My story from a new member

[Crimsonjonas]

Hello everyone. My name is Jonathan, and I have been braced since Dec. 10, 2009. I have just found this website and after reading a number of the stories from other members anxiety and excitement of getting their braces on to reading the stories of members getting them off, I am really excited about having my braces now for almost 6 months.

I tell everyone that my braces were my Christmas gift to myself! LOL!

I am 32, and wow, what a difference having them already has made for my self-confidence in my smile, and in me. When I was 13-14 the dentist wanted me to go ahead and be placed into braces, but at that time Dad was not financially able to do so. So, the years passed and eventually I just forgot about it until last summer when one of my molars started to bother me.

After finding a dentist that accepted my insurance, I was back in the dentist office and getting my teeth cleaned, and after a few months of brushing and flossing, like I should have been doing all along, I finally got the nerve to ask them about braces.

A couple months later on Dec. 10, it was "Braces Day" for me. It was cool at first because I was the only patient in the office that day, and the two ladies that put the brackets on me were so nice. They even high 5'ed one another when I had my brackets on. "They said, dude, you're wearing brackets!" I looked in the mirror and sure enough I had the hardware on my teeth, truthfully it felt like spikes on my teeth. I was amazed a bit. Then the rest of the process was complete and I drove home.

It was interesting seeing the metal in my mouth when I parted my lips. Sort of like the "Jaws" character from the James Bond movies. LOL! Then reality hit me as to what I can eat and what I could not eat, plus the pain of trying to eat a bit for those first few days afterwards. Of course the dental wax was a must for me for about the first month.

Now, I dont use it as my mouth has gotten used to everything and I hardly notice them. Helping me along was my boss. He had just gone thru the whole process and had his braces taken off as I was just going into mine. He kept telling me that the 18 months will fly by. Here I am right at six months later, 1/3, of the way finished and he's right.

During the first week or so I kept wanting to just rip them off at night, especially when I was trying to sleep. That foreign feeling in my mouth just made it feel weird, but eventually you forget about it.

I know that in the end it will all be worth it and I am glad that I decided to have this done. I look forward to sharing my story with other members here and making a few "brace faced" friends on here.

[MegP60+]

Welcome to the boards. I have found that the support and sharing from the people in this forum is wonderful. Even though I am an older "metal mouth", we all go through the journey together and can learn so much from each other. Glad to hear that the time in braces is passing so quickly for you.

[Crimsonjonas]

Thank you. I look forward to sharing stories with other members here and helping support others.