When you first saw your brace what did you think?

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descantus
Posts: 150
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When you first saw your brace what did you think?

#1 Post by descantus »

I'll be getting my top brace fitted tomorrow morning (ceramic) and whist i'm not exactly expecting to feel happy when I first see it, i'll be hoping to feel that it's not so bad that i'll eventually get used to it. Really worried though that i'll loathe it on site and skip work to go back home and hide/sulk for the rest of the day.

How did you feel when you first saw your brace? Did your feelings towards it change over time? And has anyone actually liked the look of it from the start?

Thanks, Discantus

jxds
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#2 Post by jxds »

Certainly, it was a shock when I first saw my new full metal smile... I didn't want to see anybody and for a few days I was extremely self-conscious. However, I got used to the new metal look pretty quickly and now it does not worry me at all. On the contrary, I think I smile and show my teeth now that before getting them. It might sound strange but I think it's a pretty common process -from the initial shock to actually feeling good with braces-. It just takes some time but don't worry!

betterlatethannever
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:52 am

#3 Post by betterlatethannever »

The biggest shock for me (ceramic upper/metal lower) was the bulkiness. I imagined they would feel like my teeth had something on them, but I really wasn't prepared for how much depth they added. When I first looked in the mirror, I was trying to figure out what to do with my lips. They let me take a peek before they added the wires and ligs so they were particularly 'rough' at that time.

I'm still a bit self conscious about them 2.5 months later, but still people claim they don't notice them. I figure all people must not be 'teeth' people. I always noticed people in braces, but that is because I always wanted them.

Oh, and I'm not sure if you are male or female, but lipstick is a problem. No need for colored ligs because my lipstick seems to tint them until I brush. :lol:

Good luck,
Carlette

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bb
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#4 Post by bb »

I hated how I looked and thought I looked ugly!! I tried to smile with my mouth closed and covered up my mouth when I laughed but my friends convinced me that that looked terrible and that my smile with braces was not that bad. After a few days I got used to it a bit more and after 2 weeks I barely cared. Now a month later, I don't care at all.
You're having ceramics so I imagine the difference will be more subtle than the mouthful of metal that I had to get used to.
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Toni
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#5 Post by Toni »

The very first time I saw them, at the Orthos's office right after they put them on was a bit of a shock I guess. My most prominate thought was, "wow, my teeth are really crooked" because the brackets didn't line up nicely across my teeth as I guess I expected that they would.

I don't think that they make me look particuarly ugly or odd and I could really care less what other people think of them.

I don't bother to try and hide them at all, in fact I'm kinda proud of myself for going through with it at my age. :)
**Brace Day was September 22 - Ouch!**
**Member of the AW TADA club**

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Grutty
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#6 Post by Grutty »

My first thought was that the braces didnt look anywhere near as bad as I thought they would. I have clear Inspire Ice brackets, and I liked the way they looked right from the start. I think they are better looking than my teeth! :lol:

I am still a little self conscious about smiling, but only because my top lip still gets caught on my bracket when I try to close my lips. I dont think anyone notices it as much as I do though.
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Courtney
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#7 Post by Courtney »

I like how I look with braces. I got them on in the morning sometime in June, and then went for a doctor’s appointment and to the mall. I smiled as I went and was completely thrilled. I have metal brackets and wires, so it’s not like they’re invisible. I figure – I’m taking this step to improve my health and appearance (my jaw problems made it impossible to chew food properly which led to stomach upset, nausea and digestive issues), so I might as well show them off. I actually give open mouth smiles more often now than when I was brace-free.

I’m fascinated with how my teeth looked before and how they look now, just over 5 months into my treatment. My ortho actually brings the mold of my teeth before braces out every visit, because it makes him laugh to see how much joy I get out of the differences. I love checking every couple weeks and seeing that my teeth are shifting and moving to where they should. Everything is moving so rapidly that I can actually see differences. I love that.

Like I told my ortho today, if it wasn’t for the spurts of pain every so often, I’d love having braces. They haven’t affected my life in the least, and every day, I get people coming up to me and telling me how brave I am for going ahead with braces as an adult. The only problem I ever had was at the beginning, when they went on. I have a really strong gag reflex, and that constant feeling that my mouth was full had me gagging the entire day after I had them put on. Otherwise, I’m happy with my decision and I love looking in the mirror.

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fooforever
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#8 Post by fooforever »

It was more the shock of feeling my braces when I first had them put in. I did feel a bit self conscious but after a while I got use to it. Now I quite like the look of my braces and they feel good now. I am not self conscious at all now I am use to everything. I also open smile more, which I think is a good thing because I did not have the confidence before. First off you will notice them allot more but one you get use to them others will and they will be the ones making the big deal out of every thing.
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jjjmac
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#9 Post by jjjmac »

> Toni wrote:
> The very first time I saw them, at the Orthos's office right after they put them on was a bit of a shock I guess. My most prominate thought was, "wow, my teeth are really crooked" because the brackets didn't line up nicely across my teeth as I guess I expected that they would.

I had this realization too! I always knew my teeth were really crooked, but it wasn't until they took all those close-up pictures and molds and put the brackets on that I saw exactly how crooked they are.

I have sectional braces on right now, so my four front teeth top and bottom are not braced. I think it will make a big difference when they are (about 6 months down the line?) because as it is now, most people can't tell I have braces. Once I'm fully braced, I know it's going to be difficult to get my lips to cover my teeth with the brackets, but I hope I get used to it and it doesn't take too long! (I have all metal).

I don't like how they look, but I don't like how my teeth looked without them either. I hid my smile before and I still do it now... so not much difference overall really. Since my teeth are very noticeabley crooked, I feel a little better on those times I can't completely hide my smile - because at least people can see I'm doing something to fix my teeth. :-/
First Ortho Consult: 6/12/08
4 premolars extracted: 11/4/08
Braced Upper & Lower w/TPA: 11/6/08
Debraced: 11/18/10

together
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Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:32 pm

#10 Post by together »

I was surprised by the sensation. I didn't expect the depth either.

When I first looked in the mirror, I saw the thirteen year old me again. I thought I no longer resembled her but something about braces makes me see a resemblance.

bbsadmin
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#11 Post by bbsadmin »

I looked in the mirror and thought, "Wow, I didn't chicken out! I did it! Hey, I look kinda cute with these things on!" They made me look a lot younger, IMO! :wink:
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!

uncdl
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Re: When you first saw your brace what did you think?

#12 Post by uncdl »

I will admit that I cried for hours. I seem to take this harder than most people and I sincerely hope you do much better! Good luck!
Ceramics on top on 4/03/08
Metal on bottom on 4/03/08

Dovechild20
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#13 Post by Dovechild20 »

I thought that I looked nice actually. They werent as bulky as I was expected, but they sure were tight fitting, lol. I spend the entire day making hubby laugh with my "me as a teenaged girl" impressions. :wink:

CuriosityAndTheFeline
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#14 Post by CuriosityAndTheFeline »

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iBorg
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#15 Post by iBorg »

My first thought was "what the ..... have I done." Then how many months until they're off? That evolved into "When can I get these things off?" Never had th guts to call.

In about two weeks I was proud of my decision and thrilled to see the results.

Mike
I wore braces (this time) for 1294 days or 3 years, 6 months and 17 days.
But who's counting?
Jaw Surgery June 1, 2009
Thanks for praying for me and thinking happy thoughts.

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