As of yesterday, I have a new smile. Braces came off just in time for graduation. Today, I am going to be giving my full review and chatting about my experience with adult braces.

Let’s start by saying that adult braces are not fun. Eating is such a pain when you have to pick every little thing out of your brackets. For me, they were super embarrassing. I felt like every time I talked, people would just stare at my teeth. Whenever I brought up the embarrassment, people would just laugh and say they didn’t think it was at all. I was super self-conscious to smile the entire time.

Originally, I was supposed to have my braces on for 12-15 months starting in June 2022. I am grateful that I was able to get them off early. If you live near south eastern Idaho, Afton, Wyoming, or Driggs, Idaho, I highly recommend Hillam Orthodontics. They are amazing! The staff is super welcoming and kind. One of the assistants was so excited for me that she kept coming over to check on me as I got them off.

These are my official before (left) and after (right) photos. When I smiled before, I didn’t have a ton of issues, but my alignment was definitely off. My teeth on the left side of my mouth were touching end to end and pushing each other out. Eventually the wear on those two teeth would have caused irreplaceable damage. My bite was also off on my half of my mouth causing things to be crooked.

Note to self, prioritize taking care of your teeth! I will have permanent retainers on top and bottom as well as a removable retainer at night for the top. I’m also getting my teeth whitened tonight and I will let you know how that goes.