Laura from Birmingham, UK

I'm 28 next month, so I decided to set myself a goal - by the time I'm 30, I'm going to have lovely straight teeth - I'm going to have a party and really have something to celebrate! No more crooked teeth!

I sat in my Orthodontists waiting room on Monday just gone chattering away nervously to the receptionist, my stomach was churning! I was filled with a combination of fear and excitement!

Then I got called in - the whole process of fitting the appliance didn't take as long as I thought it would and it wasn't painful at all. I was fully reclined in the chair, I was tempted to shut my eyes and have a nap - probably wouldn't be a good idea though. My Ortho put the lip spreader thingy into my mouth (amazing how wide your mouth can open!) and then popped a few bits of cotton wool in - which for me was the worst part, cotton wool between the teeth is not a nice sensation. Then, we were away - he cleaned and dried my teeth, then three-at-a-time blobbed on the glue and stuck on my ceramic brackets, each time setting them with a blue light - top and bottom. I chose to have the coated archwire which is basically tooth coloured, and clear ligatures. It was the strangest feeling when he took away the lip spreader, and I felt my braces for the first time - they felt HUGE!! My Ortho offered me the mirror "No thankth" I Iisped! At that moment, I could have cried.

The nurse took me into a nice little room and had a chat with me about cleaning the braces and about foods and drinks to avoid - then she put on a short film for me to sit and watch - I think it was more aimed towards kids, which didnt make me feel too great. There was a mirror in the room, and this is where I had my first glimpse of me! In braces! It didnt look too bad actually!

That night, I didn't sleep too well - I woke in the middle of the night with a dull ache around all my teeth. In the morning, I had some porridge (mmm...soft), took a couple of ibuprofen and I was ok again.
I'm on day four now, the aching isn't too bad at all - and when I do feel it, I dont mind because I think that means its working and my teeth are moving, and gradually turning into the smile I want. I'm still eating soft food, its still a bit too sensitive to chew. Today was my first day back in work - everyone knew I was getiing it done so when I walked in, they all called "lets have a look then...........oh go on!" and I showed them! Everyone was fascinated for the first 10 minutes, then it was all back to normal! Why was I so worried about going back to work??!!