It does help hearing the experiences of others. I agree that most
folks don't make much of my wearing braces, but I am always
aware of them and so they "feel" much more obvious than they
really are. I envy the fact that you had no pain. My teeth feel fine,
but I already have scars on the inside of my cheeks and I have
only been in braces for a bit over 2 months. Even using wax does
not always seem to help. Ah well. I just keep looking toward the
future. I know that this, too, shall pass and will hopefully be worth
it.

--- In adultswithbraces@yahoogroups.com, "engtech86"
<engtech86@y...> wrote:
>
> 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.
>