How have braces made a difference to your life?

[true_jaat]

This question is for people who took up the braces challenge at a later stage of life rather than as teenagers. The reason being that people who get braces after they have gone through high-school, university, job etc. have pondered/wished about having perfect teeth for a longer time and can probably appreciate it more. Ofcourse other people are also welcome to answer the questions.

Now that you have perfect (or nearly perfect) teeth and you are not ashamed to smile at everyone or laugh in public without covering your mouth, has it made as big of a difference to your life as you originally imagined? Has your confidence gone up as much as you imagined it would? Are you 'socializing' more than you used to? Are other people reacting to you differently now? i.e Generally how has your social/personal life changed?

[dev]

I can smile without a little voice telling me, "close your ugly mouth before somebody sees."

It's the greatest feeling ever. I used to have crappy self-esteem back when I was 16, which is when I got my braces on. Even before they came off though, as soon as the teeth started straightening up a bit, I've been smiling a lot more and much much more confident.

I got my braces taken off a few days ago, all except for 4 brackets on my front top teeth and 4 for my front bottom teeth, since those brackets stay on until my retainer is returned by the lab in a few days. I'm already smiling a lot more and much more confident. Even on the way home from the orthodontist, I stopped at Trader Joe's and started making small talk with the cashier, smiling and laughing and joking, which is something I would never, ever, ever do before I got braces. (especially not with a cashier that hot )

Basically, huge life change, best decision I ever made (along with going on accutane which boosted my self-confident another 50 points...hell, i'm a bit c.ocky nowadays, even. )

[dev]

Unless you had these things before, you will not instantly have them after. These are 'inside' attributes, and no amount of work on the physical will make these appear magically!

What does sometimes happen ... is that a change to the physical will help a person find these things, that have been hiden below the surface while they've been feeling self conscious.

These kind of attributes are present in everybody, to a certain degree, and I think making positive physical changes is a great way to 'influence' or 'jump start' necessary inner changes one would want to make.

For example, in the story of my change I posted above, besides getting rid of my acne with accutane and my crooked teeth with braces, I started working out, eating healthy, dressing better, and all sorts of other changes, which all play a part in who I am as a person. Besides, growing up from 16 to 19 can do all sorts of wonky things to a person, excluding external physical factors. Things are probably different for adults.

[downhillsnowskier]

Before braces I couldn't bite into an apple, I could only chew most tough(healthy) food with my molars. In addition to having my gastronomic experience enhanced, cleaning my teeth is much easier than it was before, and its nice to have a smile just as attractive as everyone else's. I'd say the impact has been pretty big and pretty positive and whenever others I know undertake treatment, I congratulate them on taking the plunge.

[jcdamon3]

I would not be so quick to judge folks that want to better themselves. If you are feeling self conscious about your smile - get braces! The only person that can determine if you are seeking cosmetic changes that are unhealthy is a psychiatrist. If you feel that you continue to seek cosmetic change after cosmetic change then you need to see someone. If you have been self conscious about your teeth and want to do something about it don't let some on this board tell you that all your self esteem comes from within. I know people (including myself) that have had cosmetic changes that have helped so much that I would never, ever say that the solution that they chose was inappropriate. True some people can live with a huge nose or ears sticking way out. Others are more sensitive and will do better getting it fixed. If you were teased and what not when you were a kid, those wounds tend to stick with you.

I believe that being successful means that you are constantly changing, making yourself better, or the best that you can be in whatever you do. If you can make improvements on the outside, particularly those that make you more self confident (also a success factor) by all means, go for it!

So now to answer the question how braces changed my life? I don't know yet because they are not off, but I hope not at all. I too did not get my braces for cosmetic reasons, only for my bite and to keep the teeth I have. I sometimes look at myself pre-braces and wonder why I did it.

But currently when I bite down I think Oh my gosh! I didn't even know that my teeth were supposed to be like this! Also, I have some pain in my face that seems to be gone now.

[Whirliebird]

From my personal point of view i'd say braces have bought out the real 'ME'

Before braces people thought i was quiet and shy - like i had nothing to say.

I did have plenty to say - only in order to say it, i needed to open my mouth and of course that meant showing my teeth. So i chose not to.

Since being braced and my teeth looking straight (even with the metal on -damon 3's) i talk and smile all the time.

I can't wait to have them off now - hopefully it won't be to long.

I agree with what kk said about surgery to other parts of the body not always having the disired effect on a persons self-esteem.

However i do think that the mouth is slightly different as we use it for talking, showing emotion, and of course kissing. So to have a nice smile does go a long way to build up a persons confidence.

[true_jaat]

To some of the people posting: please re-read the original post, no-where does it CLAIM that braces will 100% increase self-confidence on the contrary it actually ASKS if they have resulted in any changes in self-confidence. (Note the difference between claiming and asking)

Do physical 'improvements' (improvements being defined by the current norm in society) have an impact on self-cofidence of a person?
Ofcourse they do !

Why do overweight people go to the gym (apart from the obvious medical benefits)? Why do people want a tan? Why do people go shopping to buy new clothes? Why do people get their teeth whitened? Why do girls apply make-up? Are all of these people depressed and have no happiness and self-esteem from the 'inside'?
No, its the 'feel-good' factor about themselves that people get when they improve themselves physically (again improve is defined by society norms)

So if a person goes through this journey more for cosmetic/physical change than for medical benefits will this result in an increase in the 'feel-good' factor of that person? Yes it will, and by how much is the question.

