My 14 year old son has had braces for the past 2 years and we have about another 2 or so to go. We researched all of the orthodontists in our area and found one that was willing to work with us. The reason that his braces are taking so long it that we intentionally took it slow starting with just 4 or 6 on the top and gradually over time they increased the number of braces. Within the the past few months they finally got a full set on him top & bottom and have gradually began to increase the pressure on the teeth to move them. In the beginning we started by giving him Tylenol before we even left the house, then we made sure that we had his favorite soft foods on hand like puddings and other high calorie things. He did remarkably well with all of it. It has surprised me because of all the horror stories I read in my research. For us the key was to take it slow and he did well. The team that worked with him was amazing too and they were unbelievably patient with him and accommodated his needs amazingly! As for the discomfort, his pain threshold is amazingly high so we are thankful that didn't slow down his eating. It took him a while to get used to the idea of having something in his mouth, but once we got past that he did fine :D