I had braces for 18 months. They weren't bad at all... I kinda wish I had them on now. My teeth before were awful... I had a huge gap and an overbite. Then in 6th grade I got braces... and they didn't hurt at all. My sister had them and they didn't hurt her at all either... and she's the kind of person who complains about everything.
As for what you can't eat... I always chewed gum and ate sticky foods and popcorn with braces on. You're not supposed to but I did anyway...
I also had a pallet on the roof of my mouth. It raised the roof of my mouth... but then it got infected so they had to take it out. My sister needed an expander... ya know, the one with the key. And my mom did the key wrong for the first couple weeks so she needed to do it again after...
My problem with braces is the retainer... speaking of which, maybe I'll actually wear it tonight. I only remember to wear it when someone mentions the orthodontist to me. It's not bad... I'm just too lazy to wear it all the time. And I'm a procrastiator so I keep saying I'll put it on and then I never do... but braces are not bad at all!
