Dana Hills High School - Mast Yearbook (Dana Point, CA)

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?B . races-An Essay by Matt Dickey Having braces doesn ' t stop Kara Virginia from showing her beautiful smile. Many people were born to have perfect iccih. but for many others a more terrible fate awaits. Their souU have been consigned to the living Hell known as Braces. or tnose of us who do not know. Braces are metal and plastic devices that fit over the teeth, forcing ihem through slow tonure lo form straight lines. Braces are installed by a nice man called an orthodontist. The orthodontist jokes around. This is funny. The orthodontist also tightens one ' s braces. This is painful. If you get braces, you will learn to hate this man. The years-long process of tooth-torture controlled by the orthodontist always follows a certain pattern with bniial accuracy. The first step in getting braces is the taking of impressions. This emails the application of a metal tray filled with a white, gelatinous material to the upper or lower teeth. While it is held on the teeth, it hardens. Meanwhile, the victim of the ircairaeni gags. If the metal tray stays on too long, the gelatinous stuff hardens to the point where its removal would pull ihc tceih from the gums. Fortunately, this happens but rarely. Usually it only feels as if the teeth are being pulled out. mind choking on one ' s own saliva, or, failing that, if one doesn ' t mind having one ' s tonsils vacuumed up a little plastic tube. Once the braces are attached, they do a myriad of wondrous things to one ' s mouth. The first thing one notices is the pain. This pain is hideous for three days, terrible for rwo more, and bad for another week. Then the pain fades, only lo reappear when the braces are tightened. This pain makes it impossible to eat anything but applesauce or warm milk. Anoihet thing to look out for is blood. It makes its crimson appearance whenever one brushes one ' s teeth. As if these things are not bad enough, the orthodontist gives his victim a list of foods which he must not eai. This llsi invariably contains those things which one most enjoys. For this reason, many patients choose to ignore this list. Braces fill one ' s life with shocking surprises, in more ways than one. Did you know thai your Braces arc capable ot conducting electricity? I found out the hard way in a desert storm. No, I wasn ' t struck by lightning, but I could feel — and ta.Me — the electricity in my mouth when the lightning struck nearby. I felt like the clouds were using me for target practice. For months after this harrowing experience, I would taste electricity in my mouth whenever I was startled or surprised. Eventually one ' s Braces are taken off and replaced by another device referred to as a retainer. It is specially designed to maintain the positions of the teeth and to impede the speech. Of course, by the time one may turn in one ' s retainer, one is old and toothless anyway and needn ' t worry about crooked teeth. John Rassman Jeaninc Racliff Michelle Ray Mike Reiley [ulic Rengerl Aaron Rcstanie Ke in Riggs Kriviopher Rinehart |o hua Rivers Ronald Robbins (Christian Roberts Stephen Rodgcrs Beeky Rodriguc Rcgina Rodriguc Sean Rogoff Victor Rosalcs Oeni,sc Ross (iracc Rotbcrg Amv Roth David Rowe Aaron Ruck Michael Ruhlev -I n 273

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Robert Rumsey David Saling KayU Sale John Sandlin Jutic Sandlin Sco(t Sanford Angela Saunders Shelia Saunders Nicole Savjnclli Christian Sanlund Brian Schear janiic Schmiit Kirk Schoonover Kathy Schudlich Regcna Schudlich Tom Schult Kris Schul e Kyle Schul e Fermin Segura Edwin Seibold Tom Sclfridgc Stephen Serafino Scoit Shandle Ivan Sherman William Shipman Ski Shirazi Christen Sidenfaden Gina Sileci Cassandra MIAf mons Shireen Simpson David Sims Mike Sims Matthew Skoglund Aaron Smith Gabc Smith Heather Smith Kim Smith Mike Smith Mike Smith Paul Snyder Mike Sodergren f