I get what you mean—my ortho kept saying “just a couple more weeks” for what felt like a year. I started taking photos every month because I was convinced nothing was happening. Turns out, looking back, there actually were tiny changes I never noticed day to day. Still, the waiting drove me nuts. Chewing anything tougher than a banana felt like a gym session for my jaw... I’m honestly still paranoid my bite will shift back the second these braces come off.
That “just a couple more weeks” line is the ultimate ortho classic—almost like they train for it. I remember thinking my teeth were frozen in time, and then suddenly, one day, my reflection looked totally different. It’s wild how those tiny shifts add up when you zoom out.
The food thing… yeah, I basically lived on mashed potatoes and yogurt for a while. Chewing steak felt like an extreme sport. But honestly, once the braces came off, my bite held up way better than I expected. I was sure everything would snap back to square one overnight, but the retainer did its job (even if wearing it at night isn’t exactly glamorous).
I know it feels endless, but hang in there—those gradual changes really do stick. And hey, your future self will thank you for all those banana dinners when you can actually bite into an apple without fear.
I get where you’re coming from, but honestly, I’m not convinced those “tiny shifts” always hold up the way they’re supposed to. My kid’s been in braces for an underbite for what feels like forever, and while the changes are there, it’s not this dramatic “aha!” moment everyone talks about. The ortho keeps saying we’re almost done, but it’s been months of the same story. Maybe that works for some people, but the slow progress is honestly kind of discouraging.
And about the retainer—yeah, it helps, but I’ve seen friends’ kids end up back in the chair because things moved anyway, even after being diligent. I’m not saying it’s all for nothing, but I do think the whole process gets oversold sometimes. The food thing is a pain, too. We’re basically on a soft-food rotation at home, and my kid is so over it.
I get that patience is part of the deal, but I wish there was a little more transparency about how unpredictable the timeline really is.
That slow crawl of progress is so real. My daughter’s braces took way longer than we ever expected, and the ortho’s “almost there” updates started feeling like broken records. Did they mention if your kid’s bones are still growing? That can drag things out. Retainers are another story... I’ve seen some kids end up right back at square one too, even when they wore them religiously. The food thing drove my kid nuts—she still flinches at apples. Hang in there, it really does add up, just way more gradually than anyone warns you.
Ugh, the apple thing is so real—my son still slices his up tiny even though he’s been brace-free for months. I totally get what you mean about those “almost there” updates too. We kept hearing that, then suddenly we were in for another six months. Did your ortho ever talk about those rubber bands? I swear those little things made the biggest difference for us, but they were such a pain to remember.
