Fixed braces are more practical

Having fixed braces wasn't a problem for me. I had already had removable braces for one and a half years and knew that I would be getting fixed braces at some stage. I was pretty relaxed about it from the get-go and wasn't all that worried.

I was the first person in my class to get fixed braces. The others got them after me. It was a bit weird being the only one at first. But it wasn't a problem, nobody teased me or anything. Actually, they were more curious than anything else. They asked me to show them my new braces so they could see what they looked like. And that was it, nobody spoke about them after that.

I had to be a bit careful when eating. Bits of food often got stuck in the braces, so I had to check to make sure I didn't go out with food stuck between my teeth. That doesn’t look too pretty.

I could eat almost everything, I just had to cut hard things into small pieces. But I was definitely more careful. I later dared to chew gum again. It's fine, you just can’t put it between your cheek and your teeth. But if you chew it in the middle of your mouth it’s no problem at all.

Brushing my teeth was actually totally fine, I didn't have the feeling that it took me any longer. But I did notice that I couldn't clean my gums as thoroughly as I used to. And then my gums bled more when I went to the dentist.

I always had brief pain after the braces were adjusted at routine check-ups. I had thicker wires fitted and my jaw was pulled closer together. But after a while it was okay again.

If a friend of mine was going to have fixed braces fitted, I would definitely recommend eating a good meal before the appointment. I couldn't chew for the first few hours after, and then I could only eat soup and other liquid foods for two days. It was still really painful to eat hard things like apples or normal food. A friend of mine had her appointment in the morning and she wasn’t hungry. So she didn’t have breakfast and was then hungry for two days.

There are different types of braces, and I think different braces suit different people. Some people don't want fixed braces and prefer those strange invisible or clear aligners that have to be replaced every week. But you have to wear them a lot as well, which takes quite a bit of discipline.

I preferred fixed braces from the get-go. I didn't want to keep taking aligners out when eating and putting them back in again. I thought that would be annoying and a pain.

One really great tip was to put a tea bag in the braces case. I used a fruit tea bag and put it between the braces. Then the braces don't have that horrible musty or dentist smell, but just smell slightly like tea and fruit.