John from Birmingham, UK

I am 52 years of age and had my braces fitted yesterday. I had part of a brace fitted when I was a young teenager but couldn’t stand it and agreed with my parents to have it taken off. I have regretted that decision for nearly 40 years. Over the past year or so my protruding front teeth have started to cross over. I spoke to my dentist who advised that I saw an orthodontist. I saw him at our local hospital and decided to go ahead and stick with it this time.

The braces took 45 minutes to fit and the treatment was painless. I have ceramics on the front top and bottom teeth with metal on the back teeth. So far so good. I was able to eat a fairly normal meal last night of chicken potatoes and carrots. I also managed to sleep O.K although I did wake up a couple of times and feel this alien object in my mouth.

Today I have come to work for the first time and I am feeling very self conscious. I am a Finance Director of a large company and therefore a lot of eyes are on me. Next week I am speaking to nearly 1000 colleagues so this is quite a challenge for me. I have to have two teeth extracted next month and then the treatment can really start.

Because the teeth need to be removed the orthodontist has put on a light arch wire so I have no pain at this stage. Already I am getting used to the brace and so far I have not needed the wax that I was given.