So Far Damon Braces Has Been a Good Choice - Luxembourg

I was very scared of wearing braces, so scared I waited i was 38 before getting them.
I was so worried of what people would think, of "getting off the train of life" for 1-2 years. Well, I was so silly! Now I've been wearing Damon braces for almost a year, and I realize people really do not care. Usually people actually react in an overly positive way, as if they think you must be very friendly if you're wearing braces. I know, it sounds crazy! But people actually tend to react with a friendly smile when they notice. And a surprizing number say they had them too just a couple of years earlier (when in their late '30s)... Or they ask for info because they too have been putting it off for years. Only very seldom I've notice a distrustful reaction, but that a simple smile (showing rather than hiding my braces) made disappear. So anybody that has been putting off for years having braces, my advice is to "just do it!". There is nothing to be scared about in reality. Silly fear!
I did my homework before deciding on Damon rather than invisalign or other systems. I went to see more than one orthodontist. Each would recommend what they were specialized in. Obviously. I was very very tempted by Invisalign, but then decided to avoid doing something 80% right rather than 100%. Invisalign is not invisable anyway, and some things can't be achieved as well as with real braces.
The braces fixed to the back of your teeth leave you with potential speech impediments I wished to avoid. Deciding then between normal braces and damon braces was too easy. I went for top and bottom front teeth braces in ceramic to minimize the "James Bond - Jaws effect". I knew it could be risky, but I did anyway, and so far I haven't regretted it. I remember the very first 2-3 days were awkward. I felt the braces on my teeth, it felt strange. I thought I would not be able to eat real food for the next 18 months. But I soon realized things were not so bad and after a few days I could hardly even feel the braces anymore. I got used to brushing with braces, something I've always done at least 5-6 times a day. I was told to quit mouthwash that caused gums to bleed badly (why do they even sell mouth-wash?! It actually should almost have to be banned, or needs clear advertising "to be used only once a week" ).
Forget using coloured archwire, you will be told (or maybe not if your doctor prefers keeping you in braces for longer) that is a weak wire for beginner's only. Why even bother?
The archwire clipped in the damon braces gets bigger as more work needs to be done, but it is always ok.
The only trouble I had was when for about 2 months a metal spring was inserted on the archwire to create space for my most deviant tooth (then not yet clipped onto the wire because totally out of line, set behind my other teeth). This spring at times pinched my inner lip, it could be very painful. The solution was to use some wax (the doctor gave) to put around the spring or where a brace might scratch a little the inner cheek. So wax = problem solved, no pain no more.
At times, when a new archwire was set in the braces, for the following 1-3 days I could feel a little discomfort. My teeth could almost hurt a little. I would go back to eating soft food for a day or two. But, once again, nothing serious. Absolutely bearable without any sort of painkiller or anything.
My next appointment is coming up in about 2 weeks time. Appointments are set far apart. I always insist on getting an earlier appointment than the orthodontist thinks needed, yet 30-50 days can go by between appointments anyway.
I have had to change orthodontist a few months ago as for my husband and I moved region in France. If anybody reading is from France, I'd avoid any orthodontist from Riom near Clermont Ferrand. She didn't want to give me back my x-rays or moulds i had even paid for at another orthodontist! She expected payment in full for a treatment I had to quit after only 3 months. Yet I had told her right from the start I was never sure how long I'd stay in one region. So well, she called me a "thief" when I "snatched" MY moulds (once again that I had paid for and had made someplace else!) from the reception desk. She wanted to maybe use them to extort full payment from me for a treatment that lasted 3 out of 18 months. The braces and first 3 months I had paid already in full, the rest I refused.
Anybody ready from around the Luxembourg area, I do (at least so far) highly recommend doctor Anouk Becker. She is brilliant. Speaks English too. She is overly efficient, your appointment with her will only last a few minutes and she'll have already rushed off to another room, but in those few minutes she does spend with you, you feel she really does know what she is doing. Her practice also has very friendly staff that speak English, French and German. Damon braces treatment with her is 180€ per month, plus extras (initial setting of braces, final taking them off, retainer when the braces will go off).
I still have an abundant 6 months to go, but I am in no hurry of even having my braces taken off. If it would be better to leave them an extra few months just to be sure my teeth get really convinced they ought to stay where they were told, I wouldn't mind one bit. Braces actually are no trouble at all. Okay, no biting into a cheesy pizza is possible, and yes, spaghetti pasta will always get awfully entangled in your braces if you forget you'd maybe better avoid it, but some things can wait! And somehow wearing braces on the threshold of 40 somehow does more than any face lift could ever achieve! Braces change something inside you, making you simply feel (and actually also seem to others) much younger! So if you are still as scared of braces as I was, I hope this review will help you in your decision.