Friendly, "blunt truth". Anyone got any about this site?

[megan1976]

I'll go first so you know what I'm talking about. These could be anything. Thoughts, initial reactions, etc. Keep them general and not specific to members so not to offend, but whatever it is must be absolute honesty so a few of you are going to be shocked because nobody is used to this. Here goes! Mine are:

1. Adults complain and whine a lot. So many kids have braces and they survive with no problems! If braces are the worst thing you ever go through, how lucky for you!

2. Ceramic braces are not real braces. I'm sorry. You can say you have braces, but you don't. When they are barely visible and you comment on appearance issues I just roll my eyes. Braces to me are metal.

3. A lot of smartasses on this site. They probably don't mean to come off as know it alls or rude, but they do. Kind of like me now, except some need to hear this!

Ok! That was fun. : )

[kellyb]

hmmmm, is this really necessary?

[rtergeggde]

1. Adults complain and whine a lot.

Well i think my complaints about braces are pretty valid, and it's not the worst of my problems but it can worsen my problems. Still little to moderate annoyances for a duration of couple of years + can be pretty stressing regardless of a persons age.

And i'm sure adults who complain about braces are the minority anyway.

[klobird]

Hmmmm----ok----hmmmm......well, you want honest--here goes...First and foremost, your comments make me really angry!

Everyone who has a feeling--ANYONE--that FEELING is valid...this site is to support and encourage--even if one is in pain EVERY SINGLE DAY they have braces...

Ceramic braces are real braces. They work. Look at the pictures. Some people need more torque to get those nasty bucky beavers (10mm) and crooked teeth reigned in--like me--so I didn't get a choice to have ceramic. Would have loved it though....

If one spends enough time on this site, one will get to feel what certain people may respond to. Some of us know each other personally. I would truly like to apologize if I have offended anyone with my sense of humor, or my comments. I would never in a million years want to hurt anyone.

I am aware of my braces every single day--I like to talk about them--that's why I'm always here. I get a LOT of useful advice from the "know-it-alls"--(which I may also come across as) .We are all different. That's what makes my world an interesting and awesome place to be!

If you feel negatively about the "adults here", then maybe this isn't the braces site for you. There are other sites--but my guess is that they're all about the same.

I guess one thing I can say is that you have indeed succeeded in shaking it up a little...for whatever that's worth...

[ashesgap]

I think one of the best things about this site is the varied personalities. We're pretty different, but we agree on a lot of this braces stuff. And when we disagree it's sometimes really helpful. I've made decisions based on others feelings, personal experience and opinions. They've helped where the Orthos have failed to.
I don't know how often I've complained on here about my braces, but I do know at home I'm a big ol'baby sometimes, and I'm OK with that.

[Marie45]

Well said, Klobird. I agree 100%!!

[kitsune]

Megan1976, I really don't see the point to this post. We are here to support each other, not tear each other down.

[Sita]

I'll go first so you know what I'm talking about. These could be anything. Thoughts, initial reactions, etc. Keep them general and not specific to members so not to offend, but whatever it is must be absolute honesty so a few of you are going to be shocked because nobody is used to this. Here goes! Mine are:

1. Adults complain and whine a lot. So many kids have braces and they survive with no problems! If braces are the worst thing you ever go through, how lucky for you!

2. Ceramic braces are not real braces. I'm sorry. You can say you have braces, but you don't. When they are barely visible and you comment on appearance issues I just roll my eyes. Braces to me are metal.

3. A lot of smartasses on this site. They probably don't mean to come off as know it alls or rude, but they do. Kind of like me now, except some need to hear this!

Ok! That was fun. : )

1. Are you saying only kids are allowed to complain? Have you been to any other dental boards or places like yahoo answers? They're full of teenagers whinging and moaning and complaining. I chose to register here so I could THIS IS SPAM REPORT TO ADMIN THIS IS SPAM REPORT TO ADMIN THIS IS SPAM REPORT TO ADMIN THIS IS SPAM REPORT TO ADMIN with people in my own age group who are going through the same thing I am (or rather will be very soon). Have you ever heard of the word empathy? Or support? Encouragement? Help? That's what the people here are either looking for or giving. And correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that one of the reasons this board is here?

2. Okay, what would you call them then? When every dentist, orthodontist and person who has them calls them braces?

3. Haven't seen any smartasses myself. Granted I haven't been here long and haven't read every post on the site but I've seen nothing but support and helpfulness.

4. Glad you had fun but just because you added a ': )' doesn't make your post friendly. If you are unhappy with the way people are here then maybe this isn't the site for you.

[Breel]

Ditto Klobird!!

[chainreaction]

(Initial reaction )...ceramic braces are braces ..take a look at my pics and tell me if you "notice" them ...they actualy stick out farther than metal brackets and because of that probably hurt my mouth more than metal braces hurt ...this site is about sharing experiences..with people who are going thru the same things ..and newcomers who want to know what they might expect ..so I think alot of us go into more detail of what and how we feel ...also I think it's a place to vent with others like ourselves ...another note about ceramics.... when someone sees a mouth full of metal ,they know that you have braces ..with ceramics sometimes it looks like food is stuck or misshaped teeth..speak your mind ..that's fine ...this isn't a place to be judgmental.....(blunt honesty).

[chainreaction]

OH ...by the way ..I have ceramic and metal braces....

[sea54change]

Standing ovation for what Klobird said!

Megan1976
I did some research. And this is definately not meant as an attack on you. Just some information that I've gleaned from your past 11 posts.

It appears that you are a fairly recent member of this site. It also appears that your brace date is in the near future? It also appears that you do have empathy for others based on some of your replies.

I'm just curious as to what the need is to make negative genralizations of a community composed of so many individuals who have so many different stories and experiences that they are willing to share on a public forum?

[sirwired]

Don't feed the troll. Move along... nothing to see here.

(EDIT: I had a "real" reply all typed up for this post... let me tell you, it was a masterwork of snark, sarcasm, and even a geeky reference to the alloy from which was forged the One Ring. But then I realized, this kind of trolling should not be encouraged with counter-insults, so you are sadly left with the two-sentence reply above. I shall try and work my LOTR reference in a future post, so it won't go to waste. )

[JennyLaughs]

^ Lol

[bbsadmin]

Ceramic braces certainly are real braces. I had them for 3 years.

I don't appreciate your comments, Megan1976. You are being very rude to everyone. You complain about people being "smartass" and indeed there are one or two occasionally on this message board, but now I think you can count yourself among them.

One more outburst like that, offending everyone including me, and you will be banned from this website.