What's your most embarrassing dental story? Come clean, win a 'Smile'

Earlier this week, you may have seen IamSneezy's Pop Five list of great moments in dental comedy. It was inspired by the reader's recent dental experiences, which have included several trips to oral surgeons and adult braces. ("Or 'Braces: The Teeth-quel' as I think of it," she writes.)

The list caught the eye of reader/cartoonist Raina Telgemeier, who just released a new young-adult graphic memoir called Smile (Scholastic, $10.99). The story follows Raina's own dental adventures, which began when she severely injured her front teeth in the sixth grade. This led to surgery, braces, even the dreaded headgear. For some of you, this may sound familiar.

Raina and blogger Little Willow are holding a contest looking for readers' most embarrassing dental stories. If you win, you'll get a copy of Smile. The deadline is Feb. 28.

Personally, I feel like I could contribute about two dozen stories to this contest. When I was a kid, I spent many hours in dentists' and orthodontists' offices -- and I'm pretty convinced I am the youngest person to ever get braces. (I was in third grade.) I've lost retainers in fast-food restaurants, battled wisdom teeth trauma, you name it. And it never ends!

Here's a trailer for Raina's book: