Metal Mouth Message Board

Since I got braces and went back to work, a coworker accused me of smiling more just to show off my braces. Well, because of the condition of my teeth he hasn't seen me smile much in the last 2 years. So I don't think I'm extra smiley if you will. I just feel free to smile at will.

Do you smile more since braces?

- Missing Tooth -

Hi Missing Tooth
I always smiled , but find myself breaking out unconciously in huge grins these days. Guess I'm feeling comfortable with myself
Moi
It is easier to smile than frown !

A lot more....I feel better about smiling and my whole apearance, eventhough my teeth are only a small part of it.

Before I got braces, I would barely ever show my teeth when i smiled. I would feel extremely embarassed by my smile, but now I feel proud to smile because I spent so much time and MONEY on these! And I just can't wait to have them off and smile even more!

So far I've been smiling less.

My workplace is primarily male, and not particularly hospitible to anything that's not traditionally masculine. Taking care of what some may see as a "cosmetic issue" isn't exactly something I'd want to advertize. The few women that I work with have been genuinely supportive though.

It'd be nice to not be as self-conscious about it, but not everyone is in the same social situation or has the same peer support.

Also, because of the position of my teeth, and consequently the position of some of the brackets, my upper lip gets caught both going up and coming down. Maybe when things are more lined up, it'll be more natural and comfortable to grin big, but at the moment it's not.

I've been smiling probably just as much...

But I definitely feel more comfortable about my teeth. They used to be that embarrassing thing that I didn't ever talk about.

Suddenly this bad trait is front and center, and instead of hiding it I am letting everyone in the world in on my insecurity. It feels really good, actually.

And then - in two years or so - I will no longer keep that memory of little kids pointing at my teeth and asking their mom what is wrong with me.

I can't believe I let something that bothers me so much wait for so long.

I am smiling a lot less now just because I am still not comfortable with my braces on...maybe in a few months

My top brackets sit right at my lipline, so I find that I'm smiling more since I got them, if only because it feels somewhat foreign to stretch my top lip over them.

I also want people to notice them and get it over with. I'd rather "advertise" that I'm wearing braces so people aren't surprised when I start talking to them. I think they look goofy but sorta cute. They're growing on me.

I'm not really sure if I'm smiling more wiht braces! I know I have been feeling a lot more self conscience of my smile lately! I guess its because of my wacky bite and my canine that is about halfway down! But I do feel better about my smile now than before braces!

Around my friends and people at school I smile openly all the time but around some others I almost try to hide my smile! I guess I'll just have to work on that!

-Hannah




Top braces: 4/28/04
Bottom braces: 11/16/05
Next Adjustment is 2/1/06 where they will bond a bracket to my cuspid which was impacted!!!!

I smile much more with the braces. When I smiled or laughed before, I almost instantly realized that I was exposing my crooked teeth and then toned it down. The same realization hits me now about the braces...but it makes me smile more. Someone told me (before I was braced--I can't remember who it was now!) that wearing braces is like a shield that hides crooked teeth. I couldn't agree more. I thought my life would really change the day I got my braces off, but I think the change actually occurred the day they were put on.

Having braces is definitely something to smile about! Taking that step and going ahead with the treatment is something that is really positive for you - and no one elses opinion counts! So I think everyone wearing braces really has something to smile about...

Even if its just thinking about how much you are going to love your smile once those pesky things come out of your mouth!!

I smile tons more! I can't wait until they do my extractions and things really start cooking.

My workplace is primarily male, and not particularly hospitible to anything that's not traditionally masculine.

Those types of people irritate me more than anyone else. I used to work with them. I say forget them. Go to a sephora or lush store if you have one near. Just because you take care of yourself doesn't make a wimp or sissy.

I think the change actually occurred the day they were put on

So very true for me. Been carefree smiling since I walked out of that place.

- Missing Tooth -

missing_tooth wrote:

My workplace is primarily male, and not particularly hospitible to anything that's not traditionally masculine.

Those types of people irritate me more than anyone else. I used to work with them. I say forget them. Go to a sephora or lush store if you have one near. Just because you take care of yourself doesn't make a wimp or sissy.

It comes with the territory for my workplace. When you've got a labor oriented job, you're going to generally attract people of a certain mindset/background. As it is, in the history of my career I've only seen 3 people with braces (all were part-time supervisors) out of the hundreds of people that I've worked with in the building. Never any of my peers.

Maybe I'll be an inspiration to someone else, but as of now I've become the ambassador of adult orthodontia (as anyone who's the first in their social group can probably relate). I'm sure it'd be easier if someone else had already broken the ice.

I smile quite a bit less, even when alone. That's because smiling causes my cheeks to be cut by my molar bands, which hurts. Nothing to smile about there!