Marc's Story

Here is an interesting account from Marc of growing up with an interest in orthodontia.

My story is that I never got braces as a child nor as an adult, but I remember that I was really jealous to my classmates who got braces and that I was not so lucky to need some. I even asked my dentist if I do not need to get braces for closing the gap between my incisors, but he just made a little cut into the flesh inside of my mouth above the incisors and said, now they will move agains each others and close the gap. And damn it, he was right. The only chance to get braces, was lost, as all my remaining teeth were totally straight, unlike myself! ;-)

I once remember one very hot experience I will never forget my whole life. There have been several guys at my school and in my class who got braces back then in the 70ties and 80ties. And also some few of them got retainers.

Well, to start with the story: One day we had swimming a the sport lesson, but I had got a medical certificate that I can't participate at the swimming lessons this day, because I had an otitis media. So I had to sit at the tribune at the swimming pool watching the others playing waterball. But then I needed to go to the toilet and so I asked for permission and went to the toilets in the locker room. There I saw just by the way, that one of the guys who had got retainers, had taken them out and left them on top of his clothes which he hasn't put inside of one of the lockers. I was already on my way back to the tribune of the swimming hall, when something inside of me pushed me back to go to take these retainers in my hands and to explore their details. Then I went to the room of the showers and long row of lavatoris and washed this retainers and then I put them into my mouth. Logically they didn't fit well, because my set of teeth was different to the one of this guy, but for seconds I felt like a king. I saw myself with this brilliant silvery wire all allong the upper row of my teeth blinking and I felt like floating on a cloud and if having reached the paradise. Also this feeling of the moment when this transparent upper denture disk of these retainers attached to my palatine, was absolutely great. A "first time" like "the first time" everybody else use to remember his whole like. Then I quickly took out these braces of my mouth again and dried them with some toilet paper to pleace them on top of the clothes of this guy again and went back to the tribune. [I remember that my experience with the brace made me physically excited, but I tried my best to hide it from others. ]

At home I was finally thinking about how to make my own retainers and one day I made a mold of my palatine with plaster I found in our cellar. With this mold I have been thinking what to do and finally I soaked it in oil and put on it some plaster again. So finally I have got a "negative mold". Then I arrangemy teeth that were visible when I smile. Finally I tried out several materials for making the mold with the tips of this wire in it. First I used wax of a candle, but It broke at the firstd a wire in my mouth in the way this wire could go through some very nerrow spaces between my teeth going all along the surface of my frontal teeth, so it could be seen at the whole width of  test to fit in these self-made retainers in my mouth. For the second attempt I used glue, but it didn't work either. The glue shrank while drying. Finally I found a plastic that was easy to melt, but caused a terrible stench in the cellar, but this finally worked. So I had my first "retainers". I never could really enjoy them, as I was almost never alone. Just in the bathroom I put them in from time to time, enjoying me a lot to watch myself in the mirror and there have also been some very few occasions, when nobody has been at home, so I could wear this retainers for several hours, smiling into all available mirrors in the house enjoying my "new" look. As they didn't stick so well to my palatine, I often used some toothpaste to fix them.  Not the best option, as there was alwyas present this taste of the toothpaste.

I am not sure, but I think I was about 15 y/o back then and I enjoyed this self-made retainers for years at least I was about 17 y/o or so. Just imagining if there would have been cell phones with cameras back then. I surely would have taken some dozens of mirror selfies with the other guy's retainers in my mouth in this locker room and I surely would have taken hundreds of picture of myself with these self-made retainers in my mouth. But back then nobody even expected that we will once have cell phones and cameras all the time and so there is not a single pic of myself with these retainers. :-(.

Observing Braces

Even for those who have never had braces, they can provide interesting memories. Often friends and acquaintances will undergo orthodontic treatment. Here is a true account of being an observer of braces by one of my readers who goes by the name RUBBERBOOTS,

Me, I've never worn braces, & was pretty much oblivious to them throughout grade school, though I do remember a couple of instances:

There was a kid in my Grade 7 class, his name was John, who had braces with rubber bands. I remember him being playfully harassed by a classmate along the lines of, "How do you like wearing braces? And how about those elastics?" John took a deep breath and replied gently, "Oh yes, I just L-O-V-E my braces." And then, "Yeah, sure, I really L-O-V-E my elastics." In both cases, he deliberately drew out the word "love," extending it over several syllables. His voice was literally dripping with sarcasm.

