My smile looks awful now!

[hypocrite opportunist]

I am feeling very self-conscious lately....saw photos of myself taken this weekend, after having my braces a little over three months, and my smile looks...terrible! I couldn't believe it- it looked so much better before I had braces on. I've read on here that sometimes your teeth get worse before they get better, but I was not prepared for what I saw in those pictures. I don't even want to smile at all anymore. Has anyone else experienced this???

[Snowglobe32]

Hi there,

I am kind of the opposite of you. My smile looked great up until about the year mark. I now have elastics and everything looks off. My ortho assured me things will be perfect once done.

I bet your smile doesn't look as bad as you think. We are always harder on ourselves and tend to see things that may not be there. Maybe your mind is playing a trick on you... You're thinking, "Hey, I have been in these for 3 months and this is what I have so far?"

Things will get better, I promise! Keep smiling!

[hypocrite opportunist]

Thanks. That must be frustrating for you to see your nice smile change with elastics, but it sounds like your ortho is keeping you well informed about your treatment. I'm really trying to stay positive, but it is tough right now b/c I've had to take so many pictures this month due to birthdays and holidays, and I wish I could just hide from the camera.

[MES1279]

I know how you feel. I'm 4 months in and I have one top central incisor that was always really crooked. All of my other teeth have straightened out around it, but this one tooth isn't seeming to budge - so it just looks even worse now that everything else is straightening out.

At my adjustment last week, I had a square wire put in on top to get it to move, and finally it feels like it's going to happen.

[Ionika]

i can totally relate to this...i guess i'm in the "it looks worst before it gets better" time frame..
I dislike my smile more then i did when i started...i have gaps all over the place... and the one tooth that was straight i now croked and
the canine that was really croked is almost near my molars, leaving a big big gap ...
now i have more a "social 4" then 6 ....

[luchababe]

I've got a few teeth too that are getting worse as others get better. My bottom teeth seem to be straightening from the outside in, so the very two front teeth are being pushed around and are facing each other more that ever! I'm hoping once they're free from the edges of their neighbours they'll get to where they need to go. Blah.

[jensceana73]

I know exactly how you feel. EXACTLY. But, I've learned to accept that this is just part of it getting to where I want it.

Now before I had braces, my teeth were very crooked. But...at least they were crooked in an "even" way. In other words, the teeth that were crooked on one side, were the same teeth that were crooked on the other side, and in the same...crooked way. So it looked, somewhat "even". Hard to explain I know, but hopefully you get the idea.

Now, that my smile is starting to "straighten" out.....it's not doing it, at the same time, for both sides. In other words, one side has straightened out.....and not the other. Just like, my bottoms straightened out, but my tops didn't. So my smile....looks WAAAAAYYYYY jacked up. I mean, like BIG TIME. I went probably a whole month, where I couldn't even look at myself (smile) in a mirror, because I just did not expect for it to get.....worse. But it did. And then, one day...I just decided that this was just what I was going to have to go through....to have my nice smile. The smile I have always wanted my entire life. So...now, I smile like I've got a endless supply of Valium going through my bloodstream.

It's starting to get better. Both sides are starting to catch up to each other, and things are just now starting to even up. But it has taken a lot longer than I ever thought, and like I said...I never ever thought it would look so much more worse than it did before braces. Just remember. Your ortho knows what he's doing. Keep a picture of a great smile taped to your mirror so that you can just be like...."this is what it'll look like....this is what it'll look like.....this is what it'll look like"....."this is worth it....this is worth it".....and most importantly...."I AM WORTH IT....I AM WORTH IT...I AM WORTH IT".....

[hypocrite opportunist]

I know exactly how you feel. EXACTLY. But, I've learned to accept that this is just part of it getting to where I want it.

Now before I had braces, my teeth were very crooked. But...at least they were crooked in an "even" way. In other words, the teeth that were crooked on one side, were the same teeth that were crooked on the other side, and in the same...crooked way. So it looked, somewhat "even". Hard to explain I know, but hopefully you get the idea.

Now, that my smile is starting to "straighten" out.....it's not doing it, at the same time, for both sides. In other words, one side has straightened out.....and not the other. Just like, my bottoms straightened out, but my tops didn't. So my smile....looks WAAAAAYYYYY jacked up. I mean, like BIG TIME. I went probably a whole month, where I couldn't even look at myself (smile) in a mirror, because I just did not expect for it to get.....worse. But it did. And then, one day...I just decided that this was just what I was going to have to go through....to have my nice smile. The smile I have always wanted my entire life. So...now, I smile like I've got a endless supply of Valium going through my bloodstream.

It's starting to get better. Both sides are starting to catch up to each other, and things are just now starting to even up. But it has taken a lot longer than I ever thought, and like I said...I never ever thought it would look so much more worse than it did before braces. Just remember. Your ortho knows what he's doing. Keep a picture of a great smile taped to your mirror so that you can just be like...."this is what it'll look like....this is what it'll look like.....this is what it'll look like"....."this is worth it....this is worth it".....and most importantly...."I AM WORTH IT....I AM WORTH IT...I AM WORTH IT".....

Thank you!! This really makes me feel better. I was talking to a friend the other day who, along with her four younger sisters, all had braces when they were teenagers. SHe told me that one of her sister's teeth got so bad during treatment that they all called her Donkey! I think I just needed some reassurance, after looking at all these photos of other people's amazing progress after such a short time, that I am not the only one who's teeth went from decent to completely jacked up.

[RedDress]

Hi, saw your updates and it does not look any worse to me. Your teeth have straightened quite a bit.

[dojo]

They will look worse before they look better. I am still under treatment and had months when my denture looked HORRIBLE. I almost came to regret my decision to start the treatment. But it's gonna look amazing in the end. I haven't finished the treatment and already have some excellent teeth

[gtrguy2886]

[quote="hypocrite opportunist"]I am feeling very self-conscious lately....saw photos of myself taken this weekend, after having my braces a little over three months, and my smile looks...terrible! I couldn't believe it- it looked so much better before I had braces on. I've read on here that sometimes your teeth get worse before they get better, but I was not prepared for what I saw in those pictures. I don't even want to smile at all anymore. Has anyone else experienced this??? :cry:[/quote]


Wow, that doesn't sound to fun! Hopefully it gets better as your treatment progresses. A big reason I'm going into braces again is to hope for a *better* smile, but this is a little worrying!

[hypocrite opportunist]

Hi, saw your updates and it does not look any worse to me. Your teeth have straightened quite a bit.

Oh I agree they have improved when you look at them up close. However, it's the appearance of my smile in relation to the rest of my face that looks weird. My smile now shows more gum line (which was already an issue before), plus my upper front teeth appear to protrude out past my lip when you see a profile view. I saw a profile/side picture of myself sitting on the sofa with other people, everyone smiling, but on me you could actually see my teeth sticking way out of my mouth. It was quite disturbing! I'm not concerned that they won't get better and that my smile won't look great at the end of treatment, I am simply expressing my annoyance that I have to go through this ugly duckling phase.