My name is Emma and I am past patient of Straight Teeth Suite in Nottingham. A year on and it seems like a distant memory.  I look in the mirror, and I can’t remember not having straight teeth as my lovely new smile is reflected back at me. My straight teeth have changed my life in so many ways thanks to the team at Straight Teeth Suite.

For those of you wearing lingual braces you know already it is a journey and for those of you just about to have your lingual braces fitted let me tell you all about them and the different stages you will go through.  Love or hate your braces, you will not regret straightening your teeth for one minute. The future is great.

It has been a whole year since I had my lingual braces taken off and for one year I’ve been enjoying my new smile. I haven’t looked back since having my braces removed. I have to admit that I do feel quite surprised about the difference being able to smile freely has made to my self-confidence. Before my treatment, I was aware that I hid my smile, but I only now realise how much I really held myself back. It sounds like an overstatement, but it’s actually really liberating to go from introvert to extrovert and to smile and laugh in social situations without a second thought.

Of course, I smiled before I had braces but I would hide, putting my hand over my mouth, trying to disguise my embarrassment and my crooked teeth.  But once my lingual braces were fitted I didn’t mind so much as I knew I was well on the way to my beautiful new smile.  Lingual braces, for the readers who are new to braces, are attached to the inside surfaces of the teeth that face the tongue. On the reverse side of the teeth, they are practically invisible from the outside, even up-close and even if I laughed uncontrollably with my mouth wide open I didn’t feel the humiliation I felt before.  And now my braces have been removed I laugh, pull faces and wear lipstick; bright red lipstick to show off my new smile.  What fun; my worst feature has become my best friend and I feel liberated and carefree.

Although I knew in advance, once my braces treatment was completed I would be fitted with retainers, it seemed so far in the future I didn’t give it a second thought.  And now, a year on I hardly give my retainers a second thought.  When my braces were removed a very thin wire was temporarily fixed behind my front teeth, top and bottom, to keep them in their new position. They were almost completely covered with white dental cement so they were not sharp or uncomfortable and they were concealed. However, moulds were made of my new smile and a few weeks later I received new retainers that look like clear aligners.   Initially,  I wore the retainers every night for two months, and I now wear them for just two nights a week. It’s actually not too bad as the retainers fit well, and I know my teeth will stay where they should be. The idea is that the fixed retainers keep my front teeth permanently in place, and the removable one maintains the back teeth.

I always thought the saying “Smile and the world smiles with you,’ to be a bit of a cliché.  But it’s true.  My new smile is infectious, and everyone likes to see a happy face.  I never knew what it was like to feel so good about myself and confidence is bursting out of me.

Now my teeth are correctly aligned; I can chew properly.  Food tastes better, and I can eat everything I want to.  A whole year down the line, I tuck into crusty bread and crisp apples with abandon forgetting what the denial was like when I wore my lingual braces.  It was well worth the wait as food tastes so much better with straight teeth.

I don’t really remember the pain or discomfort.  It has faded into the recesses of my memory, and I actually don’t think it was ever too bad; it was certainly never unbearable. If I did have a few bad days, I certainly know now it was well worth it and wouldn’t want anyone embarking on lingual braces to be put off.  My smile is amazing, and I would do it again, only I won’t have to!

If like Emma’s story and  you think straighter teeth could change your life book a  free consultation at Straight Teeth Suite in Nottingham for lingual braces HERE.

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