I am 31 years old and desperately wanted braces for some time now. My parents weren't able to afford it when I was younger, so I just had to grin and bear it. But now I was finally in a position to be able to afford it, so I took the plunge. 

First, I have an extremely narrow mouth with large teeth. I had to go to an oral surgeon and have 8 teeth extracted! My four wisdom teeth had to be removed as well as my top and bottom premolars. I was mortified! I thought I was going to look like a toothless monster! A couple of weeks after the surgery, I had to get a few fillings taken care of. Then the orthodontist put spacers on the top to make room for the bands. That really wasn't too bad of an experience for me.

After having 8 teeth pulled, everything else was a walk in the park!! After that, I had to have a palate expander put in, which I will have taken out in July. Yesterday, I finally got my bottom braces put on. It really wasn't that bad at first. I couldn't even feel the brackets going on. The assistant put the wires on with ease and I again felt no pain. When I looked in the mirror, I felt like a lot of people. My brackets were all over the place. I looked like that one guy on the old James Bond movies! I think his name is Jaws. The assistant reassured me this would change very soon. 

Then I got home. About an hour later, my mouth felt like I got hit by a truck. Some of my teeth even felt loose already. I took some Ibuprofen and it helped for awhile. I ate pudding and spaghetti that day, and brushing and flossing weren't too bad. But I think Tylenol or Advil will be my friend for awhile. I think anybody wanting to do this should do it. I know it will be well worth it in the end. Good luck to everyone else going through the same thing!!