In high school, the younger brother of a close friend got full metal braces & accompanying headgear. He called it "the works." I saw him around his house frequently in his full regalia, and he also wore it when taking driving lessons at the age of 16. He pretty much took it all in stride, though he complained privately to me on more than one occasion. [Oddly, this kid later became friends with Arthur, the younger brother of John from my first reminiscence.]

For reasons that escape me now, I thought I wanted to become a teacher when I was in my 20's, so I attended teacher's training college for a year. During my practice teaching sessions out in the field, I became much more aware of the proliferation of headgear on junior high & high-school students. I recall a kid slumped in his seat during Grade 9 history class. He looked normal in every other way: lanky build, scruffy hair, clad daily in a t-shirt & blue jeans, but with a cervical headgear perpetually wrapped round his neck. For the 3 weeks I was assigned to the class, he wore it constantly, never once removing it, not even for a moment. His parents must have been very strict. I couldn't help but feel bad for him, even though the expression on his face was inscrutable. I couldn't tell if he were truly depressed, or merely indifferent, or simply being stoic. Maybe it bothered me more than it bothered him?

Now, I never saw him interact much with any of his classmates, not that there was much chance for that in the formal classroom environment. On the other hand, I never saw anyone "razz" him about his appearance, and while he was the only kid in his class in headgear, I remember spotting at least 2 or 3 others in the hallways in full headgear, so he wasn't completely alone. One day, I happened to be seated at the back of the classroom, observing the regular teacher conduct an impromptu class workshop, during which students were encouraged to discuss topical issues informally amongst themselves, each partnered by a classmate or two. During a lull in the proceedings, one rather immature student wearing overalls wandered back to where I was seated and tried to strike up a conversation with me, something I knew I should discourage. "You need to get back to your workshop," I said somewhat sharply. "Who's your partner?" To my amazement, he indicated the kid in the headgear, though he took care to refer to him as "the boy in the blue shirt," without mentioning his orthodontia. How very politically correct of him!

Comments on Braces Envy

I went on Reddit and posted the following question: "Does anyone else secretly wish they had braces on their teeth, or envy another person's braces?"  Here are some of the answers posted:

Comment from discussion DAE secretly wish they had braces on their teeth, or envy another person's braces?.

Comment from discussion DAE secretly wish they had braces on their teeth, or envy another person's braces?.

Comment from discussion DAE secretly wish they had braces on their teeth, or envy another person's braces?.

Comment from discussion DAE secretly wish they had braces on their teeth, or envy another person's braces?.

Personal Braces Story: "Smile and have fun!"

Here's a new reader contribution from the Tell Your Braces Story survey, this time from another anonymous reader:

Have You ever had braces? Yes

BEST AND WORST: What is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about wearing braces? 

Best: seeing my teeth straighten

Worst: flossing

FIRST REACTIONS: What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or a bystander.) 

Smiling widely at them to reveal my own braces

MOST INTENSE TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen? (Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances, length of treatment, etc.) 

A friend had her braces for five years (roughly age 26-31) with a palatal expander, lots of elastics, and orthognathic surgery

COOL BRACES EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable experience involving your braces? What was it? 

I work in a group of people with several brace-faces currently. It's fun to compare notes about our braces 

ADVICE FOR OTHER BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting braces, or thinking about getting braces? 

Smile and have fun! 

Personal Braces Story: " its not always fun but worth it"

Here's another anonymous reader with his braces story.

Have You ever had braces? Yes

BEST AND WORST: What is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about wearing braces? 

best - fixing your teeth.

worst - the pressure.

FIRST REACTIONS: What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or a bystander.)

inquisitive.

MOST INTENSE TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen? (Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances, length of treatment, etc.)

6 years, a friend.

COOL BRACES EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable experience involving your braces? What was it?

being the first to get braces in school and seeing all my friends get the after me.

ADVICE FOR OTHER BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting braces, or thinking about getting braces?

do it. its not always fun but worth it.   

