Braces experiences?

[Drawdler]

I got my braces in last week and I figured I would ask you guys on TBT, ever had them? Known people with them? Heard much about the experience, or had any notable experiences with them?

And if anyone is squeamish about teeth it might be better to avoid this topic or my posts here haha. I won’t try to say anything inappropriate or overly descriptive but I am gonna say… it’s certainly an experience wearing braces.

I can already feel little clicks! I also have metal rings around two of my bottom molars, and the first day one of them was on too high and scraped my upper molar a bit, so I had to get it replaced the next day. Much comfier since then and honestly there hasn’t been any other major pain unless I was chewing. And chewing is okay now. Flossing absolutely sucks though and hurt somewhat for a few days. I’m not used to brushing without messing up my bristles either but it’s not too bad. For now I only have braces on my top teeth because they have to move into a better position before the bottom braces will fit. I have an overbite so I would end up biting into the bottom braces right now.

 

[nightglow]

I had them but I didn't want them. And for me, it felt like a waste of money. I know for others it may not be though.

 

[Beanz]

i have had metal braces for over a year and im almost done, im so grateful that i got them because my teeth and jaw alignment were terrible before. i had an overbite + overcrowding so i had to get four teeth pulled, and my orthodontist said that i was eligible for jaw surgery bc my lower jaw is smaller/underdeveloped but i said no because that sounds scary

 

[Croconaw]

No, but I’m certain I needed them. I have dental implants, though. My gums were shaved at the top after the extractions and I had an overbite. I’ve been happier because of the implants. People do judge you for your teeth and it’s nice not having to cover my mouth when I speak.

 

[Aquilla]

I had braces for approx two years when I was a teen. Before that I had to wear a retainer thingy at night for agessss to make room for the braces - my teeth were WILD. I'm glad I had them, I actually preferred them over the night retainer thing. I hated when they swapped the wires for stronger ones, it hurt so bad for a few days every time - as if someone had punched me in the face. My teeth are really really good now though, my friends always joke that I have a toothpaste advert smile so I guess it was worth it :>

 

[Violet Witch]

I had braces at 13 but it wasn't a pleasant experience at all, first off my orthodontist was obsessed with jawlines and wanted to push my bottom jaw forward so I'd have a bottom overbite rather than a top overbite. Then he glued in my braces (they were plastic and not the traditional "train track" braces) but after a year or so I managed to push the bottom brace off my teeth so it wouldn't reset my jaw. It did push back my top teeth but my bottom teeth were completely messed up from being inside a plastic mould for a year. After my braces were "officially" taken off I was meant to go back for more treatment but I refused. Sadly my teeth aren't perfect but they're not horrific either, however I dread to think how much it would cost me today if I wanted to get them fixed alongside the length of time it would take considering my age etc.

 

[Oblivia]

Yes, twice! I had standard metal braces for a year when I was 10, but my bottom teeth kinda uniformly shifted to the right over the years despite wearing my retainers religiously. I decided to seek an opinion from an orthodontist after the asymmetry was mentioned to me by my dentist. Thankfully the orthodontist she recommended was the coolest guy ever, and after talking through my options, I decided to go with Invisalign even though it was more expensive and fully out of pocket. This was back in August 2019 and I finished in May 2021.

I will say that the process was a LOT more painful as an adult, and there were days when the ache throughout my entire mouth and jaw made me question if it was even worth it, plus it was super awkward being (usually) the only adult patient in the clinic with everyone else being in high school or younger. I'm glad I stuck it out, though, and the end result honestly couldn't be much better.

 

[Foreverfox]

I had braces between 3rd and 4th grade on my top middle 4 teeth for a huge overbite. I had to wear a night brace that felt like the bars of a football helmet and I had a palette expander. That thing was awful.

Haha, so, I had the only option available in the early-mid 90s, metal braces, and I remember I went to the orthodontist in October and I thought, “Oh, I’ll get black and orange bands for Halloween!” Bad move. I didn’t go back to the orthodontist until like FEBRUARY. So not only did I have Halloween colors forever, all my plans for red and green for Christmas, light blue and dark blue or white for snow/winter, and pink and red for Valentine’s Day went down the toilet.

After I had them off, I had a retainer for about a year. I was that odd kid with braces because I remember being sooo psyched to get them. Because every girl that was relatively older than me that had braces was pretty, so I thought I’d I got braces I’d be pretty. (Spoiler: I already was pretty )

 

[Tylerhelt14]

I have my braces on right now. they are red colored top and bottom

 

[FaeLeaf]

I had them for the entirety of my high school life. I got them a couple of weeks prior to 9th grade and got them off right before graduation. I hated them. They caused a lot of issues for me like scraping and cutting the inside of my cheeks and side of my tongue. They also add so much bulk to my mouth and were really obvious even with my mouth completely closed.

I am glad my teeth are straighter now though.

 

[Pyoopi]

I had mine for four years, all of middle school and a little bit in highschool. I also was a flutest and getting used to feeling of the braces pushed up against the inside of my lips was difficult. Each time they tightened them, I had to really adjust quickly which is hard when your gums are so sore.

Then I even got those little rubber bands for my molars and even my front teeth which is already mortifying enough. I remember it was such a hassle to eat, had to take them off, put them back on and carry a little baggy of extras because they'd snap occasionally.

My orthodontists were really nice and I didn't mind picking out the colors of the bands. I remember that the most.

 

[QueenCobra]

I had braces when I was 12-14 years old, so a year and a half. I remember being in excruciating pain after I first got them, so I just ate Wendy's ice cream and played a lot of Mario Kart Wii.

