Curious if anyone else is/was like this too. In regular conversation with people, I'd always get extremely weird/flustered/embarassed when the subject of braces came up casually. I don't think I could have physically said the word 'braces' out loud without extreme embarrassment. I would just try to block the thought of them from my mind or something.

I feel like once/if I get braces, hopefully this changes and maybe I'll "desensitize" the kink a little bit to where braces are a mostly normal thing to me and talking about them is fine.

Anyone else feel similarly or used to feel that way?

Can't say I feel/felt embarrassed talking about braces, but I don't recall having a lot of conversations about them to begin with (outside of this forum ETC)

Can't say I feel/felt embarrassed talking about braces, but I don't recall having a lot of conversations about them to begin with (outside of this forum ETC)

oh interesting. They usually don't come up TOO much but whenever the few times they have, I always remember being weird lol.

I get nervous when it's brought up because I fear that someone will notice my excitement.

I get nervous when it's brought up because I fear that someone will notice my excitement.

This is always my feel- I want to talk about them, but don’t want to be appear too excited.

I agree RetainedJms. Do I play dumb or do I say things. I’ve gotten a strange look when I slipped up and asked a friend what color ligatures they wanted… why would a regular person know what a ligature is? I’m not really nervous per se, but I definitely don’t know how much to reveal about knowing about braces. I have braces, so does it make sense or not to know a lot about them? That is the main thing I feel when braces are brought up.

I’m not really nervous per se, but I definitely don’t know how much to reveal about knowing about braces.

I've been trying to get a bite plate to use for teeth clenching (basically a night guard) and have had to discuss (argue) with my dentist, an orthodontist, and a prosthodontist and have had to reveal a lot more knowledge about the subject than would be normal.  Still, I try to be careful HOW I say things.  I have gotten some interesting comments about how much I know.  There has been no sign from any so far that I seem weird, but I certainly feel weird.  I still hope to be successful at some point and to help steer the specifications, I have been practicing making a prototype with real labial bow wire and Instamorph using real clay molds of my jaws.  Next dentist check-up I hope to appeal to him by pulling out my prototype and saying "Here!  This is exactly what is required.  This one really works, too."  The Instamorph is a little more flexible than acrylic and it stains rather quickly, but I can use my prototype for a couple of weeks or a month just fine.

For me, because they talk about them, without me being part of the conversation, it makes me nervous (to say nothing else) (only with women, with men it doesn't cause me anything), in fact, a coworker About 3 days ago she started wearing her retainer (unfortunately I didn't see her with braces), she looks absurdly sexy and provokes me, we know that (and I'm not a big fan of retainers), I would love to ask her how her treatment was and everything, but as I said, seeing her with the retainer already makes me nervous, and that is physically not spectacular.  Although I have a friend who wears braces, and she's the only person who knows that she knows my taste, unfortunately, she lives in another city, and to top it off, she's not one to show her metallic smile.