Personal Braces Story: "Never try to hide them"

Here is another contributor, Laura from Denmark, providing a interesting account of her braces experience:

Have You ever had braces?  Yes

BEST AND WORST: What is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about wearing braces? 

The best thing about wearing Braces is, that you can see your teeth getting straight. The worst thing is eating with them or smiling an not knowing, wether there might be still food in them.

FIRST REACTIONS: What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or a bystander.) 

"Foureyes has got a metalmouth" said one of the Boys in my Class, when I had my Braces new. (I was wearing Glasses)

MOST INTENSE TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen? (Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances, length of treatment, etc.) 

Don't know. The Most intense about Braces is, when they are new and you are not yet used to them.

COOL BRACES EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable experience involving your braces? What was it? 

When I was at the Summer Camp in sixth grade, I was in love with a Boy (wich was of course a secret. But when we talked, he confessed, that he is getting Braces too and asked me a lot about how it is to wear them. When we met again he had already his Braces on and he was so cute with them. I wanted to kiss him imidiately. And we did not get stuck with them (as in bad movies).

ADVICE FOR OTHER BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting braces, or thinking about getting braces? 

Never try to hide them, because sooner or later, people will anyway realise, that you have them on.

Personal Braces Story: "its not as bad as you think it is"

Here is another personal braces story from one of my anonymous readers:


Have You ever had braces? Yes

BEST AND WORST: What is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about wearing braces? 

The worst things are definitely, when there was food in the Braces and you couldn't get it out. Best thing is, that you could see your teeth getting straighter.

FIRST REACTIONS: What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or a bystander.) 

My small nephew allways wanted to touch them, when we visited my uncles family

MOST INTENSE TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen? (Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances, length of treatment, etc.) 

I don't know, may be, when I had to wear elastics or actually the first days with them

COOL BRACES EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable experience involving your braces? What was it? 

the one with my nephew.

ADVICE FOR OTHER BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting braces, or thinking about getting braces? 

its not as bad, as you think it is and you will get used to it.

Personal Real Braces Story: "no negatives just all positives"

I've been collecting true personal accounts of braces experiences in the Tell Your Braces Story survey. Thank you for all who have contributed their story. I now have enough to start posting. This account is from one of my readers, jsrjay, who tells about his braces experiences as a kid and an adult.

Have You ever had braces? Yes 

BEST AND WORST: What is the best thing about wearing braces? What is the worst thing about wearing braces? 

The best thing is obviously the final outcome of straight teeth, the worst is the fact of having metal attached to your teeth. From a braces fascination point of view though there are no negatives just all positives.

FIRST REACTIONS: What first reactions to first seeing someone in braces have you experienced? (You could be the one in braces, the one who reacted, or a bystander.) 

I was about 9yrs old when a lad from my class came in late to school one day, he came in wearing braces, this was my 1st time seeing braces and I just thought they looked amazing, I remember all the kids asking him about them, where I just sat admiring what I saw.

MOST INTENSE TREATMENT: What is the most intense braces treatment you have seen? (Intensity could involve amount of metal, use of unique appliances, length of treatment, etc.) 

From my own treatment as a kid I had my upper fangs were very pointy and stuck out like a vampire for that reason the brackets on them teeth would always snap off, so one day when I went in my ortho placed some like metal sheets on the upper part of my fangs and also the lower part this would then keep the brackets in place he did this to both my upper fangs, so it looked like both my upper fangs were just sheer metal no white off the tooth could be seen.as

COOL BRACES EXPERIENCE: Have you had any cool, funny, interesting, or memorable experience involving your braces? What was it? 

As an adult when I got braces again I would deliberately break brackets just so I could go back to the ortho just see what would happen and see other brace wearers in the office.

ADVICE FOR OTHER BRACES WEARERS: What advice would you give to someone just getting braces, or thinking about getting braces? 

