Getting braces at 17? Insecure!

Some people can flex the braces look.

So basically i’ve just been to the dentist and he’s told me i need braces to get rid of a baby tooth and also straighten out this one tooth which is a bit bent but you can’t really tell. apart from that he said my teeth are fine but i’m going into year 13 and really don’t want to go to uni with braces i’d feel so insecure. do guys think it’s ugly on girls at that age? i’ll prob have them for 2 years but i just feel so embarrassed about it, i also wanted to get into acting but the braces might effect that now, my teeth aren’t horrible he said they’re “beautiful” the only problems are the one bent tooth and a baby tooth. i’m literally 17 w no first kiss or boyfriend, ive been asked out sure but i lowkey feel like i’m going to get bullied for it fml. i’m going to a specialist soon to see what i can do, is it uncommon in uni?

One of my friends has braces and for 2 months I hadn't even noticed until he talked about it. They're not as easy to notice as u think unless u tell ppl about it

is ur friends braces metal with colours or is it the clear ones?

First of all, think about yourself and not what others will think of you, especially guys. Why does it matter whether a guy finds braces ugly or not? Every man is different, and even then, you should only wear braces to fix the positioning of your teeth, and not for aesthetic reasons. Some people have braces at the age of 30, and believe me, they have the last laugh when their teeth are perfect. If you told someone from 250 years ago that they only had to wear braces for 2 years so that their teeth would remain straight for the rest of their life, so as long as they wear retainers at night, they would jump at the chance. Of course, times have changed, but the main point I am trying to get across is that braces are a personal investment, and that the end result is totally worth it.

If you feel that braces will affect your speech and sometimes lead to gum scars, try and ask for lingual braces, or at least, I believe that is what they are called. They are braces that are placed on the back of your teeth. They are a lot harder to clean, but see what your dentist advices. Also, if you have the money too, try Invisalign, unless your dentist states that braces are the only way forward.

thank you this has made me feel a lot better, i just struggle w feeling secure in my body image and stuff i grew up chubby but now i lost a lot of weight and get attention i guess but i feel like the braces are just going to set me back to being insecure constantly :/ i wish i had gotten them younger

I know it is easy to say it, but don't worry about it. I know people in their mid twenties who have braces. And honestly, i think nearly every third kid had braces at one point in their life. And people mostly make fun of other people when they are 11-15. I had braces when i was 13/4-16 and i was a bit verbally bullied in my class when i was younger (it was just kids being kids and i am still in class with the people and they are all fine, it stopped completely) but nobody ever said anything about the braces. Also i think people at uni will have bigger problems than you wearing braces

I wish I got braces during this time, it would've been perfect because everyone was home for half a year

Apart from there have been no dentist appointments to tighten the braces for months so they‘d essentially just been lumps of metal on your teeth doing nothing

oh yeah I forgot about that Do they tighten them every month? I thought it was like twice a year or something...