Braces are one of the many pains middle-schoolers have in common with one another. One has not been dubbed a true adolescent if he/she has not felt the sheer embarrassment coupled with comradery of standing in the restroom with your best friend at a party and concurring that there are in fact remnants of chips and salsa stuck in the metal dressings of your upper and lower teeth.

Aside from the cost, which averages in the U.S. at $5,000, there are embarrassments, insecurity, dork-ish looks, and cruel name-calling such as metal mouth or metal smile. Some who have had the curse of orthodontics have also had to undergo physically painful experiences, some resulting in blood, others resulting in rage.

Madeleine Edwards, an eighth grader who had her braces put on last year, tells us a gripping story of unfulfilled promises, “When I went in to get my braces on, they only put the brackets on with no wire. I left with just metal squares on my teeth, for some reason, and when I went back, they still didn’t put my wires in. It took a full six weeks for them to finish my braces, so I had the brackets on for six weeks not doing anything. When I finally got the wires on, it hurt really bad.”

While Madeleine’s story may make some cringe, eighth grader Jamie Mann has a truly horrifying tale, “I got my braces on the day before I performed in the talent show. My mouth was hurting for a few days, but I managed to fit my slurred s’ into the performance.”

There you have it. Braces are one of the many things targeted specifically towards middle-schoolers that make our lives miserable. One could even go so far as to say they are in the same class as acne and body odor, or even snort-laughing in front of that special someone.

There is no doubt that adolescents are one of the most challenged demographics. While we may not have to worry about bills or taxes, we are forced to combat daily the daunting extremities of molding our future with metal wires in our mouths.

The only decent thing about giving up chewy candies and corrosive drinks for 12-24 months, as well as having to wax the far back reaches of your palate where no one should have to become familiar with, is finally reaching the day when these shameful contraptions are removed from your mouth.

Eighth grader Megan Kleiner says, “Getting your braces off feels really good, but I felt more relieved when I got my headgear off. Headgear was more annoying but not as painful as braces. Either way, finally being done with all of it is such a huge relief.”

And while braces may be a burden all middle-schoolers have to suffer, they are like a badge of honor all teenage veterans wear with pride. Everyone, or at least one third of kids in the U.S., goes through the dreaded orthodontic hell of braces, and in a way it is a common pain that brings peers together.

So when you have to suffer the embarrassment of tasting your breakfast at dinner through the braces in your back molars, remember, braces will come off one day.

And you will be able to look back on middle school with a wide, pearly-white, perfectly-straightened smirk.