GET THEM you wont regret it

Braces In The Fifties

Back in the late '90s and early '00s, there was a multifaceted orthodontic related site on the internet called M's Mouthwear. One of its features was an archive of braces-related stories, including a section of accounts of real life braces experiences.  That site ceased existing sometime during the early '00s, but recently I have been able to retrieve some of the real life braces stories from that site using an internet archive. Soon, I plan to post the M's Mouthwear stories I was able to retrieve for your reading enjoyment. (UPDATE: M's Mouthwear Stories is now up on the right side of this blog ⇨⇨, at the bottom.)  One of the very best accounts in the collection was called "Braces In The Fifties," a true account of having to wear braces in the 1950's, back when they were truly rare. I am posting this particular story because it fits very well with my goal for this blog: to make it a place of sharing orthodontic experiences. Here's the story below. Enjoy. Braces In The Fifties

This is a true story. I had just turned thirteen in November of 1953 when my mother took me to Dr. Richard. Orthodontic treatment was very rare, by today's standards almost unheard of. There were 300 children in my school and up to this point the only kids I had seen with braces consisted of one guy with a thick bar across his teeth and his sister with a similar appliance. One girl in my class, Donna, had bands that were very narrow and went almost unseen very high on her teeth. I remember her brackets being like two tiny bars that the archwire went through. She only had a bar going across the bottom teeth. You had to be close and she had to smile wide to really see them. There was a definite social stigma about braces. Up to this time the closest orthodontist was an hour's drive away. Braces were very expensive. My treatment cost about $3000, but that was 47 years ago and many pay the same amount today. There was nothing like orthodontic insurance. Dr. Richard had just opened his practice in the next town. My father's business was doing well and our dentist convinced my mother it was important for me to get treatment. Dr. Richard would only discuss the treatment with my mother, I was not consulted or told about anything. The first appointment he just looked at my teeth. The second appointment was the day after Thanksgiving. Here he took X-rays and molds. I was the only patient in the office each time. Nothing happened for a month and I thought I was lucky and my mother had given up on the idea. I had fought against going to an orthodontist, not wanting to wear the dreaded braces in any form. The day after Christmas my mother woke me and told me I had a 9 o'clock appointment. I hated the thought of losing a vacation day and just wanted to go sledding with my friends. Off we went to see Dr. Richard. I sat in a treatment room and heard him talking to someone in another room. She was crying about something called an extra-oral appliance, about which I had no clue . When he was done with her he walked in and spent about a half hour putting pieces of thick rubber between my teeth. I was told he would see me in a week. Now when they first went in I didn't think much about them, they looked a little funny but if I didn't open my mouth too wide, no one could see them. About an hour later though, my teeth were throbbing badly, and that lasted about three days. The Monday after New Year's, the first day back to school, my mother woke me up earlier than usual, and told me I had another appointment and would be going to school late that day. By this point I asked her if they were going to make me wear braces and she said yes. I started to complain again and she said it was only some wire and metal and to get dressed and stop whining. We got to the office at 7:00 and I was ushered right in to a chair. Dr. Richard finally started to describe the appliance.. All the bands had been hand formed and welded by Dr. Richard to fit my teeth, there were no preformed bands yet. He then welded a bracket on the front of the band, and now he was going to cement them in place. That was the last thing I wanted to hear, with pictures of Donna in my mind. He was also going to band both arches, which made me even worse than Donna. It took about four hours to do. When he finally gave me a mirror to look at I almost died. These were nothing like Donna's. They were wide bands on every tooth, set closer to the bottom of the teeth so there was no way to open my mouth without revealing the braces. The bottom teeth were almost completely covered with metal. I had never seen anything like them and I hated the look. He told me in two weeks he would put on the archwire and the extra oral appliance that he said would provide the force to move the teeth.. I was in too much shock to listen and didn't have a clue as to what an extra oral appliance was. I was in an absolute panic that I had to be seen like this. My mother drove me to school and I pleaded with her that my teeth hurt and not to make me go. They hurt a little, but I just did not want to be seen. No luck, I got to school at the end of math, got my note from the office, and spent the next half hour in the bathroom trying to figure how not to show the bands when I was talking. The bell rang and I went in for science. The class was surprised to see me since everyone thought I was sick and at home. I was determined not to talk at all, but the teacher called on me first. I tried to mumble the answer, which got her mad and drew more attention to me when she told me to speak up. When I answered I could hear the murmur go through the class that "He has braces on." Everyone was staring. At lunch I tried to hide in a corner but no one had really seen braces like mine before and I was either pitied or laughed at, neither of which I wanted. The bus ride home was just as bad, I felt like a freak. By the time of my next appointment I hated being the kid with those braces. My mother told me to ignore everything and they were good for me, which I didn't care about, I just wanted my mouth back. All I saw was a mouthful of metal that everyone thought was funny to look at. It was 3:30 and as I was walking into the building I saw a girl stop at the mirror in the hallway outside of the office, reach into her pocket and put a piece of wire in her mouth. It had two arms that went around her face and she attached a strap to each arm, and then went into the office. My mother had parked the car and we walked in. The girl was sitting and reading a magazine, my mother went back into the office and I just stared at the contraption on her face. It was the first headgear I had ever seen She asked me if I was new and when I answered she saw the braces on my teeth. I asked her what it was she had on and her reply scared me "It's my extra oral traction appliance. I have to wear it 14 hours a day. I just got it two weeks ago." Her name was Sally, we dated through high school and everyone thought it was very funny that the two "magnet mouths" were attracted to each other. She didn't mind them half as much as I did. We married a year after we graduated from college. It is my only positive memory of my orthodontic experience. When he put the arch wires on they were stiff wire. He had to bend them each appointment to move the teeth, so every time you left the office you knew you were in for some pain. When you needed new arch wires you were in the chair for at least an hour as he unwired the old one and rewired the new one. It was a very time consuming process, once every three weeks for almost 6 years. He took out a facebow and showed me how to put it on. Then when I though I was going to get the same thing Sally had to wear, he took out the headcap with J-hooks and started to put it on. I almost ran out of the office and it took my mother to drag me back in while he finished putting it on. Rod Serling hadn't invented the Twilight Zone yet but I was convinced I was there. My mother was very specific about wearing it for the full 14 hours every day and generally made me wear it more. I wanted to shrivel up and die. She kept track of the hours herself and If I got behind she made sure I wore it outside the house. I wore that headgear until the end of my sophomore year in high school and the braces until I was a freshman in college. More kids started wearing similar braces, but they really didn't become common place until the sixties. Every where I went I was stared at by people who had never seen braces before I hated them every day I had them on. My niece just started wearing braces and when I told her the story she asked me to write it out so she could post it. At first I did not believe this would interest anyone until she showed me all the files and pictures. I get a real kick reading about these people who like wearing braces. Believe me. 44 years ago you would have hated it.