[jcdamon3]

I can't speak for braces, because like I said, mine were not for cosmetic reasons and they are not off yet. But I can tell you that I have had other cosmetic things done, like LASIK and it DID indeed improve my confidence, not to mention the convenience of not having to wear glasses or contacts and the money saved by not having to buy them.

LASIK is now covered by alot of health insurance companies - although it wasn't when I did it. It cost about the same as having braces back then (10 years ago). I would do it all over again for sure!

[jcdamon3]

I think in the US (don't know about Australia or UK), it is a rare, rare person you will find that does not care about their looks at all and has extremely great self esteem and self confidence.

In fact I know NO ONE who wears no makeup, does not dress nice, doesn't have their hair done, etc and has great inner confidence.

I think it is very idealistic to think we, as women should not try to wear makeup or dress nice because we "think" it is just society forcing us to do this. I am sure there are some societies here in the US that I could live in where that would work - They are called the Amish. http://www.800padutch.com/amish.

I also hardly think that makeup is some "new concept" that we have been shoving in the faces of women by advertising since women have been using makeup since 4000 B.C.

Even the art of Feng Shui is a philosophy of being able to decorate your home in such a way to change your attitude, your health and even your level of success! So why can't changing your outside, change your attitude?

Heck, I knew a woman who by just putting on her black cowboy boots felt more confident!

Come on KK - don't those tatoos that you have on your body make you feel a certain way? If not, why did you get them?

[hippyhippo]

Now that you have perfect (or nearly perfect) teeth and you are not ashamed to smile at everyone or laugh in public without covering your mouth, has it made as big of a difference to your life as you originally imagined? Has your confidence gone up as much as you imagined it would? Are you 'socializing' more than you used to? Are other people reacting to you differently now? i.e Generally how has your social/personal life changed?

To start off, I should say that I'm not even close to having perfect teeth... heck, I don't even have braces yet! But I can't imagine that life after braces will be all that much different, aside from having a much healthier bite.

I'm pretty extroverted, have a decent social life, good self esteem (well, good compared to most I'd say, we all have insecurities) and I smile *all* the time. It's almost freakish how much I smile. I have moderately crowded teeth, and the fact that my teeth are crooked is very obvious when I smile since I have a *huge* smile. To the point where multiple people have commented on it, saying things like "wow, I'm surprized that you haven't fixed your teeth yet, given how much you show them".

To me, my teeth being crooked wasn't a big deal. Would I like straight teeth? Sure! But I didn't want to have to go through the ordeal of getting braces. It wasn't until a) I was insured and b) I heard about invisalign that I thought I'd get a free consultation with an ortho and see what they said. That's when I found out that wow, my bite is atrocious, my teeth are wearing away at a very scary pace, and my jaw is not in a happy place right now.

So here I am, about to have a full metal mouth for 18-24 months, with surgery very likely somewhere in the middle. I'm not doing it for cosmetic reasons, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to straight teeth. However, I just don't forsee my self esteem or my attitude changing because of this experience.

I do realize that you were looking for people who did have self esteem issues to give their thoughts, so I apologize for likely wasting your time. But this just seemed like a good way to kill some time before bed

[Nevertoolate]

I am 52 years old, and with braces, I no longer tell myself to cover my mouth when I laugh, or to smile a certain way so my teeth don't look so bad, and on and on...My whole life I have done this. I feel better about the way I look with my braces ON, I can only imagine how I will feel once they are off, and I get my teeth whitened. WOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!!!

[MissAshley]

They have made a huge difference...the increase in my self esteem is astounding I love being able to smile& not worry about how people see my teeth from the side& how they can just see -me- & not crooked teeth.

[jzaboo]

I think everyone is reading way to much into the original post as well. Lighten up, already, flower children!

I believe that anyone who has their smile improved will simply smile more. The more you smile, the happier you become (weird but true), and it give you a better general outlook. My teeth aren't too bad (slight twisting of bottom two), and I never purposely tried to hide my teeth or anything before. Now that I have my braces on, I smile more, maybe because I'm more conscience of my teeth. By doing so, people react to me more positively, and that makes me feel good. I would assume when these get off in 16 months, that will be even more true. So did I get these to look better? Damn right I did! Did I think I was pretty good to begin with? Ego bigger than Texas! Did I expect it to change my life? Never thought about it. Has it already? Yeah, somewhat. So to increase one's "self confidence" or whatever you wish to call it doesn't mean you didn't have any to begin with. I don't think true_jaat was fishing for responses only from people with "self esteem issues".
I'd like to applaud all of you that are totally content and beautiful with a nice balanced chi. Have another bong hit, jump onto your rainbow, and peace out, man!

[jzaboo]

Did anyone ever suggest that a clinically depressed person would feel better by getting braces? No, no one did. You guys are just too much. I've heard nothing as fake as the self rightous drivel I've read on this post.

Gosh, gotta go, must jump off a curb now because I'm not as blissfully well-adjusted as the some of the loonies here. Or maybe I'll just get a tatoo. I'm doing plenty of laughing.

[SueFromNJ]

Not sure if I entirely caught what was going on here but ...

I just got my braces off, and honestly, yes! My self esteem and confidence are much, much greater. Nothing has magically improved in my life (like finding Mr. Right or getting promoted at a job) but that's OK - but I do feel that having a normal smile will make things more possible now! I really do believe that humans are somehow "pre-programmed" to respond positively to an attractive smile and negatively to a crooked one, and I am thrilled to finally have the asset of a nice smile to show the world.

I woudn't have ever called myself clinically depressed, but I wasn't too happy with my life and my poor appearance. Now that I got my teeth fixed and see the end result, well yes - I am much happier! In my case, fixing a physical problem really did make me feel far better!