Two words for you sweetie - chocolate buttons, they melt in the mouth . A jumbo pack of those after every orthodontist trip almost made the pain worthwhile. Just stick with it, the pain of first getting them on is the worst bit (although having mine *drilled* off wasn't great fun, I think my ortho was a bit sadistic), and having amazing straight teeth at the end of it is definitely worth a year or two of bother. What stopped me getting down about being a metal mouth was thinking that I'd have laaavely straight teeth in my wedding photos (if anyone ever makes an honest girl out of me). Just make sure you wear your elastics if/when you get to that stage, and your retainer too!