MP appeared at the door to the waiting room grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“You’ve been waiting for this moment for 10 years” I said, swiftly followed by “I’m a bit nervous by the way”.  “That’s an unusually timid voice for you” he replied, still grinning.

I picked up a leaflet from the table.  “Please don’t make my teeth like this” I said pointing to a picture of some remarkably straight and gleaming gnashers.  “S, that’s a ‘snap-on’ smile” he said laughing. “There’s no way yours are going to look like that”.

I noticed the absence of his white lab coat.  Why wasn’t he wearing it? I wondered.  Instead he was dressed all in black, as if about to embark on a dangerous mission.

We moved into the surgery.  “MP, you haven’t taken any ‘before’ pictures yet!” He pulled out a large camera, and before I could even finish the sentence a variety of shots were taken of the teeth I’ve had for a few decades now…

An hour and a half later my mouth was released from it’s doughnut style hold and I could speak again. “Now, the moment you’ve been waiting for” MP said as he handed me the mirror.

I smiled into the looking glass observing my new clear braces – or are they white?  I still can’t really tell.  Bigger than I thought they’d be, I immediately took to the look of them like a duck to water.  “I love them!” I exclaimed.

“Okay, you’ve got the number here, just call if you’ve got any questions”. “Why would I need to call?” I asked MP, suspiciously.  “No, no reason. You’ll have some discomfort over the next couple of days, but after that things will settle down.  Don’t eat any curry – that will stain the ‘doughnut rings’ around the braces”.

Half an hour later, I stood before the counter at Pret.  “Have you had a good morning so far” I was asked by the lady serving me.  I hesitated, then replied “Well, yes, I had my braces put on” and smiled at her.  “Oh! I so want to do that!” she said, “But, I can’t – it’s too late, I have implants already”.

I sat down by the window and drank my probiotic blueberry yogurt through a straw feeling even more pleased with myself, whilst wondering at the same time when the pain would kick in.