I'm a 22 y/o female from Manitoba, Canada aand.. today I got braces. My main reason for getting them was cosmetic, so originally I was going to go the cosmetic dentistry route and just get veneers stuck on to cover up the crooked spots. However, after discussing it with my dentist (who also happens to be my boss... wow, working at a dental office has it's perks!) he told me that my bite is off and that my gum is receeding slightly, either from brushing too roughly or from the face that my teeth keep hitting together (something along those lines at least.. I'm not going to lie, my mind definitely wandered to a vision of me with a toothless mouth as soon as I heard the word 'receeding').
I have never been so nervous (socially) in my entire life. My close friends (upon bringing this subject to their attention) have been nothing but supportive, the majority of them having gone through ortho treatment at one time or another in their lives. However, I'm nervous about introducing my new smile to the friends that I'm not as close with, and even more nervous about showing it to the guy that I'm seeing right now. We've only been dating for around two months, so it's really the make or break time. While I realize that if he loses interest over something as petty as me getting braces he obviously isn't worth it, it still makes me a bit nervous. We're seeing eachother this coming Thursday (which gives me two days to get used to the braces on my own), so we'll see what happens. If he doesn't end up minding them (liking them, even?), that'll open up a whole new drawer of questions that I'll have to ask you more experienced braces-wearers
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Very much looking forward to meeting you all!