a little jaw surgery, the overbite was gone and braces came off. The orthodontist sent me out the door with a set of retainers and some direction, "Wear these every night. If you don't, your teeth will shift."

I wore the retainers religiously, at first. Once the novelty wore off they ended up in the back corner of a bathroom drawer never to be seen or heard from again. It took eight years but true to everything that is metal, my lower teeth shifted. The minor shift wasn't too concerning to me and I made a mental note to "get that looked at someday."

That someday came a few years later when one front tooth jumped (yes, jumped) behind another while I was just sitting at my desk, minding my own business and not causing problems for anyone.

Two teeth can't fill the same space for long with out one pushing the other out (and causing me a little bit of pain) so here I am back in lower braces again.

What's a girl to do? Go for fun colored ortho bands, slap a little berry lipstick on and head out the door - after she requests a permanent retainer she will be unable to remove on her own - ever.

The post, Kids, Mind Your Orthodontist: A Day in The Life Sunday, first appeared on lisarosendahl.com

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Kids, Mind Your Orthodonist: A Day in the Life Sunday

Lisa Rosendahl