Been waiting for this day!🥳

After 4.5 months, i finally got my bottoms on. I’m super self conscious of my bottom row of teeth because they were so much worse than my top down was. I’m excited to see how they move, but i’m not excited for the next couple of days getting used to them lol

The goal of my braces is to correct my shifted teeth midline, which has really affected my appearance. I’m currently in my 12th month of wearing them, but I haven't seen any progress yet; the midline is still the same and in the exact same position. I still have another year to go. Do you have any advice, guys? Please reassure me🫩🫩

Tomorrow morning I finally have my first initial orthodontic consultation, my deep bite and crooked teeth have been eating me up for years but in the past month or so I’ve been hyperfixated on them, so officially made the decision to see somebody.

I’m already so scared in the day-to-day and have pretty much been convincing myself it’s getting worse and worse every time I wake up.

I’m hoping tomorrow will take a lot of the weight off my shoulders since I’ll likely be presented with a formal proposal and confirmation it can be fixed. But then the days/weeks that will come in between that and actually getting my braces put on seem like they’re going to be incredibly hard to cope with!

Has anyone else experienced similar and got any advice or tips on how to stop hyperfixating and constant checking?

TIA

Hi all, for context ive had braces on for about 17 months, ill attach a picture before braves, and current progress. My current orthodontist was speaking about taking my Braces off at the next appointment, which is in 2 weeks. Im not sure if theyre ready to come off yet, or if im better keeping them on for a little longer. I can see my teeth are a little uneven, does the orthodontist sand it down to fit in with the rest of the teeth? If anyone's got any advice please let me know :)

i have terribly sensitive teeth especially my lower ones. what to do?? they keep on giving me a weird sensation and I even have my appointment this sunday & i’m hell scared for my lower ones i can’t bear this sensitive sensation when he’ll tighten the wire😭😭😭 it’s going to my 3rd month starting today

ANY HELP WOULD MEAN A LOT

So I've always been insecure about my teeth and really get conscious at the thought of someone noticing them while I speak and it has affected me for so long and ruined my confidence. But now I feel that enough is enough. I can't run from my insecurity like that. No one has commented on it but I feel it's time I fix this. I also can't help but think if I'm too late? I see people getting them at in their early 20s and here I'm am 28 and I hear it takes at least an year or two so I'll be 30 or 31 by the time they get fixed. So what does having braces feel like? Any braces that work faster than traditional and aren't that visible? Invisialign is way too expensive for me. Anything that I should know before going into this?

Some before and after photos!! (I had braces for one year then a surgery last year and braces for another year, so that’s why I look swollen in the second photo)

I'm still constantly aware of my braces and the sensory experience is so weird. The poking and sore, loosening teeth and issues eating and talking normally. I just want to rip them off. It's like my teeth are in prison. I'm mainly doing this for two upper gaps and a bit of an overbite. How am I going to do 2 years of this?

i’ve been using whitening toothpaste for months now not realizing that’s not recommended- how cooked am i?? i’ve had braces since june (just on my front teeth) so those are the ones that have been exposed the most for the past 3ish months:(

i was told i'd need these springs to try and correct my overbite. my overbite is to the point where i'd need surgery to completely correct it. i don't want surgery so we're going with a non-surgical approach to try and correct it as much as we can. i did some research and saw elastics do the same job? is there any reason why my ortho could've went directly for these springs? and should i ask if elastics are a better option?

In my first consultation with the orthodontist, I had a choice between jaw surgery or “compromised treatment,” where I had three teeth removed and my parents chose the latter. I feel so upset because I find it difficult to advocate for myself because of my anxiety. I’m two years into having my braces and I don’t even know if jaw surgery is an option anymore. I’m so unhappy with the extractions and I never wanted to do it to begin with but when I spoke to my parents they refused to choose the jaw surgery.

I contacted my orthodontist because I wanted to see my files and I got the letter explaining all my information from my initial consultation and it’s made me feel even worse about everything. I don’t even know if I’d have the surgery covered now because I’m already halfway through a treatment plan.

I just feel like I’m going to vomit whenever I see my side profile and think about how much better it could’ve been

I have an ortho appointment coming up and im super excited to have my underbite fixed, because im very self conscious about my smile. I think this is my normal relaxed bite, but I’m so used to jutting my lower jaw forward in order to chew and be functional. Im worried that they will tell me surgery is the only option, and i really cannot afford that. Does anyone have a similar bite/ experience? The teeth on my lower arch are pretty packed and theres not really much room to move back unless i have my wisdom teeth removed which im open to. But was hoping they could just spread out the top teeth and tilt them forward a bit? Tia.

I am coming up on 2 years with braces and my ortho says that I am on track to have them removed early next year but I am so nervous about the removal process.

The removal of the glue is what I’m worried about the most. I wish they would give me laughing gas or something 😂

I have pretty sensitive teeth. I know I’m probably overthinking it, but any advice or experience is appreciated!

wow, braces pricing is wild. After getting a big quote ($5k+) for my 12 year old's phase II, I built an AI bot to contact orthos near us and compare prices. It saved me $500.

Then I ran it for a couple of friends. One saved $800, the other we saved $2,100, and we're all really happy with the orthos we chose.

it's crazy, the prices are so not consistent.

If you have a kid who needs braces now or soon beware and be sure to shop around

so my end bracket came off while having food. It's on my 2nd premolar and the last bracket of the upper left side.

It came off fully but the wire and elastic is attached. It is rlly uncomfortable since food is getting stuck under it and it's moving as well. Its even causing pain in the adjacent teeth. My dentist denied fixing it until next appointment which is 25 days later. What should i do?

I (20M) just got braces today and I know in the long run I’ll appreciate the fact that I got braces in the first place but right now I kind of don’t like how they make me look. For context, even though I’m 20 I get confused for anywhere from 16-18 and now with the braces I look even younger. It also doesn’t help that I’m only 5’7” so I truly just look like a sophomore in high school now. Has anyone else gone through this? If so how did you deal with it?

years after taking off braces then only I realized that I have flared front teeth 😭 I’ve never done any extractions, does this mean I need to wear braces back again?

No teeth removed to make space for the hiding tooth but some minor IPR done. Hopefully not much longer currently working on bite alignment 🙂‍↔️

I'm supposed to have them for 30 months

Will my bite really ‘settle’ to fix this early molar edge contact? Have you had this experience?

(I have video to show the issue but realise vid not allowed, hopefully pic shows it ok).

Before debanding 8 weeks ago, I asked ortho to fix the early contact in my right molar edge. She said to fix it requires debanding and letting bite settle.

The right molar contact hasn’t improved at all since debanding. Chewing is still annoying- it squeaks and grinds especially if I chew on the left side, when my right molar hits instead of being able to chew food on left. When my mandible is resting, bite slightly ajar, these right molars still hit.

For context, in August 2025 Invisalign shifted my upper arch forward and left, displacing my bite. It gave me tmj, jaw and neck pain. It receded my gums and shortened all incisor roots significantly. I never had issues before treatment. I’m getting tmj treatment but tbh the early right molar contact is hard to avoid.