I have been wearing my braces for almost 4 years now. Definitely longer than the minimum of 2 years and way shorter than other patients who has them on for > 9 years! It's a tough road to wander but hopefully it will be worth all the pain (partly hypothetically speaking) you'd have to go through! I have to admit, my teeth were in really bad shape. I guess you could say that my upper jaw had "grown" outward of my skull and it's really not a pretty sight to see when I'm smiling... And I'm always very amused at the tinniest things. I was never really aware that I looked any different from any other girls with straight and perfect teeth till my family commented on pictures taken of me. So my aunt advise us on braces treatment and we signed up. 

I got on the waiting list in the government clinic instead of a private orthodontist because, well, one obvious reason is because it is cheaper (way cheaper) as the orthodontists in the government clinic are just trainees. And no, the amount of years spent on my set of pearly whites has nothing to do with the orthodontists in the government clinic –  It's simply because my teeth were that bad. Simple as that. The only downside to this is that the waiting lists stretches out to 2 years in line. I was the first among my schoolmates to actually sign up and thought about braces but before I could have them on, they had theirs on before you could say "pearly whites", because they went for a private ortho to get it done. Oh well...

I'm sure there a tons and tons of braces articles online teaching you on how to brush, floss, gargle (really?) and all that oral stuff. Yes, there are text after text explaining what pain a person goes through after their monthly tightening. But what they don't tell you is what will goes on behind the scenes or the inside story of a person who wears braces.

Don't fret, listed below are the things that you should expect to get. Brace yourself. Pun intended.

1. STARES FROM CHILDREN

Oh, how I hate this one. They look at you like you're an alien from another planet, having some super high-tech metal stubs in your mouth probably used to contact your homeland. Who knew these silent but deadly braces brackets could do such wonders? My nephews and nieces are a prime example of this. Everytime when we're having a family gathering or just simply going back to our hometown to visit, my nephews and niece would often run to my sister who is so blessed to have such perfect set of teeth, a total opposite to mine. Recently, I've met up with my nephew abroad and I hadn't seen him since he started walking for the first time. By now, he's 4 and has a mind on his own. The first thing he said to me was "Why do you have that thing in your teeth?" How appropriate.

2. EMBARRASSING COMMENTS

"Oh, hey, uh, you got, uh... that spinach in your... *points* there". Meal time. One of the deadliest. If you're a person who has perfect straight teeth or teeth that are nice enough to flash around in public without the need of braces, then I suggest you listen carefully. Yes, it is a nice gesture to tell someone he/she has a piece of tree branch stuck in between those braces brackets, but then again, if you're in that person's shoes, you'll feel hot blood rushing through your veins circulating around your cheeks while you work up your tongue to get between the nooks in order to flick off that piece of food. It was never and will never be a nice sight to see someone pushing their own tongue up their teeth and in all the little corners of their mouth. 

It definitely would be even worse if the person who told you that you have food stuck somewhere in your braces is still looking at you after letting you know and when you're trying your hardest not to look so disgusting when your pushing your tongue around the inside of your lips. This somehow happens to me alot. I  would usually shrug it off with a giggle and turn away ASAP and/or grab the drink and do small unnoticeable (or so I hope!) gargle swishes and/or the traditional way of covering the disgusting works of tongues behind my palm. 

If you're someone who does not need the aid of braces, whenever you feel so oblige to comment that I have something between my teeth, please look away after doing so at least. Or I'd like you to keep in mind us braces geeks would like to punch you in all the times that you don't.

Taking and looking back at photos with your family and having them comment on your teeth alone for 20 minutes is also considered.

3. RIDICULOUSLY FAKE EYE CONTACT

You know how you could tell when someone is looking in another direction away from your eyes? Possibly your... braces, maybe? My eyes are up here... Countless of times friends and family would be switching their eyes from my braces to my eyes and then ending up not listening to what I was saying or cutting me off, commenting crap like "Wow, your braces are shiny!" or the classic "There's something in your teeth" and maybe just adding the usual "When are you getting them off?". And then, I'll forget about what I wanted to say and we'll talk about my braces instead. Or even staring at you like they're studying a new and wild species while you're taking a bite of that burger.

