Male Adult getting braces - impact on single life??

[manderin]

As a female I can tell you that it is usually no fun kissing a guy with braces. The mouth's air pressure is off from all the extra stuff in your mouth. That may have something to do with how long someone's had braces on though and how used to them they are. And I'm postive my BF will not have as much fun smootching with me when I get mine. But hey that's the price most of us have to pay for beauty and health. But I don't think it will affect your dating life much. If someone likes you it's not going to make any difference.

[Jerseygirl]

As a female I can tell you that it is usually no fun kissing a guy with braces. The mouth's air pressure is off from all the extra stuff in your mouth. That may have something to do with how long someone's had braces on though and how used to them they are. And I'm postive my BF will not have as much fun smootching with me when I get mine. But hey that's the price most of us have to pay for beauty and health. But I don't think it will affect your dating life much. If someone likes you it's not going to make any difference.

The mouth's air pressure is 'off'? Just curious what that means? When I kiss, it is with my lips and my tongue. I haven't kissed someone since I've been braced yet - but I was just wonderng what you meant by this??

I would imagine that kissing can't be as 'rough' and passionate because it might hurt me with the braces rubbing against my inner lips. But otherwise - I'd assume all else will remain the same!

[Fennix16]

[quote="Jerseygirl"][quote="manderin"]As a female I can tell you that it is usually no fun kissing a guy with braces. The mouth's air pressure is off from all the extra stuff in your mouth. That may have something to do with how long someone's had braces on though and how used to them they are. And I'm postive my BF will not have as much fun smootching with me when I get mine. But hey that's the price most of us have to pay for beauty and health. But I don't think it will affect your dating life much. If someone likes you it's not going to make any difference.[/quote]

The mouth's air pressure is 'off'? Just curious what that means? When I kiss, it is with my lips and my tongue. I haven't kissed someone since I've been braced yet - but I was just wonderng what you meant by this??

I would imagine that kissing can't be as 'rough' and passionate because it might hurt me with the braces rubbing against my inner lips. But otherwise - I'd assume all else will remain the same! :)[/quote]


I created an account just so that I can reply to Jerseygirl! I've had braces now for a year and I've been with my boyfriend for almost 4 years. When I first had braces put on I was a bit nervous about having our first passionate kiss. The first few weeks I only gave him chaste pecks on the cheek as I really afraid of hurting him.

However, I can definitely say with certainty that I would not be worried about being too rough, or too passionate as you get used to having braces and it doesn't even enter your mind when you're in the moment. He's never complained and we got used to it really quickly. So no worries! :)

[Jerseygirl]

"I created an account just so that I can reply to Jerseygirl! I've had braces now for a year and I've been with my boyfriend for almost 4 years. When I first had braces put on I was a bit nervous about having our first passionate kiss. The first few weeks I only gave him chaste pecks on the cheek as I really afraid of hurting him.
However, I can definitely say with certainty that I would not be worried about being too rough, or too passionate as you get used to having braces and it doesn't even enter your mind when you're in the moment. He's never complained and we got used to it really quickly. So no worries! [/quote]

Hi and thanks so much for creating an account just for me to answer my question. I am really happy to hear your braces have not caused an issue for you and your boyfriend! This is great to know! I am sure I will be a tad nervous the first time if/when I kiss someone while in braces. LOL. Keep you posted if it happens!

And thanks again for posting!!!!

[BraceTheSolarSystem]

I haven't read all the responses, but I tend to disagree with the reasoning of the OP from the first post. I am also 25, just got braces last month and honestly if anything it has boosted my confidence. Before I was kind of embarrassed to smile, I don't have horrible teeth, but I have pretty big gaps that look awful from certain angles, and some of my teeth are crooked. I am definitely not as embarrassed anymore. My teeth obviously haven't changed a great deal in a month (although there is noticeable improvement), but the main reason I'm not as embarrassed is because now people can see that I am doing something about it. Whether people care or not is another issue, probably most of them don't, but at least in my head that makes me feel more confident. And I'll feel more and more confident as the gaps start disappearing and my teeth get straightened out, I mean I'd much rather show a good smile with braces than an ugly smile w/o braces. In fact I'd much rather show an ugly smile with braces than an ugly smile w/o braces, going back to what I said earlier, so at any point in the treatment it's better imo.

