Metal Mouth Message Board

Funny, no one's ever mentioned age when they see my braces. Then again, I'm 43 so no one's gonna mistake me for a teenager. They probably think I'm so old that age isn't a topic for discussion!

I'm now on my second wire and teeth are getting straighter. Can't believe I've had these things on for nearly four months, seems like they've always been there.
I'm so impatient!

Hello!

I've actually really been having a hard time with age discrimination since I got braces--I look VERY young with my braces, I mean, I could seriously pass for like 14-17 because I'm short, thin, and have a young face...and 'grown-up's have been treating me soooo horribly b/c they think I'm a teenager--I actually got verbally and almost physically assaulted yesterday by this woman on the street b/c she thought she was talking to like a 14 year old and could bully me around, and when she realized I wasn't she was so embarrassed that she latched on to me like a little terrier and wouldn't leave me alone...it was terrrrible...To be having all these people pulling all this condescending stuff just is terrible, and nobody should be treated so horribly no matter what age they are...

I just find it funny b/c I'm a university professor and professional writer, so these people start saying rude things to me, and I shoot back with a witty and biting response that they never saw coming b/c they think
I'm a 'kid.' Boy do they seem surprised!

So here's to treating people of all ages with respect and kindness!

*aka

Looking young? I'm not sure how young i'll look now that i have braces, but on Saturday night i got asked for ID in a bar in belfast.

I'm 30 and our legal drinking age is 18.

IB.

For starters I'm 21 years old and went to a bar a month ago, I had my ID to show that I was 21 but the next thing that I don't get is WHY was I carded. I swear the lady thought I was 16 years old.

SDFD TSchott

Meryaten wrote:Nice post, akabraces

SDFD TSchott - I thought most places serving or selling alcohol carded if you look under 30.

I've been to this bar many times and that is the first time I was carded, even with my ID though the lady didn't serve me at all and had the bounsers escort me out and I showed them my ID and they said shes just a loser that everyone is trying to get fired but shes the bosses daughter.

SDFD TSchott

I don't even want to know how young it's going to make me look! I've looked 18 for the last 10 or 12 years. When I was in middle school and high school, everybody thought I was older than I was, and all my friends would get carded to go into the R movie, but I wouldn't. Now I'm almost 26 and I still look 18. I spent the summer advising undergrad students and I had to go to some orientations where I would advise them, then go with them to the computer lab to get them registered. Invariably, the students monitoring the computer lab would ask me where my paperwork was, why I was there, etc. Nevermind that I haven't been an undergrad (much less an entering undergrad) for nearly 4 years.

So we'll see how many people approach me in the stores and ask me if I'm a lost little girl, or why I'm not in school during the day, after I get my braces.

One time I went to my mom's work and a guy that worked there asked me what grade I was in and I told him I was a freshman to which he replied, I thought you were no older than 8th grade. I replied back that I was a freshman - in college.

At 30 (now 31) I still routinely get carded for alcohol. *shrug* It's okay. It's kind of flattering now.

I'm 26 and I was thought to be 17. I'm often asked what field I study in or what school I go to... heck I finished my 4-year university dregree 3 years ago!

I don't think they do make me look younger, although I probably look slightly younger than my real age (26) anyway. According to that test someone posted I'm actually only 21.4 years old, hurrah!

I'm 22 and I swear to you I was hardly ever carded when I bought alcohol before I got my braces. Now I get carded left and right. Plus, the looks I get when I hand over my drivers license are very skeptical. I look like I am in high school when I am a college graduate! I already look very young for my age, but then add the braces and I look like a freshman or sophomore in high school.

Interesting! I think the next time I'm around people I don't know, I'll make them guess my age, haha.

I'm 36 but haven't been carded in a while, I must admit. I'm tall, though. As they say, as you age, you've got to choose between your rear end and your face - which means, if you're carrying a few extra pounds, you tend not to look wrinkly.

Don't really care if I look my age or not, but am looking forward to that senior citizen discount!

Hmm, actually, if I didn't color my hair, it would be 50% grey. That's genetic. My mum went grey at 30.

I'm 32 5"1' and 108lbs and I know how you feel. I have always looked young. I was carded for a movie(you had to be 18) at the age of 27. When I was in my teens up to my mid twenties I found it very frustrating. I got my braces right after turning 32 and I was carded sometimes before braces but now I'm carded a lot more and I'm about to turn 33.

I sometimes still struggle with the fact that some people dont treat you with the same respect that they would if you look older. But I now try to ignore it or some how let people know i'm in my early to mid thirties now so that they wouldnt think i'm a kid. I think it would be easier on everyone if people would just treat everyone with the same respect regardless of there age or lack thereof.

But I also try to see the bright side of things and that is I will always look about 10 years younger than my real age.

I'm 32 5"1' and 108lbs and I know how you feel. I have always looked young. I was carded for a movie(you had to be 18) at the age of 27. When I was in my teens up to my mid twenties I found it very frustrating. I got my braces right after turning 32 and I was carded sometimes before braces but now I'm carded a lot more and I'm about to turn 33.

I sometimes still struggle with the fact that some people dont treat you with the same respect that they would if you look older. But I now try to ignore it or some how let people know i'm in my early to mid thirties now so that they wouldnt think i'm a kid. I think it would be easier on everyone if people would just treat everyone with the same respect regardless of there age or lack thereof.

But I also try to see the bright side of things and that is I will always look about 10 years younger than my real age.