Kilians Braces Story

     Here is another contribution from one of my readers, Kilian, who provided his account of growing up with braces, and photos from his time undergoing braces treatment. Thank you to Kilian for his contribution.

        Kilian's Braces Story

by Kilian 

This is my Braces Story, it took place in West Germany from 1984 until 1995.

I was nine Years,when I got my first Braces, 17 when I got fixed Braces and 19 Year, when I got them finally off.

My first braces period was from 1984 till 1988 with removable Braces. I was the first in my Class in Braces. The Dentist told my Parents, that I needed them. I tried to convince my parents, that my teeth are OK and we better go to another dentist, but they did not take me seriously. Then I thought why me? I was not the coolest in Class and was terribly afraid, that with braces it would get even worse. When I got my braces I was irritated and specially in the beginning used to move them around in the Mouth a lot. It took me some time to get used to them.

This must have been when the braces were quite new.
At first it was kind of exciting, but soon I hated it, because the limitations were annoying.


 

I remember one very embarassing Moment: I was in school and I was not paying attention, but instead moving my Braces out and in and out and in again. Then at one Moment I realized, that it was so quiet, I turned and saw the whole Class, including the Teacher staring at me.

One year later they were a normal part of me. I did not think anymore about them. 

My Orthodontist had a small office like a dentists Office. There were always three or four waiting.It was in the nearest Town. Usually my Father would pick me up from school and then we would go there. Later I had to walk from school to the Office and then to take the Bus home. The Ortho asked me to take the Braces in, then out and in again. Sometimes, he changed something at the wire. I got about three or four times new Braces. One Model got broken, when I put them in my Jacket without the Box and had a fight with my biggest enemy (at that time). You can imagine that a lot of trouble followed. It is strange, that this kind of trouble in Childhood seemed to be life threatening. I was so afraid of going home, when I wanted to put the Braces back in my mouth and discovered, what had happened.