The other thing about getting them at 25 - to be quite frank, I like that aspect of it too haha, it makes me feel special, although there are a lot of people with braces in their 20s actually, not as many as teenagers of course. Dare I say there is even a certain "aww" element to it, so girls aren't really turned off by it, at least that's been my experience. Most girls find it cool that you've decided to do it at this age. That shows confidence and girls like confidence. Some might even find the braces themselves attractive, I remember finding (nerdy) cute girls with braces oddly attractive in high school haha. You have to be able to pull it off ofc. But again, most will probably not care either way, because it's not a big deal.

And lastly, to me personally it's kind of a cool adventure - following my progress, learning about what all the different orthodontic things do, I enjoy going to the orthodontist, it almost has a sci-fi element to it and it definitely brings diversity to my life. I don't mind the pain, I just look at it as an adventure and I don't think I could have thought of it like that as a teenager.

So really, no reason not to get braces. If you can afford it, go for it. And once you have a perfect smile you'll be glad you did it, guaranteed. There are people who get them in their 40s and 50s, so 25 is really not a big deal at all.

[denSMSgt]

This is an interesting subject to me.

I got married for the first time at 29, and didn't really think twice about the fact I had braces at the time, until reading these posts.

It seems to me if someone is superficial enough to have issue with you having braces, they probably aren't worth your time.

Go braces, fix your teeth, have fun with it and SMILE A LOT!

den
(just be wary of supposed permanent bonded retainers down the, they can FAIL and you may not realise until it's too late.)

[Jerseygirl]

(just be wary of supposed permanent bonded retainers down the, they can FAIL and you may not realise until it's too late.)

Hi Den - curious about your comment about 'supposed permanent bonded retainers' - how is it they can fail? What happened to you to make you think this?

I've already been told I will have permanent bonded retainers on top and bottom - I've only heard/read success stories about them. So I was wondering what you meant by this statement??

Thanks! JG

[denSMSgt]

Howd Jerseygirl et al,

This is definitely a subject that fires me up!

It's a bit lazy, but here's what I think may be a somewhat intelligible blurb on my experience with a lower permanent bonded retainer:
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=41739

Your experience may vary, but if you choose to go bonded, get essix for nighttime wear and watch stuff CLOSE, as teeth shift slowly back...

And my usual braced closing goes:

SMILE y'all!

den

[kennyandrew85]

I'm a 27 year old man and got braces 14 months ago.

Luckily I was in a relationship before I got braces.
During the first few months there is no way I would have been confident approaching any girl.

After the first 6 months my teeth had improved so much that I became more confident in braces than I ever was before and I now am very confident smiling, but I do have ceramic brackets and a white wire which makes a big difference as my bottom teeth are a bit... ugly betty.

It is much different for girls, girls in braces don't look too bad and I would imagine some guys actually like it.

I think girls are more shallow than they will openly admit.
Blokes are the same, but at least we make that obvious!

Also, people saying 'if she doesnt like you in braces, she's not worth it' I disagree with this.

Looks are 90% of the deal. Without finding someone physically attractive you can't fall in love with their personality in the same way. In a long term relationship it's obviously very important to be a decent person with plenty in common, but in the short term looks are everything and a lot of girls really do care what their friends think!

Sorry if this is not what you want to hear but.. just wait until the braces come off, women will be falling over each other to see you smile.

[kennyandrew85]

Just to add, really have no idea how you are kissing but I haven't noticed any air pressure difference!
Maybe you're just a better kisser than me! lol

Only thing I ever had that was bugging me was the wires poking the inside of my cheek because they needed trimming down.

