How I did it: Getting braces as a thirteen-year-old is one thing. Getting them (for the second time) when you are a 24-year-old adult is a totally different story! Serves me right for not wearing my retainer all those years, right?

After years of retainer-less nights, my teeth finally started taking a turn for the worse and I was developing a serious snaggletooth. As a young professional who meets with clients regularly, I was hoping for an Invisalign to avoid a mouth full of metal. I found out that metal braces actually work five times faster than Invisalign and amounts to a fraction of the cost. I had a choice: go into debt to buy an Invisalign which would require two years of treatment, or swallow my pride and go for the traditional braces for four months.

In the end, I opted for the throwback metal braces. I found the experience less excruciating than I anticipated. While I was self conscious in the beginning, I found that most people are very supportive of people who get braces as adults. While it may feel humiliating at times, but sucking it up and getting braces in your post-teen years shows a level of comfort and self-efficacy. (That's what I kept telling myself, at least!) Admittedly, braces are painful and constantly a burden. Contrary to what your orthodontist may tell you, you will NEVER forget that you are wearing metal wires in your mouth! This is okay though, because you will learn to make lifestyle adjustments that make your tenure with braces more bearable. I ate tons of soup and brushed my teeth after every single meal. I must say, my hygiene had never been better...and I lost 5 pounds!

I finally got my braces off yesterday and the results are awesome. I don't regret anything about the experience. If anything, I think my four month stint with braces as an adult taught me to be more confident in myself and my abilities. People may or may not be looking at you weird, but who cares in the end because you are still the same person...only with better teeth.

I now have a permanent inner bottom retainer and a top retainer for nighttime. Let's just say I will now be wearing my retainer religiously. Because having braces twice in a lifetime is more than enough for me.

Lessons & tips: You just have to remember that your time spent wearing braces is small change in the grand scheme of things. Whether you are wearing your braces for two months or two years, for the first time or the second, the benefits are always going to outweigh the sacrifice. I know this will mean nothing to you when you are popping advil to quell the excruciating pain of getting your wires tightened...or when you realize you have a ginormous piece of tomato stuck in your braces from your minestrone at lunch. But trust me--life goes on and the results will be rewarding.

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Jan 16, 2009, 09:38PM PST | 1 comment | 4 cheers