Metal Mouth Message Board

i have been lurking around here for ages while i try to organise my finances enough to afford braces.
my main concern about getting them tho is appearance- yes i know i am incredibly vain- hence saving for ceramics. How long does it take for most people to stop feeling self conscious as an adult braceface?
Also- any tips on how to handle colleagues and/or clients comments?

I know personally, getting braces was a huge undertaking on my self esteem. Even now I still don't feel incredibly beautiful in them but each day I am so happy I got them put on and have no regrets. Yes, on occasion I wish I could rip them out but I know it will be worth it in the end. If you can afford to get them I highly recommend it

I still don't like the way I look in mine, I and really don't like seeing myself in pictures! I have full metal (not by my choice, by the OD choice due to be case) Believe me I wish it could be different, but it can't so I deal with it--I don't really have a self esteem problem, so the way I see it--I don't like it, but I'll live with it and it will be over soon enough, I really could care less what people think anyway! Most people don't say anything anyway--they don't really care, only we do! The little insecurities I feel are so minute compared to how happy I am to be fixing my teeth and correcting my bite!

I don't love the way I look in them either (ceramics on top and metal on bottom) but I don't really think they are hideous looking....

When I see other people with braces (kids and adults alike) I don't see it as ugly! I know they are well on their way to a beautiful healthy smile!!

thanks for the replies, i am incredibly nervous about the whole thing- made worse by friends and family telling me my teeth look fine when obviously they dont!
Appy82 are you pleased with the ceramic/metal combination?

I have ceramic and metal, and I couldn't be happier. I actually think I look cute in braces and love flashing a smile now, where I never did before. It's apparent that my teeth are so much better and now people can see that even though my teeth aren't perfect, I'm doing something positive to improve my appearance. It seems everybody who posted so far is pretty down on the experience, but really, it's in the attitude. I was nervous about it at first, but a week in it was second nature. Don't let your vanity make you self-conscious--let it make you think you're even cuter in your badass braces.

I actually really don't mind the appearance of my braces. I have 3M self-ligating clear, and they're noticeable but hugely so.

I find that when I most feel self-conscious is when I see colleagues who I haven't seen since my brace day.

I was really eager to get them and thought it wouldn't be too bad on my confidence, but I have to admit it hit me a little harder than i thought it would. I am just at the beginning and I still have to get used to them, but day 6 definitely feels better than day 1 or 2. I am still kind of ashamed of them, don't like how I look, but I'm looking forward to better teeth and hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. I would say i am vain too, so it's hard at first, but I'll get through it. Let's see how long it will take until i don't really care anymore.

hi i dont have a braces yet. i am planning to have it but i imagine myself having it its like im out of style. and i'm a bit nervous cause they say its painful.

Honestly, after a good three to six months they become a part of you. I still have days or moments when I wish I didn't have braces. I am already youthful looking, but the braces make me look so much younger. Since having them I get carded for everything rated R movies, alcohol, mature SPAMS. As a woman it should be a positive, but men do not hit on me at all bc I look so much younger, but teenage boys give me double takes sometimes. So after having them this long I am well adjusted to them but am counting down the months until they are off. That feeling has never gone away. The feeling hideous in them left about six months in. I just got use to them and stopped thinking about them. The only time I do think about them is when I want to be taken seriously by other adults or if I notice someone staring at my mouth.

Honestly, after a good three to six months they become a part of you. I still have days or moments when I wish I didn't have braces. I am already youthful looking, but the braces make me look so much younger. Since having them I get carded for everything rated R movies, alcohol, mature SPAMS. As a woman it should be a positive, but men do not hit on me at all bc I look so much younger, but teenage boys give me double takes sometimes. So after having them this long I am well adjusted to them but am counting down the months until they are off. That feeling has never gone away. The feeling hideous in them left about six months in. I just got use to them and stopped thinking about them. The only time I do think about them is when I want to be taken seriously by other adults or if I notice someone staring at my mouth.

I would like to add I have full metal by choice.

I don't know why vid.eo game.s is coming up SPAM. But that is what I typed.

Dundeegirl- Im not necessarily unhappy with the ceramic (to be exact they are the Inovation-C I believe) they are not as "clear" as I thought they were....they have like metal in them, on the sides. I also think they are bulkier, so maybe I should have just gotten all metal? I don't know....

I am going on 2 months. Getting braces for me has been a humongous step in overcoming self-consciousness because I have been scared of them since very young age.

Here are the steps I took to get used to them:

1. I believe I look super in them (and/or, I truly do not care what anybody else thinks about them). It would be impossible to pull braces off if you don't believe in them (either your appearance with them, or your expectation of future benefits). Most people get a huge metallic smile from me, it is so much better for me to put them out there all at once than try to hide them.
2. I did at a slow time at work (i.e. Christmas), when most of the office was out on vacation. It is not my style to come to a big crowd with a humongous change in appearance, easier for me to let people in one at a time (though in reality braces are just a small change in appearance which most people don't notice). This worked great.
3. I myself took vacation for a week immediately after I got them, to a city where I didn't know anybody, to break them in and get used to how they looked/felt. It is easier for me deal with strangers who for all they know I've always had braces. Easier to get used to talking, eating, etc .. on my own.
4. I posted tons of photos of myself with braces on my Facebook. This helped tremendously! Nothing but overwhelmingly positive comments, and helps reinforce image of my new self.

Honestly, I believe my biggest benefit from braces is not fixing my teeth, but overcoming self-consciousness in general. If I can do braces, I can do anything. It is amazing self-confidence boost.

I have passed the "point of no return" - where they have become such a big part of me, my trademark & style, that I would feel more self-conscious taking them off than continuing with them. Also, I believe most people truly do not notice and/or care. Few people comment, and frequently those I point them out to don't realize they are new. Occasional, "You look different, did you get braces?" There are (mysteriously) certain people who I feel self-consciousness although a small percentage.

Currently I am visiting a country - Israel, where I have yet to see anybody else in braces (and certainly not for lack of need!), surprising to me I haven't received a single comment or even strange glance. It makes me even more special in them! I figure people here are jealous of me for them.

It's the other way around for me. I felt incredibly self-conscious before I had braces. It was rare for me to smile without covering my mouth because I was so ashamed of my jacked up teeth. Then, I took the plunge and got braces. Even though I have a smile full of metal (top and bottom), I'm less self-conscious now because I know it won't be that much longer (fingers crossed) before my braces are off, and I can show off my new smile. I get so excited when I see my teeth moving. Most adults don't comment, or care to comment. I remember in the beginning, my little cousin, who is about 5, saw my braces for the first time and asked, "You have braces now?" I told her, "Yep, want to see"? and flashed her a big smile, we laughed, and that was that. So really, it's not that big of a deal.