Oh god, just got them on today, oh god oh man oh god

[Alee]

Hello Val, I'm 32 and in my 10th week of braces, I wanted braces for so long, since I was about 12. Then when finally I got them, i thought OMG, what have I done.? I thought someone at my age has no business getting braces, my ortho office is full of teens every time I go in. And the braces felt big, awkward, and eating was uncomfortable, but hey I lost 5 pds in those first few weeks! Now I'm used to the braces, it just feels like a part of me, eating got easier, and if ppl want to stare, then let them bc I'm doing something for me to better my looks, confidence, and health. Believe me when you start to see changes, all that doubt will go right out the door. I watched a lot of braces time lapse videos and just seeing someone elses end result made me feel better! Just think in a few yrs you will have perfectly straight beautiful teeth!

[jean001]

I get my first adjustment today... so I'm a little nervousness about that. The day I got them pain wan't that bad but I will say it came as sort of a shock. I was like they aren't bothering me too much and later that night I went to eat and realized what everyone was taking about. I told my husband "I can't eat... all my teeth hurt". After a few days of eating soft foods that you don't have to chew it got better.

As for Invisalign... my ortho said it wan't as good and it was very limited in what it can do. He said it wouldn't work for me because of my bite being off.

[Valiere]

I'm just wondering why not all clear brackets, they are virtually invisible to me. I had seen people around town with them and didn't even realize they are actual braces.

Some orthos don't offer all-clear brackets. I think the justification is the clear (AKA ceramic) ones are more vulnerable to breakage, so they leave them off the bottom teeth, which you're more likely to bite into.

Of course, that probably doesn't matter for me, since they put that blue stuff in that makes it so my teeth don't touch.

And I don't think the visibility of the bracket much matters when the wire itself is still metal. My ortho said we don't have a reliable white/clear wire yet -- the color on existing ones tends to flake off.


And bmueller, thanks for the links! I was aware of the whole attachment business (In fact, the ortho's Invisalign model had some very conspicuous attachments), but I'm hoping I don't need to get elastics. As far as I know, I don't have bite problems.

I'm hoping I can talk them into beveling the attachments if they go on my front teeth.

[isthistaken]

I'm just wondering why not all clear brackets, they are virtually invisible to me. I had seen people around town with them and didn't even realize they are actual braces.

Some orthos don't offer all-clear brackets. I think the justification is the clear (AKA ceramic) ones are more vulnerable to breakage, so they leave them off the bottom teeth, which you're more likely to bite into.

Of course, that probably doesn't matter for me, since they put that blue stuff in that makes it so my teeth don't touch.

And I don't think the visibility of the bracket much matters when the wire itself is still metal. My ortho said we don't have a reliable white/clear wire yet -- the color on existing ones tends to flake off.


And bmueller, thanks for the links! I was aware of the whole attachment business (In fact, the ortho's Invisalign model had some very conspicuous attachments), but I'm hoping I don't need to get elastics. As far as I know, I don't have bite problems.

I'm hoping I can talk them into beveling the attachments if they go on my front teeth.

My ortho was suggesting clear top and metal on the bottom, or all clear, but I went with all metal for cost and I actually like how they look. I have waited 50 years so I wanted to make a statement.

[jean001]

My ortho was suggesting clear top and metal on the bottom, or all clear, but I went with all metal for cost and I actually like how they look. I have waited 50 years so I wanted to make a statement.

Me too. I'm 46 and figure if I'm going to get braces why not show them. What's funny only one stranger so far has mentioned them. A cashier at the store (who was young) mentioned them because she had had traditional braces and had never seen Damon braces. No one else says a word...lol. Guess they figure it would be rude.

[isthistaken]

My ortho was suggesting clear top and metal on the bottom, or all clear, but I went with all metal for cost and I actually like how they look. I have waited 50 years so I wanted to make a statement.

Me too. I'm 46 and figure if I'm going to get braces why not show them. What's funny only one stranger so far has mentioned them. A cashier at the store (who was young) mentioned them because she had had traditional braces and had never seen Damon braces. No one else says a word...lol. Guess they figure it would be rude.

No one has mentioned mine either. They seem mesmerized though. I have decided they are in shock like seeing a flying pig. I usually am the one who brings it up, like pardon me, it's a bit hard to speak clearly with these braces, or could you suggest something I could order that I could eat with braces, and so on. I'm not sure if they think it's weird that an old lady has braces or that a teenager has so many wrinkles. Either way, they just kind of stare. It doesn't bother me, I think it's funny.

[Valiere]

Welp, I got my braces off, and let me tell you, was that an experience. Every time they removed a bracket, it felt they had shattered my tooth, and they had to spend a ridiculous amount of time with a diamond saw fiinishing off the bits of glue.

I'm almost certainly going to be getting attachments on my front teeth, since those are the ones that need to move most. I'll try to talk the ortho into beveling them nicely and making them discreet. At least for the first few trays, I won't have attachments.

[isthistaken]

Yikes. I had one measly bracket removed and went through the roof.