Feeling confident with braces....

[TheProfessor]

A professional photographer came to my house this morning to take pictures of me in front of my house for a university brochure about life in my college town. The provost of the university personally asked me to do this, so I couldn't say no. I was a bit worried about doing this as a metal mouth, but I'm happy to report that it went fine! I smiled like a normal person and my clear upper brackets were barely visible when I saw some of the shots in the camera screen, but I still asked the photographer to photoshop my teeth if the brackets are too visible in the final pictures. In the first couple of months of having braces I would have been horrified by the thought of doing something like this. But, 8 months in and I didn't mind at all! I actually think I was more confident than I ever would have been smiling with my messed up teeth before braces!

The moral of this story is if you have been thinking about getting braces, just do it!!! And, if you are in the beginning stages of treatment, don't worry, it will get much easier!

Cheers!

--Prof

[nickd503]

Sweet!

I'm only on day 4 and i'm slowly getting a little confidence with them. With strangers its not a problem but with friends and family for the first time is still a little iffy. Thanksgiving should be interesting!!

[TheProfessor]

I know what you mean! I'm totally fine with strangers, but I'm still working on not being embarrassed when I see relatives and old friends who haven't seen my braces before.

[Felina Grimm]

I don't even care what anyone thinks, even the family. I have more confidence to smile while wearing braces than before.

[NeilH]

I know what you mean! I'm totally fine with strangers, but I'm still working on not being embarrassed when I see relatives and old friends who haven't seen my braces before.

I'm exactly the same, happy and confident with complete strangers, but more cautious around family members. I have certainly become more confident since getting braces which was completed unexpected. I have traditional metal brackets top and bottom so figured they would be impossible to hide so might as well just get on with it and face the world with renewed confidence.

[sirwired]

I was most nervous around clients of my company. I hold a job normally held by people older than I am, and was worried the brackets made me look too young. (Though I think the grey hairs creeping into my goatee help!) Nobody ever seemed to notice, even during post-surgery when I had braces, an awful upper jaw splint, and was talking funny because of it.

I won't tell you that nobody will ever do a double-take (I know that sometimes I do when I see other adults in braces), but I think it's the sort of thing that people notice, and then proceed to ignore.

[Felina Grimm]

It's coming to a point where it's normal and common to see adults in braces. I understand if it can be an issue in a high-end job and I do wonder if that can hinder the hiring process at any job though.

[Ridingboots]

Good on you for feeling more confident I feel pretty confident with my braces except when I eatthen am always worried what food bits are hanging off my braces

[Nozzelnut]

It's coming to a point where it's normal and common to see adults in braces. I understand if it can be an issue in a high-end job and I do wonder if that can hinder the hiring process at any job though.

I think seeing an applicant with braces would be an asset more than a deterrent; they want to be "better." They want to improve themselves and are willing spend their money and time to do that.

[jaime]

Good for you for being confident enough to do a photo shoot! That's a cool thing to be part of. My fiancé lives in a college town too, I love it.

The only time I am ever self-conscious of my braces is when I'm out in public with my sister. We're 5 years apart but everyone tells us we look like twins, and we both have braces right now! I always wonder what people are thinking when they see us. Lucky girl my sister...she's a few months away from getting hers off (her sentence was 12-16 months and she's at 11.5), so I suppose the embarrassment won't last too much longer.

[Uglybetty1]

I'm proud of my braces, I might not be a teenager anymore but I think it's better to have braces and showing you're doing something about your teeth, than bad teeth :) besides if people knew how much they cost they should be like a badge of honour haha :)

[djspeece]

Great story, prof. It's interesting how we adapt to our situations.

[Felina Grimm]

"We're 5 years apart but everyone tells us we look like twins, and we both have braces right now! I always wonder what people are thinking when they see us."

My younger sister and I are 7 years apart. She never needed braces and she looks older than I do. Add in my all-metal braces with different colored ligs, and I look even more juvenile. No complaints.