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Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:39 pm
by lionfish
ellebee wrote:
I'm in less physical pain today, but I'm feeling very depressed. I feel ugly and I feel self-conscious and I feel like I made a mistake.

My fiance gets back from his overseas business trip on Wednesday. Funny, I got engaged and got braces in the same week. He proposed just before I took him to the airport last Saturday, and I got the braces Wednesday.

I'm dreading him seeing me like this. He fell in love with me with my teeth as they are/were. They aren't really bad, crooked on the bottom, a slight overbite and my bite is off on the left side (my top arch is off center to the right.

I feel like I am putting myself through this for the wrong reasons: wanting to be more "perfect" and not wanting Uncle Sam to get my FSA money.

My ortho said if I was still unhappy by my second adjustment (early January) he would take them off. I wonder if he thinks I will see enough encouraging improvement by then to keep going.

Or maybe I will get the top arch off and keep the bottom.

Right now my goal is to last one week. Baby steps. I think I might feel just as depressed for giving up so soon as I do for "doing this to myself."

Coming here is the best thing I have to hold onto right now. There is so much positive energy here.

Hugs,

Elle
You're not ugly and you've not made a mistake.

Your fiance will love you regardless of your braces.

I quite understand your not wanting Uncle Sam to get hold of your money. I've just had a lovely tax rebate thanks to braces.

There's nothing wrong with wanting to have a good bite. That's what we all want at the end of the day. This is a completely normal wish.

In 8 weeks time you will read your early posts and laugh that you could have thought of taking your braces off. In that time, you will also have gotten used to having braces, will have returned to your normal eating and general day to day living patterns, and your braces will have assumed a minor role in your life.

Believe me when I say this can - and will - happen. Braces are such a small deal really, you just need to get your head around the fact that they are. I don't let braces stop me doing anything I did before.

Above all, I don't let them make me feel miserable. And the best way to do this is to try and forget that they are there and get on with your life.

Crikey, if an ageing, set in her ways babyboomer like me can do it, anyone can!!

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 12:55 pm
by NotBob1
My wife thinks mine are cute! I don't know, I suppose they are cute....I really don't even notice them much.

Your fiance will be fine with it! Before I met my wife I was dating and I met someone for dinner on a blind date. She had braces, metal ones even. I really didn't care....Actually I thought more of her for taking care of herself. Granted, I married someone else, but that had nothing to do with the braces! Although I do think my wife is going to be my Orthodontist's new victim!!! :)

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:43 pm
by onny
Oh what a sad thread :(

Elle: You must feel the opposite of me. Of course the first time i closed my mouth the ortho (got mine Wednesday too! :D) it felt like a key holder in my mouth too, but not like a bus. And the feel of all that metal (actually felt really more than it is) vanished after just some hours. Right now its 2-3 days ago, and when i don't touch the brackets with my tongue, i don't even feel the braces anymore, its like being without braces. Of course my teeth ache very hard, but only when I bite, i may have a much higher threshold of pain. Some brackets are rotated so much and the wire is very tense, the teeth under them even are a bit loose.

Wait some more days it will get better, and please don't think about getting them removed, the worst part is behind you (spacers).

I wish you best success on your journey and keep us updated with how you feel :)

greetz, onny

Posted: Sat Nov 11, 2006 9:19 am
by ghostmyimag3
I wish i could say i dont feel mine anymore. I said this once already this morning, i have litagating modules on my molar brackets and they stab my tongue making it difficult to forget. But its only been 3 days.

Noone should feel ugly in braces. I work at a college and people have been noticing mine alot saying "i dont remember you having braces" which makes me somewhat self concious because I wonder if the noticed my teeth like they notice these but i doubt it. Its hard to miss shiny metal in someone's mouth. But regardless, anyone wearing braces should feel beautiful or in a guys stand point handsome : :lol:

The bottom line is your doing this for you, not for what others percieve your appearance to be. Attitude makes someone attractive not outside appearance.