[Jack_]

Originally Posted by Z

Yeah I had them for about a year and a half when I was like 14/15. I didn't even think I needed them but my mum's always been self conscious about her teeth and she was determined that I was going to get them so I'd have nice teeth... even though IMO I always had good teeth, just a slight overbite on one side seemed totally pointless to me and then at my last appointment (I was on the retainer stage) the orthodontist was like "okay well just keep wearing this for life" and I'm like are you for real? This thing is gross as **** (I had the gum guard style retainer) I'm not wearing this every night for the rest of my life! So now my teeth are back to the way they were before (i.e. barely any difference at all), totally pointless

That's exactly what happened to me

I had mine while I was 14/15 and I ****ing hated them and I'd be in a bad mood for about two days every time they were tightened cause the pain in my jaw was unbearable :/ I never wanted them in the first place but my mum basically told me I was having them so I went along with it and was so glad when they were taken off, I was kinda glad I had them in the end cause it did make a notable difference but I wasn't that unhappy with how my teeth were in the first place

But yeah, she was like to me on my last appointment 'now you'll just have to wear these retainers each night while you sleep forever' and I gave them two weeks and thought **** this, they're uncomfortable and gross so there's no way I'm wearing them for life. Since then my teeth have kinda gone back, not to the state they were pre-braces but they've definitely changed so I feel like the whole process was pointless and I'm pissed because if I'd have known it wasn't just a two year process and actually I'd have had to have kept wearing something for life to keep the changes in place I would NEVER have got braces in the first place