When I was thinking about getting braces, I went to the Internet to
learn what to expect. The impression I got from lists such as this
(although this was probably the best one) was quite different that my
actual experience, so I wanted to write about it. I am a 40 year old
male, who just got his braces off after close to 4 years in them.
Four years is a long time, my ortho wanted to do surgery and I refused
it, so that gave me a longer sentence. He figured that is probably the
longest he has ever had anybody in braces. I would take that route
again as my results are excellent.

I was very concerned about how I would look in braces and what people
would think. Don't be. Most people did not even notice I got them, or
didn't react. Some of my close friends asked me why I got them, but no
negative comments or looks. I had one friend ask me when I got
contact lenses. I had been wearing contacts for over a year, and I
had to point out the braces. Since then I have asked some of them
what their initial reaction was, and they really felt indifferent
about it. Bottom line, nobody cares about it as much as you do.
Nobody noticed when I got them off either, I had to make a big deal
about it to get a reaction out of anybody.

Does it hurt? No. Mine didn't anyway, and I wore chains all the way
across both top and bottom for almost my entire treatment. The spacers
they put in before the braces hurt for a day or two. I also had some
pain when he stopped using the flexible arch wire and put in the
"steel" for the first time. Other than that, almost none. When I got
my ear pierced it was a little sore for a couple of days. I don't
think I ever experienced anything worse than that after an adjustment.

Elastics suck for the first few weeks, and then you get used to them.
I wore them 24/7 for almost three years. Now I am having trouble
getting used to not having them.

Don't waste your money on clear brackets. When I see them, I see
braces with clear brackets. You're not fooling anybody. I had the
regular steel ones, but I think I was the only adult in my ortho's
office that did. Everyone I talked to complained about them staining
easily. The receptionist got her clear brackets the same day I got my
braces. A couple of months later she had steel as well. She told me
she stained them quite badly and had the ortho change them. She said
the steel ones were far more comfortable. Maybe that's why I didn't
have any discomfort!

That list of "things you can't eat"? Forget about it. My ortho told
me that's for irresponsible teens, and that I should just use common
sense. I found nothing I couldn't eat. Sure you might have to adjust
how you bite or chew a little, but just use common sense and you will
have no problems. I even ate peanut brittle. I never had any problem
cleaning anything out, and never broke anything, ever. The only thing
that was difficult is that I never figured out how to bite an apple, I
had to use a knife to cut off chunks.

You probably won't get headgear, but if you do, it's not a big deal. I
had it for one month when stuff wasn't moving the way it should, but
he took it away because it wasn't working either. It looks nasty, but
it really isn't uncomfortable at all. The first night it was hard to
sleep, but after that, no big deal. I was told to never wear it in
public, but I did a couple of times anyway. That gets a reaction! It
was exactly like when I broke my leg. Kids stared, and adults tried
not to. I got a lot of comments like "that looks so uncomfortable, are
you in pain?" "I hope you feel better soon."

That was my experience.