Anyone had braces as an adult?

[aliphil]

I have crooked bottom teeth, a couple at the top where the adult ones never came through properly, a gap between the top front two, and an overbite. I saw the hygienist this morning and once she'd finished the usual deep clean, she suggested orthodontics. I was supposed to have them as a teenager but then I left school and couldn't afford it so it never happened. I'm not sure we can afford it now but I'm probably going to look into it.

So please share your experiences as a braces-wearing adult. Has it been worth it? Was it very painful? What can't you eat? I'm not so worried about how it would look, more about not being able to eat what I want, getting food caught in them because I'm not that good at getting my teeth really clean now , and having to clean them more often because cleaning my teeth is probably the thing I hate most in the world.

I had them three years ago at the age of 45. This was due to one of my top front tooth gradually overlapping on the other making me very self-conscious.

I won't lie, it really hated it in every way. Firstly, I had to have two teeth taken out to make room, leaving me with two big gaps. I had the white braces and supposed transparent thread, but still it made me look like a baboon. I have a job in management when I get to meet new people all the time, so it was hard not to feel self-conscious.

I also hated the appointments, the pulling and pushing, one time, the assistant's hand slipped and she scratched my gum quite a bit making me bleed, and of course, the pain after each visit at the beginning, the restriction with eating... You can't eat anything hard -although you do become a bit more daring after a while!-, needing to clean your teeth all the time -you DO become very good at it and you get used to it even if you don't like it-

Would I do it again? Yes, yes and yes!! It was amazing when the braces came off and I could smile again with no self-consciousness at all. Worth all the pain and trouble. It's been three years, a wire was set at the back of my teeth and I did have to sleep with my retainers for a year, but I can say that there's been no movement since, still well aligned.