Metal Mouth

I've now been sporting braces for ten months. They're still a daily pain in the okole... but I've also gotten used to them as a part of normal life. Other than having to brush my teeth and reapply ortho wax and elastics after every meal -- oh, and that damn wire poking into the side of my mouth-- things have gotten back to normal.

Ten months ago, of course, it seemed like life as I had known it would have to take a two-year hiatus. I couldn't eat anything solid, which sent me racing to the Gelson's to buy loads of applesauce and baby food.

But I slowly regained the ability to chew (in the process, though, I lost about 10 pounds -- love the braces diet!) and now I eat just about anything, as long as it's not too crunchy. (I finally passed off the unopened baby food to my brother-in-law and sister-in-law this weekend.)

I've also gotten over my shyness of brushing my teeth in public -- and now I don't even mind that the big boss walks in to the men's room almost everytime I'm cleaning my mouth. (The reaction from people is always the same: "Wow-- that's great dental hygiene!" Of course, it's easy to remember to brush when half of your lunch is still stuck in your mouth!)

Despite all this, because I'm rarely looking into the mirror, I frequently forget that my appearance is altered these days. When I open my mouth to smile, I'm not concious of the fact that people are getting a big glimpse of metal.

That's why I was taken slightly aback last week while visiting the DreamWorks campus in Glendale. The studio has been showing off early edits of its upcoming NBC computer-animated comedy "Father of the Pride," inviting reporters on campus to see the process and watch a few minutes of video.

Jeffrey Katzenberg -- a big Siegfried & Roy fan who came up with the series idea -- was leading the presentation himself -- after all, he has a lot riding on the show.

But as he brought us into the DreamWorks theater, Katzenberg turned to me and asked, out of the blue, "How long have you had your braces?"

I told him -- about a year. "They're a bitch, aren't they?" he said.

Apparently the DreamWorks partner just recently had his braces removed after wearing them for the past year. We swapped stories over why we got braces and the pain of having a metal mouth.

Now that my treatment is about half way done, I can say I'm glad I'm doing this. And I'll be even more glad come February when, if all goes as planned, these damn things come off.