Metal Mouth Message Board

I am 34 y/o guy in Texas and put braces a little over a week ago (12/16/09) - it took me about a week to adjust, but now I am very comfortable in them. I have received tons of compliments on them which is helping a lot. I am shy and self-conscious (which made it very difficult for me to get braces but I decided just to do it), but actually found that having braces makes me smile a lot more and speak up more, and be much more confident. Now I am proud to show off my braces to everybody who cares to look. The only people I have been shy around are other people who already have braces (oddly), and people who I notice have bad teeth and really need braces. I did Invisalign a few years ago but they didn't work. I'm so happy to be doing regular braces, and I'm so proud of myself for working up the courage to do this.

Does anybody know what type of brackets these are? My ortho said they are "GAC mini-brackets" but they are different from what they have on the GAC web site. I love them because they are very classic style metal brackets, but at the same time very small (which is what draws compliments), modern, and distinctive.

Your braces look like mine, and I live in Austin, Texas, too. GAC is the company that sells the Innovation Cs which is what I have. They're self-ligating so there are no tiny elastics around each bracket. I'm a newbie too.

Your braces look like mine, and I live in Austin, Texas, too. GAC is the company that sells the Innovation Cs which is what I have. They're self-ligating so there are no tiny elastics around each bracket. I'm a newbie too.

Whoops, sorry. I have In-Ovation Rs, not Cs. See http://www.gacinovation.com/categories/ ... ystems.cfm

Thanks Ken & Saysee for the welcome.
It's amazing how different types of brackets they are and how often they change. I'm also amazed at how different my brackets are from others, some of them have these wing thingies on them which are very unusual and I've never seen before.

They told me 18-24 months although one told me my case was very easy and would only be 1 year so who knows. Although I got through about 15 Invsialign aligners before, right before I got braces I put on aligner #1 and it fit perfectly so I guess they didn't do me any good at all and I'm exactly where I started.

I'm still happy with my braces but battling extreme dry mouth/lips.
I guess winter is the worst part of the year to put braces. I'm putting chapstick every fifteen minutes but not helping much.

gday ken well done for going ahead with it! im 28 and from darwin australia. i've had mine on for just a few weeks after a long time putting it off. People hardly seemed to have noticed so its really not so bad!!

Good on ya! I felt the same when I first got my braces. They've just become part of the daily grind, and I almost don't give them a second thought (almost).

Hey there! I'm 25 this year and plan to have my braces on next week. I'm kinda scared as i heard from friends that it would be very painful. But i really want it as i know i would look good when it is removed. Can anyone advise me on the level of pain that i have to bear? sob*

good for you, tsmurf! Great attitude!