I will never forget that feeling when I walked out of the orthodontist surgery for the first time with my new braces on, as soon as I hit outside I felt this giant invisible digital clock starting to tick down………..2 years and counting and I felt great.  No more waiting, no more will I / won’t I?  This was it, at 38 years of age I had finally done it.  I got my uppers put on back in January and my lowers in May (all metal because I like my red wine, curries, etc and didn’t want to be concerned about staining the ceramics).  Pain wise it has been great, just the usual gum tears, temporary sensitive teeth, etc. but any discomfort is short-lived.  I have bite turbos also to correct my overbite and have no problems with them.  

The push for me to get braces started when we decided that our 15 year old daughter should get braces – as it turned out we got them on the same day straight after each other.  It was great to be able to experience it together.  Neither of us found the spacers to be sore at all – just a little annoying.  It’s definitely more uncomfortable getting used to having lowers as well as uppers but again short-lived discomfort.

The reaction from other adults has been great.  Lots of praise and encouragement and it’s amazing how many adults have told me that they too had been thinking about getting braces.  An old friend of mine is going to start the ball rolling because after seeing me recently she decided that she was going to go for it.  For adults, it really is the snow ball effect because I was encouraged last year when another friend said she was going to get braces.

Two positive side effects for me so far is that I have lost about 7lbs and after a lifetime struggling with nail biting, I have finally kicked the habit.  

I really look forward to the day they come off and just can’t imagine not being conscious of my teeth anymore.  I love to laugh and knowing that I will be able to do so without wishing I had better teeth is going to be the best.  Roll on January 2007!