Quinn winced again as the chair was brought into a sitting position, the rubber restraints still digging into her body.

Flossie removed her mask as she began to undo the straps one by one. She gave Quinn a small smirk. "You've been a very good patient for uth today. I know thith kind of exthperienthe can be dithtrething for thome patienth, but you were very brave through the whole thing." She spoke like she was calming down a scared child, instead of a grown woman.

Quinn sighed as she moved her arms after what felt like an eternity in bondage. Flossie removed the bib and helped her out of the chair. Quinn kept touching her headgear, marveling at how firmly it was affixed.

---

When Quinn got home she saw herself in the mirror for the first time. Thankfully, her appliances weren't anywhere near as obvious as Flossie's, but there was still no hiding the cloth strap or metal facebow.

She removed the cloth strap, sighing as the pressure was slightly released, but the facebow wouldn't budge. She spent what felt like an hour fiddling with it in front of the mirror, even using a paperclip to try and pick the lock, but it really was in there for good. Is this even legal?, she thought to herself.

She continued her day without the strap of course, constantly fiddling with the facebow. When she got ready for bed, she considered trying it out for the night, but decided it would have to wait. There's no way she could sleep with that kind of pain, after all.

---

As she went on through her errands the next day, she noticed how many stares she got. Naturally, a woman with headgear wasn't a typical sight, so the humiliation was to be expected, especially with her new lisp. But she began to notice some stranger looks from women her age, especially those with perfect smiles like Charlotte's.

They seemed to look at her with a mixture of pity and amusement, pointing her out to their friends and even stifling laughter. A cashier at the supermarket even had to take a breath and collect herself as soon as she heard the lisp. It began to dawn on Quinn what the headgear meant to Pearl's other patients. After all, Pearl did call her a "level two patient". Was this headgear really some kind of humiliating punishment? Not to mention, the fact that she wasn't even wearing the straps...

When she got home, her phone buzzed. Charlotte wanted to meet up for coffee the next day. Quinn groaned. Even if she wore the strap and the bands, the headgear alone would be bad enough. The last thing she wanted was Charlotte's "I told you so", coming from her perfect mouth.

Quinn fiddled with the facebow once again in front of the mirror. It had to come off somehow, with or without Pearl's help. She remembered her landlord left a toolbox under the kitchen sink. With the help of a pair of pliers, she managed to mangle the facebow beyond recognition, though it was still firmly attached to her mouth. She tried another angle, grunting as she dug at her braces with the same pair of pliers.

While they were much more dull than the ones Pearl used, and obviously not meant for orthodontic use, she managed to tear away at where her braces connected to the facebow, finally dislodging the wretched piece of metal once and for all.

However, as she grinned into the mirror, her feelings of triumph gave way into regret. She looked at the twisted piece of metal in the sink, and ran her tongue over the broken ends of wire in her mouth. Fuck, now what?, she thought to herself.

---

Quinn canceled the date with Charlotte, citing a sudden migraine. She didn't leave the house for the rest of the week, barely responding to texts or social media. Obviously, she couldn't fit the headgear back on, let alone fix her braces herself. The broken wires irritated her mouth, and she considered scheduling an emergency appointment, but she couldn't quite bring herself to face the music just yet.

When Saturday finally came, she could barely get out of bed. She halfheartedly brushed her teeth, sighing as she noticed the buildup of gunk in her braces from another week of not flossing. She grabbed what was left of her headgear and solemnly left her apartment.

The sky was grey as Quinn walked to the office, looking at the ground like she was on death row. Luckily, nobody she knew saw her. She stood trembling in front of the house for a few minutes, coming to terms with her fate. After what they put her through last week, she couldn't even imagine what was awaiting her today.

---

The door jingled as she stepped in. Once again, the waiting room was empty except for Flossie, who cheerily greeted her as she entered.

Quinn nervously stepped towards the window, and Flossie sighed as she came into view. "I'm guething the headgear didn't work out after all, huh?"

Quinn just looked at the ground, holding the mangled appliance. Flossie smiled. "It'th okay, we've theen everything, jutht follow me and we'll talk about it with Dr. Whiteth, okay thweetie?"

---

As Quinn took a seat on the chair, Flossie gestured for her to place her arms flat for the restraints as she put on the bib. Quinn complied, allowing the straps to come over her once again. As Flossie adjusted the dial, she seemed to tighten them more than last time, but it was hard for Quinn to know for sure.

As the seat reclined, Pearl stepped into the room. She took a seat across from Flossie and looked down at Quinn, her blue mask looming over her. "So, things didn't quite go as we planned this week, did they?" She had an oddly polite tone.

Quinn nodded as much as the forehead strap would allow her. Pearl flicked on the examination light and began to examine Quinn's mouth. "So, when did this happen exactly?"

"Thunday night." Quinn awkwardly replied. Pearl raised an eyebrow. "And why did you wait until now to inform us?" She tapped a broken portion with her gloved finger. "This looks very uncomfortable, we could've had this taken care of right away."

Quinn sighed. "I wath... nervouth, I gueth. I didn't want you to get mad."

Pearl seemed to smile under her mask. "It's alright Quinn, headgear isn't for everyone. A lot of patients have trouble with it. This is far from the first time I've had a situation like this in my study. We'll try to go easy on you this time, okay?" She looked up. "Flossie, honey, would you please get the gas ready?"

Quinn once again felt the rubber mask pressed against her face. Flossie scooted forward, and began to stroke her hair, her breasts slightly pressing against Quinn's head. "Everything'th going to be okay, jutht clothe your eyeth, that'th a good girl..."

---

Quinn blinked as she once again woke up in the dental chair, though this time, the pressure in her mouth seemed to have subsided just a bit.

"There you are, thleepyhead!" Said Flossie. "How do you feel?"

Quinn ran her tongue over her braces. "A little better actually. The restraints are a bit uncomfortable, though." She felt relieved that her lisp was gone, for now.

Flossie laughed. "Yeth, we'll let you out in jutht a bit. We jutht need to go over the nextht level of your treatment."

Pearl stepped into view. "Since you seem to have responded poorly to the headgear, we'll be moving you up to a level three patient. Assuming that goes well, you're almost done with your orthodontic treatment. We've adjusted your braces to feel more like they did at the beginning of treatment, to give you some rest until next week."

Quinn was beginning to feel anxious again. "What's level three?"

Pearl smiled, showing off her full set of teeth. "You won't be coming to this office next week, as this level of treatment will be done at Apollonia University's dental school. I've been working with them for the study, and they'll be using some equipment of my invention. However, you should be sure to clear your schedule next weekend, as this may take some more time than your previous appointments."

Flossie piped up. "I wath one of the firtht patienth their equipment wath tethted upon. The thtaff there are very friendly, and the rethulth are incredible. It'll be almotht like going to a thpa for the weekend." She gave an excited pink, white, and blue smile.

Quinn looked at their two smiles and tried to relax. They seemed genuinely friendly this time, and she couldn't back down after coming this far. After all, it wasn't like her treatment could get any worse...