(They were light-blue and kind of cute.)

I didn't have any issues with them, except for the time I ate a big apple slice at Costco (it was a sample) and broke a wire. I got it fixed, but since it was on a weekend, I had to wait until Monday to see my orthodontist....

When they removed them, my teeth felt sort of slimy, but overall it was a feeling of relief!

 

[digimon]

i had them! and i think i had them for a little over 4 years. i always chose the same colours for the bands that would go on the metal brackets. (purple or teal, depending on what was available) i still have a bit of an overbite. but that always had more to do with my jaw alignment. i remember before the braces were put on, i had to have this triangle shaped metal implant places in my mouth to try and teach my tongue not to push up against my front teeth. the moment it was taken out, i went right back to my old ways tho my retainer helps push my front teeth back and relieves the pressure from my tongue, but honestly i've gotten kinda lazy with wearing my retainer over the years...

i definitely don't miss the inside of my cheeks being cut up from the metal brackets i still have discolouration/scarring on the inside of my cheeks from that!

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I had braces in high school (and a tiny bit at the beginning of college). I was already a really awkward looking kid in high school and braces made it way worse. They made my lips puff out sooo much.

I don't think I was ever given a retainer, only a nightguard which I could not stand to wear. So now my very back molars at the top have shifted back, and one of my bottom teeth has shifted wildly as well. The dentist I went to recently very hesitantly asked me if I wanted to get braces again and after thinking about it for a while, I was like heck no. He understood because he hated having braces too!

Hopefully my teeth won't shift much more than this but even if they do... I just can't again.

 

[Kamex]

I had braces for two years. I liked choosing the color bands for them, and I'm glad that they aligned my teeth. However, I HATED flossing with braces because it was so time-consuming. I also had trouble chewing hard candies like Skittles and they'd occasionally scrape the sides of my mouth, so I was glad when I got them removed. After that, I wore a retainer for about a year and while my teeth aren't perfect, I'm still satisfied with the results I got.

 

[Kitsuragi]

do braces really hurt getting on? i have severe overcrowding of my top row of teeth (my front two teeth literally make a V towards each other) but now im hesitant after reading people here say they hurt.

 

[uwuzumakii]

I had braces for four years from third grade to seventh grade and it was not something I remember positively. Overall, they helped since my teeth, especially my front teeth, were quite crooked and thanks to braces they're straight for the most part. They were still such a pain because I had to put in those rubber bands constantly and then when that wasn't working they put some kind of metal spring which also ended up not working. I was originally only supposed to have them in for about two years but every time we went in, they just told us, "Let's wait and see how they look next time you come in" and they told me that for two more years until my parents finally let me get them taken out. I have mixed feelings about braces since, on the one hand, they did genuinely help my teeth and jaw which would've otherwise developed in such a way that would've made for much greater complications down the road but on the other, I really hate the emphasis placed on having completely straight, pearly-white teeth in America. I've never met a single person in my entire life who was born with straight, white teeth, so to have this industry that promotes the Hollywood ideal of having teeth like that and charge people tens of thousands of dollars to achieve it is very sinister. There were also quite a few upsetting events related to me having braces but weren't directly caused by it.

 

[oath2order]

I had braces for four years from third grade to seventh grade and it was not something I remember positively. Overall, they helped since my teeth, especially my front teeth, were quite crooked and thanks to braces they're straight for the most part. They were still such a pain because I had to put in those rubber bands constantly and then when that wasn't working they put some kind of metal spring which also ended up not working. I was originally only supposed to have them in for about two years but every time we went in, they just told us, "Let's wait and see how they look next time you come in" and they told me that for two more years until my parents finally let me get them taken out. I have mixed feelings about braces since, on the one hand, they did genuinely help my teeth and jaw which would've otherwise developed in such a way that would've made for much greater complications down the road but on the other, I really hate the emphasis placed on having completely straight, pearly-white teeth in America. I've never met a single person in my entire life who was born with straight, white teeth, so to have this industry that promotes the Hollywood ideal of having teeth like that and charge people tens of thousands of dollars to achieve it is very sinister. There were also quite a few upsetting events related to me having braces but weren't directly caused by it.

I had them until fifth or sixth grade.

I ****ing hated them. Was the metal spring like, on the roof of your mouth?

And I had the same feeling! I am absolutely convinced that my teeth were straight enough and that they just wanted to keep them in longer for more money. Dentristy is a scam, imo. Invest more money into regrowing enamel, god damn.

They gave me a retainer but I was so disgusted by it. It was so gross! And I stopped wearing it. my bottom front two teeth went back to being slightly crooked. I did have either an overbite or underbite (cannot remember which) and that didn't come back, so at least there's that.

 

[Mairmalade]

I had them when I was in middle school, but I didn't take care of them properly at the time (I wish I would have waited a few years). I don't remember why I needed them exactly - I think it was because some of my bottom teeth weren't aligned properly.

The brackets were the worst because I had to go to the office to get them fixed at least once per month. I also had to get some kind of plate on the roof of my mouth for a while. I thought my teeth were going to be ripped out because of how stubborn it was when it was removed.

Not all progress has been lost over the years, but not keeping up with the mouthguard immediately after was a huge mistake lol.

 

[EpicGamer12]

I should have gotten braces as a kid, but my family didn't have enough money. Now that I am older and have money to take care of it, I am having a hard time actually going ahead with it. Not only is it a huge financial investment, it's impossible to know whether it will actually be worth it, and whether the orthodontists are being honest with the needed treatment.