"Oh my god, I think there's a huuuge spider in you--"
"You just brushed your teeth, didn't you? They're super shiny!"
"Yeah, but that's not the point. There's a spid--"
"When are you taking them off again?"

Well,... your fault.

4. FOOD OF WONDERS

Okay, this might seem like the boring article on the internet where they tell you what not to eat and what to eat and bla bla bla. Trust me, it's not.

 Everyone – and I mean everyone –  loves eating. I mean, what's not to like? Juicy pizza, unsliced apples, popcorn, hard candies, chewing gum,... ice? Oh Lord, the wonders of food! You'd probably would already have heard from your orthodontist that you can't eat these glorious creations if you have your braces on. Oh, bummer! Probably after hearing that your soul got crushed into million pieces, thinking about the years ahead of you without pizza (PIZZA!) and then reluctantly dragging your feet back to your car and have a sob fest on the steering wheel. Well, at least I did... Except that part about crying. I did that at home.

Heard of the term "Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!"? Exactly what no.4 is about. I'm not literally saying your doctor is lying to you and his/her other patients about the forbidden apple, but as a braces geek, I swear that those food stated above, has absolutely no harm on your oral health. Trust me. I eat everything I'm told not to. Ha! My pearly whites aren't perfectly white but these hard candy/popcorn caramel aren't making it worse either. And if it does, so what? They're going to scale my teeth when I'm taking them out anyway. And they sure as hell are going to scale yours. So what's the worry? Just do your regular brushing twice a day, at least, bla bla bla I'm not going to be your orthodontist right now.

Oh I should warn you about the unsliced apples though. I don't do that. And maybe neither should you. Always slice those up! Always.

[EDIT:] BTW, quick warning: When eating long thin vegetables (eat your veg kids!), sometimes... maybe... probably... somehow... one tip of the evil vegetable will be stuck in the bracket of your back (probably third?) molar and the other tip will slide down  your throat summoning your gag reflex. Horrible experience.

5. PHOTO DISASTER

Now, I'm not talking about being totes ugly in photos when you have your braces on, that's for you to judge. lol I'm not going to be responsible for saying shit about your face.

Anyway, back on point no.5... If things are working out your way, you could maybe avoid this deathly photo disaster: The Glare. You might think "nah, I'd take photos at night; no flare, no glare!" BEEP BEEP BEEP. Wrong answer. Flash cam shall be your worst nemesis till they day your braces are out of your lives, for good! Gotta admit though, The Glare does not apply to everyone. For instance, I can't remember the last time I got a photo glare because of the shine in my braces... Or maybe I didn't have one at all? I don't know. But it's a disaster anyway, and one that no article online talks about. So, you're welcome. Though I didn't really give you any solution for it.

Speaking of photos, there is indeed no doubt to whether your teeth will stay as white as before you had your braces on. Because chances are, you are going to take on point no.4 and even if you don't, your teeth will go through some changes... in color. Yep, no news flash here. It's pretty obvious. (If you're fretting on that, re-read point no.4) I for one, suffer from this one here.

Based on my experiences, photos of me in braces don't turn out well. Fact is, it turns out x984203 times worse than it already is. That's based on my statistics, I'm usually very accurate, ha! Say your teeth are slightly yellow due to the pizza you had last night at a party (yum!) and the beer you drank after. You took a picture. Flash or no flash, sunlight or moonlight... your pearly whites are going to look pearly blacks. Okay, fine, dark yellow. I don't know if it's the shadow your upper lip are creating but this is so not cool.

Worst is, I don't have any goddamn solution for this. So, you're on your own. Heck, we're on our own.

Having food stuck in your teeth when you're taking a picture is a different story but I think you're smart enough to figure that one out.

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Well, that wraps up the Top 5 list of things anyone wouldn't tell you about braces. Hope I helped you... somehow!