I had braces since I was like 7 until I was 22. I had a narrow mouth as a kid so my teeth were growing all crooked, then later on after my milk teeth started falling I was actually missing two adult teeth (they never grew, some hereditary shit it seems) so I had to make space again for the fake teeth to be put on. Had to keep the braces to make sure the teeth stays in place until they stop moving once you’re an adult.
Let’s also not talk about wisdom teeth... I had all kinds of weird wires in my mouth at some point and I’m pretty sure I was my dentist favourite patient. But at least now my teeth look pretty decent so I guess it was worth it.