Braces Experience

Pre-braces (in 2011) 

Hello everybody. I wanted to write this post because I recently got my braces off (eeeeeee!!) and I thought it would be fun to kind of document the difference and show you guys before and after and sort of talk you through my experience with braces. This post is also quite different to my usual posts so I hope you like it. I got my braces in September of 2013 and honestly, I've never looked back. I am genuinely so happy that I got braces because it's actually kind of crazy how different my teeth are now compared to back then. I'll insert some pictures so you can see what I mean. 

I had to get braces because I had an overbite and quite a large gap between my two front teeth and ended up having my braces on for 23 months. When you first get your braces on, it's a very weird feeling - obviously, because your mouth isn't used to having metal stuck to your teeth constantly. I found that, at the beginning, I was talking weirdly but (as time went on), you get used to having braces, you talk normally again and, for me, after about a week I could eat normally again. Your orthodontist will give you a list of food and drinks that you should avoid while you have your braces - I did drink fizzy drinks even though they do advise not to, but it had no effect on my braces or teeth. However, I did not go and have chewing gum or foods that would get stuck in my braces, purely because I was too scared to break my braces - I know a lot of people who have broken their braces by having chewing gum etc. and I personally didn't want the hassle of having to go back to the orthodontist to have my braces fixed and risk my orthodontist shouting at me (I'm kind of a wimp, you guys). Although I did drink fizzy drinks during my time with braces, it's super important to continue to make sure you're brushing your teeth properly and thoroughly - which I made sure to do. 

After braces (in August 2015)

Every six or seven weeks, I went back to the orthodontist to get my braces tightened and the brackets changed (you can choose the colour) but I was pretty boring and went for pink or purple every single time. I'm not going to lie though, this was only because I couldn't remember what colours they had to choose from and they asked me while I was in the process of getting my braces tightened. When you get your braces tightened, it might hurt for a few days after but I actually found that after about two times of getting them tightened, I didn't find it painful at all and I was pretty comfortable with the whole experience. 

In October 2014, after 13 months of having braces, I had to have elastics on my braces (basically little elastic bands that you hook around the brackets that your orthodontist tells you to - I won't go into too much detail because other people might have different ways that they wear their elastics) and I had those until May 2015. I feel like a lot of people complain about having to wear elastic bands on their braces and make out that it's super painful, but I honestly don't think it was that bad - yes, it was annoying having to put them in all the time but not painful. 

Then, finally in July 2015 I went for my orthodontist appointment and he told me that the gaps in my teeth had all closed up and that they had done as much as they could do with my teeth so I would be able to get my braces off the next time I went. Fast forward to August 2015 and I got my braces off, and my retainer the week after (very important if I want to keep my straight teeth!). Overall, I'm so glad that I got braces and I can't really imagine myself without having had my braces.