[Robot Teeth]

I've come to believe that most women will take you at your own estimation of yourself. If you think you look like a nerd, then that's the flavor they'll pick up on. If you act like the man you are, then your braces can go from something embarrassing to something attractive, as they make you stand out a little, and serve as a conversation piece.

I am 31. Didn't have a girlfriend for 5 years. Got braces a year ago, and found that girls, especially ones that have had braces, find it interesting and seem to feel a weird sort of comorodery with you. Some seem to find it disarming and humble for a guy to have braces. Mentioned my braces on my online dating profile, and ended up attracting a beautiful girl who is an oral surgeon's assistant, who I've been with for about four months now! Her brother (30) has braces, and her boss just offered to pay for her to get braces, so she'll be getting them in a few weeks.

Kissing is no big deal at all. You'd have to be kissing in a way that is borderline violent in order to hurt each other.

Get over it, man. Braces are cool as F. They're a status symbol. Thats the way you should look at it anyway. I don't want mine off anytime soon. Rock your braces!

[ca214]

Just recently joined the board - but i'd been reading this chain over the past few weeks as i was making the decision to go forward with braces and it's been very helpful reading.

I've just turned 32, and been curious about the impact on my social life (generally speaking, I'm a very social single guy who is out more days in a week than not).. I'm going with the approach of exuding confidence and we'll see how it goes. I have had many of my friends say that they think it shows a great deal of confidence to go forward with braces, which has been encouraging.

C

[trisportgirl]

I can speak from both the "in-relationship" and "single" perspectives since I was in a long term relationship when I got my braces, but we broke up about 4 months after I got them and I have been single (and dating) ever since.

When I was making the decision to get braces, my dating life really wasn't a consideration because my boyfriend and I had been together for almost three years and he was supportive of my decision to get them. He also commiserated with me because he had braces for four years as a teen. The only issues I had with kissing where when I was first getting used to them and had major canker sores (so basically any pressure or friction was BAAAAAAD, and then later my teeth were hurting when they started moving and any pressure at all hurt like heck. My major worry was what other people would think, but I realized that having braces in my 20s is better than having them in my 30s, which is still better than 40s....etc. It only gets more difficult as you get older in my opinion! It's probably a good thing I wasn't worried about it affecting my dating because I'm not sure I would have gone through with them.

Alright, post-breakup I was VERY worried about how this would affect my dating life. I figured all guys would think kissing would be weird and that they wouldn't be interested in dating someone in braces. I was wrong! I was using dating sites for a bit and didn't explicitly say I have braces (although you could tell in one of my photos if you knew to look for them - ceramics aren't all that obvious from far away), and not a single guy said anything about them. Early on I made the decision not to stop smiling or try to hide my braces - I was going to rock them and still be my confident self! Most of the time it doesn't even make me feel self-conscious and I forget I even have them.

Sorry for the novel...but the moral of the story is, it's not how other people see you that will affect your dating life - it's how you see yourself. You can hide under a rock and refuse to smile for 2 years, or you can make the decision not to let it bother you and no one else will care either!

[yogapaws]

Please take care of yourself! You will be so happy with your healthy mouth when you are 30, 38. 45, 50, 58 years old!

[Jerseygirl]

[quote="denSMSgt"]Howd Jerseygirl et al,

This is definitely a subject that fires me up!
It's a bit lazy, but here's what I think may be a somewhat intelligible blurb on my experience with a lower permanent bonded retainer:
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... =5&t=41739
Your experience may vary, but if you choose to go bonded, get essix for nighttime wear and watch stuff CLOSE, as teeth shift slowly back...

===================================================================================
Thanks for the feedback. My feeling is I need to put 100% trust in my ortho who comes highly recommended. He's been doing this for a long time and has loads of experience, so whatever he recommends I will go along with. I also recall him saying he'd be keeping tabs on me once my treatment is complete. Perhaps to watch very carefully, initially, that teeth don't begin to shift. Sorry you have had such a negative experience. I'll be sure to update the group with what my ortho recommends for my individual situation - once the time comes.

Cheers!