How long did it take you to get used to your new look?

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#16 Post by **jz5311** » Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:52 pm

I just got my braces ( the metal ones) so I am not really all that used to them yet. But I have to say, most people do not even notice my braces.

#17 Post by **Boohill** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 8:17 am

I have had my braces for a month. I go for my first adjustment today. I have felt really comfortable/confident with my all-metal hardware since day one. Sometimes I don’t quite know where my lips belong but its ok. So far I love my braces. I’m always flashing big smiles.

#18 Post by **dundeechick** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:41 am

thats really encouraging boohill, everyone seems to have different opinions appearance-wise but its great to hear no one has any regrets.
i'm due a dental check up in april so all being well cash wise will arrange my first ortho consult then. Stomach churning already...

#19 Post by **jambo532** » Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:07 pm

I too am vain... hence the ceramic. I just got mine on 4 days ago and honestly no one has really noticed except for the people I told I was getting them (which was not many) I work very close with the same people everyday and no one has said anything... or they are just being nice haha. anyways. I am starting to get use to the way they look on my face... waking up and looking in the mirror is still kinda a shock haha. I think it's worth it tho. Check out my blog I have pictures and stuff...
http://allbraced.blogspot.com

#20 Post by **mikesmile** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 8:30 am

Hi

I've been braced for just under 3 weeks now. This is my second time in braces, having worn them many years ago. Probably because of my prior experience, I got used to them in a few days this time and sometimes forget they're even there. I run a business and deal with the public every day. I have metal braces, and to be fair, most people do notice them (you can tell when they make eye contact, then look directly at your mouth). Some people don't notice them, or don't seem to anyway...

Honestly, I can't worry what other people think. I'm so happy to be doing this for myself that I just have to smile. It's definitely worth it! Around people I try to be natural, act friendly, and project confidence. I think these are all qualities that make us more attractive anyway. In today's world there are tons of adult braces wearers, so we're getting to be a much more common site.

#21 Post by **essdee** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 9:55 am

I got ceramics two weeks ago, and like others have said, they're quite bulky. I'm finding that I have to smile much bigger or my top lip gets stuck on my brackets and I look toothless/insane! I met a friend for coffee the day after getting the braces on, and saw her again a few days later - she said I'd seemed self-conscious the first time but that the next time I looked totally used to them.

I haven't seen many friends or any family yet, and I must admit I'm a little wary of their reaction, as when I'd mentioned that I was thinking of getting braced they all looked at me like I was mad and said they didn't see anything wrong. Mind you, would anyone actually respond "Hell yeah, you need it!!"?! But people in my office have been fine. I noticed a few double-takes at first, but it's forced me to act more confident. I'm not a naturally extrovert, confident person, so I have to 'fake it till I make it'. But I totally think that acting all self-conscious in braces makes them more noticeable, and in a bad way. Try to hide them and you're just going to look weird. And in moments of doubt when I think "what have I DONE?! 18 months of these!" (usually when I've just woken up with my lips stuck to all this alien junk in my mouth!), I remember how fed up I was with my teeth before, and how my big bottom jaw and shonky bite has always made me feel so self-conscious, and I feel kind of empowered that I'm doing something about it rather than simply putting up with it!

#22 Post by **nuttynat** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:10 pm

wow it is so interesting to read all the different responses on this topic.

For myself it took maybe 1 week to feel comfortable in them in front of colleagues. Every now and again I get a nervous feeling if I am going to speak to someone who I haven't seen since bracing day but it subsides quickly after I realise the worst they can do is stare or ask and I'm okay with that.

When I first got them on, I saw my family regularly so that I could feel comfortable talking about them as well as showing them.

#23 Post by **jeh** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 9:54 pm

It didn't take long at all, maybe a couple of days. For you, its years of thinking about getting braces. For everyone else, it's half a second of thinking "what's that in his mouth? oh, braces" and then not giving a thought to it again. Really, nobody cares.

I do have ceramics and they look much better in my mouth than I thought they would. They totally blend in with the teeth from more than a few feet away. As soon as they went on, my concern shifted from "what will other people think" to "how am I ever going to chew again" and "damn this is uncomfortable" :p Those feelings also go away after a few days, even though in the beginning you can't see how it will ever go away.

#24 Post by **fosterp** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 6:03 pm

I'm stoked to get braces. I am more worried about the pain and possible complications with my horrible teeth condition rather than the way they will look.

Take confidence in knowing that once you make it through your smile is going to be that much better.

#25 Post by **iBorg** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 5:14 am

I'm a long termer. I found it interesting that many of my friends noticed I had braces (or at least commented on them) after I had them for nearly a year. Not liking my teeth before braces I found at the six month mark the improvement was so great that I actually started to smile. Huge change. Now I'm so used to them, I'm a bit nervous to not have them.

Mike

#26 Post by **FrockyHorror** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 7:38 am

For some reason I feel awkward about my braces (ceramic) when I am with my husband's colleagues and friends. I get paranoid about the comments that he will get when I am not there (not that he has ever told me if anyone has. And he has mentioned that he would like braces himself after seeing the results that I am getting so I guess no-one has actually said anything!!).

I did have a wobbly moment when I had my elastics put on simply because not everyone knows what they are and so tended to stare that little bit harder.

I have also realised that I have a tendency to poke my tongue out in photos so as not to smile and show my braces!! I hasten to add that these photos are only cheeky family photos and not formal wedding style snaps!!!

#27 Post by **miss25** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 1:49 pm

It took me a few months to get use to them Now its like I have alwys had them, except when I want to look "Grown Up" I have a young look to begin with so these braces make me look like a teen but I am a wife and mother so thats really the only time I hate these things.

#28 Post by **Steph in Sac** » Wed Feb 17, 2010 2:48 pm

I have the ICE Clear braces on the bottom (nothing on top) and I have talked to several people the last couple of days who are shocked when I say I have braces. They don't notice them--granted, it mostly has to do with my bottom teeth not showing much when I talk. I like the ICE braces. I don't even think I know what ceramic braces are...

Wed Feb 17, 2010 5:20 pm

I have the Innovation C on top, nothing on the bottom yet. For the most part I feel comfortable and totally used to the extra hardware after wearing them for just over a year now. There are some points that I feel more self-conscious than others, like when I'm taking photos with friends or meeting new clients, or meeting friends of my husband for the first time. All in all, I'm happy to have done this for myself after all of these years (I'm 40) so I just have to remind myself of how awesome my smile will be next year...maybe next summer...yeah, that's it!

#30 Post by **Bellalalala** » Thu Feb 18, 2010 4:17 pm

I am so much more confident flashing a big smile with braces than I was with crooked teeth.

I'm 28 and I loooove my braces, and I can tell you that I seriously get hit on by random strangers when they see them. Guys find girls with braces seriously cute.

A few of the guys in my class have braces as well and they say that it's the same for them. They find that women who have had braces before or who want braces now will just walk up to them and start chatting out of nowhere.

I think that rocking braces with confidence is what makes them really cute.

One of the doctors who teaches at our med school is in her 50s and she has gold braces. She's brilliant and incredibly elegant, and she told me that she adores her braces because she's wanted to fix her teeth for so long, but always worried about looking professional with braces.
Now she says that she wished she had them years ago.

Metal Mouth Message Board

How long did it take you to get used to your new look?

ditto... vain