At that time we where three Kids with Braces in my Class. A Girl had also removable Braces and another Girl fixed ones. Sometimes we used to talk about the Orthodontist and how we hated wearing Braces. I remember one of them telling how she puked, when getting the Impression. She was a very sensible Girl and often Ill.

Wearing them was never a problem after the first year , but always having to take care of them, to take them out, to put them in a box, or leave them somewhere was still annoying. (Sometimes more for my Mother, then for me ;-)) 

I had to wear removables until I was 13. At that time it was a normal part of me, that I was having them, nobody talked about it anymore. Also one of the neighbors was in Braces too then.




My Sister got Braces some Years after me . For her it was much more normal from the beginning, I think she liked them, or was kind of proud of them. She never complained about having to wear them. After three years without Braces (only the retainer for the night, which I forgot more than I had them in), we moved to another Part of Germany. The new Dentist was not sure about the results of the treatment and asked me to visit an Ortho. So with 17 I needed braces again and got a full set of fixed Braces. At that time I really hated it.





But I have to admit, that my first big love did not care about my braces. (She took this picture) With 19 I got them finally of and this time I was disciplined enough to wear the Retainer as prescribed.

Reader Contribution: 1960s Braces Journey

One of my readers, Jonny 12, has provided me with his own braces story to share. I appreciate his contribution, because I'd really like to make this site one where people can share their braces experiences. Here it is:

My Journey with Braces in the 1960s

by Jonny 12 

I knew I would have to have treatment as my two front teeth protruded and the teeth next to them were set back because there were fang like teeth growing in front of them. I had other teeth growing where they shouldn't have. 

I was probably 12-13 years old in the 4 year at the middle school. The dentist just told my parents (but not me) what he was going to do. First thing was I had to have 6-8 teeth extracted. I can't remember which it was, but I can remember being dragged screaming to the room where they were removed, that many at once was very traumatic. 

I then had to go back two weeks later for the impressions to be taken for the first brace/plate, then two weeks later to have it fitted. It was a clear plastic plate with wires behind the set back teeth pushing them forward and clips at the back holding it in. The plate filled the roof of my mouth. It was removable. 

It was late 1960s (1967-1970) the dentist did everything, no orthodontist. I wore this brace/retainer all the time. Apart from a slight lisp no one realized. I had to keep going back to have it adjusted. Nine months later I had new impressions taken (I can still smell and taste the gunk they use when they take the impressions).

The next plate was again clear plastic which again filled the roof of my mouth, but this one also had a bar over the front teeth and clips on the sides and behind the front teeth. Now I would say they were Hawleys ,they were removable but I wore them most of the time. I had to go back every two weeks to get them tightened,

I can remember after this they were painful for a while but I did enjoy feeling the plastic and the bar with my tongue, This time I did get one or two comments as they were noticeable but nothing to bad.

A friend of mine also had a similar brace but his was smaller and the plate was pink. I was hoping my plate was going to be pink, but no luck. No one asked what I would like. Unlike today, where you get to choose, there were not many people with braces then. I had this about 9 months,I then had new impressions taken for the last one. 

The plate was bigger and really did fill the roof of my mouth. It also had two bars which attached to each other and went over the front teeth. This made my lips feel as they were sticking out. I did get comments this time as it was very noticeable. I really did have a mouthful. Yet again I went back every two weeks for it to be tightened. 

I can remember the dental surgery as if it was yesterday. I remember this big glass door you went through in the entrance. There was also a big glass door between the surgery and the waiting room. The assistant use to come from there when it was your turn to go in. Anyway after wearing it for 9 months the dentist said it had done the job and pushed the back teeth forward and pulled the protruding ones back.

They were much straighter. I think a fixed train track brace would have done a better job, but they were not about then. Years later I broke my two front ones playing football, so had the 4 front ones replaced with crowns.

Looking back I think I probably did enjoy all the treatment. I wish I had kept the 3 braces/ retainers I had as a reminder. This is where my fascination for them came from. My wife knows about my fascination.