my wife had braces - ceramic and not metal, and she had no issues really. She was self conscious about having them as an adult and pretty embarrassed whenever she talked for the first few months. But, after talking to others who have braces - the practice had 25% adult patients, she soon stopped caring what people thought. I'm getting braces soon and deciding between metal and ceramic. If end up with metal, I suspect I'll be like my wife and embarrassed at least at first.