The pieces glued to the teeth are called attachments. They're a little weird at first, but you get used them and they're not as noticeable to others as you'd expect. They just grind them off when treatment is finished and you'd never know they were there. The one downside is that coffee stains will collect around them. But your dentist can remove most of that during normal cleanings and I recommend a whitening toothpaste with charcoal. As for the grinding, that's necessary to give the tighter teeth room to move. For me I would describe it more as light sanding but everyone's situation is different. I would also suggest a product called Eversmile (see link) that my ortho recommended. They want you to brush every single time you eat something but that's just not practical for most people. With this you can apply it to the inside of the aligners and pop them back in your mouth when you're unable to brush. It works great and doesn't taste horrible. ** Edited by HokieNoVA at 5/15/2024, 6:50:47 AM