Just wanted to post an update since I'm only a few days off 4 months into my experience with braces at the ripe old age of 40
I had the upper brace put on in April and the lower one only went on this week after some space had been created.
The results on the upper teeth has been amazing (no pics yet) - the alignment already looks 100% better. On the lowers, it's only been a few days but there are some obvious changes.
Top brace was moved on to the thicker rectangular wire and I've been warned to expect gaps to appear, and disappear, between teeth.
I have to say that I'm glad I started all of this since I actually seem to be smiling, and big toothy brace filled ones at that, a whole lot more.
Pain wise it's been very tolerable. I find that I'm sore for a few days after adjustment/new wires and the lowers are a bit sore just now as they adjust to having the brace on. But, some Ibuprofen seems to take enough of the edge off.
I haven't suffered much from irritation of my lips and cheeks from the brackets but when I did the use of some wax soon improved things.
Dental Hygiene wise I'm pretty pleased since things have improved! I switched my hygienist from 6 monthly to 3 monthly and with her help we're ensuring the gums stay in tip top condition whilst the braces are on.
I have two new best friends - my Sonicare toothbrush and my cordless Waterpik.
My only real problem has been the switch to a soft food diet after adjustments but after a few days I'm back on to most foods as long as I have access to a knife & fork to cut it up! And even on the soft food days I'm managing to come up with foods that can be gummed.
And I haven't had to stop eating the odd indian meal or tea/coffee or red wine since the Clarity SL brackets seem to be pretty immune to staining.
My biggest worry was how people would react to the braces on an adult of my age. But most don't notice (a golfing buddy only noticed after 3 months because I was laughing and grinning!) and those who do just want to know how the braces are working and ask for info on the treatment.
All in all things are going fab and being able to see real progress just spurns me on to keep it up!
So if you're worried about braces at my age I'd just say don't be!