Adults with braces? Update

[Narnian_Princess]

I have braces, and though am legally an adult now (18, lol) I don't feel I have a right to tell you my experiences since I'm barely out of childhood. But I can tell you that when I go to the orthodontist for an appointment, about 70% of the other people there are adults. Also, most of them have metal braces, mostly because (as they told me) the white or clear ones actually take longer to have the desired effect because of the different material.

 

[SillyMe]

I had a palate expander and it wasn't surgically applied. Get a second opinion on that one.

At what age? My ortho and my oral surgeon told me I need to have the surgery first. I'm 36. They both told me that my jaw wouldn't expand without having the surgery, it would just tip my teeth.

 

[denisenh]

I am 46 and just had my braces removed last week. I would have never thought that I would have such beautiful teeth!

Mine were the metal ones and I had silver bands around the brackets (those are the things that you see multi colors of on some bolder people) because I thought that it was more professional looking, but that is me....mostly straight laced. I had gold once and purple once.

I had no trouble keeping them sparkly clean, no staining at all.

Anyway, go for it. It won't be forever and your teeth will be healthier if they are aligned properly. The time flew by for me and it was worth the $$$$.

Edited to add: I also had a crossbite and an overbite and needed 3 teeth pulled to make room. No insurance for ortho, but about $5500 later I am glad that I did it! ( I hate my retainers though. That is going to take some geting used to.)

 

[JVL1018]

I am 46 and just had my braces removed last week. I would have never thought that I would have such beautiful teeth!

Mine were the metal ones and I had silver bands around the brackets (those are the things that you see multi colors of on some bolder people) because I thought that it was more professional looking, but that is me....mostly straight laced. I had gold once and purple once.

I had no trouble keeping them sparkly clean, no staining at all.

Anyway, go for it. It won't be forever and your teeth will be healthier if they are aligned properly. The time flew by for me and it was worth the $$$$.

Edited to add: I also had a crossbite and an overbite and needed 3 teeth pulled to make room. No insurance for ortho, but about $5500 later I am glad that I did it! ( I hate my retainers though. That is going to take some geting used to.)

Oh I agree!
I was wrong- my insurance has a $1000 max, but even so, $4000 or so is worth it to me, no more self consciousness(even though other people tell me they didn't even notice my teeth were crooked, *I* notice!).
I, too am pretty strait laced, I won't be walking around with colored bands. My niece had them. She looked cute-she's 12.
I'm getting excited about this again, thank you guys!

 

[crz4mm2]

I didn't care if I had metal. My ortho told me the gold would be less noticed.So I went with gold... In all the pics I have of me with braces my teeth look DIRTY.... I would have went with the silver......
Good luck. I had mine for only 6 months. It was the best money I have ever spent!

 

[Cindyluwho]

I was going to do the Invisalign, but after all my research, i decided against them. You're supposed to brush and floss every time you eat. NOt goona happen my friend! I'm trying to lose weight,a nd part of taht entails eating several smaller meals a day. Also, you can only drink water w/ the liners in place.

That's actually one of the perks! The idea of taking them out, eating, then brushing and flossing keeps me from constant snacking. I've lost 10 pounds since I got the invisaligns. WoooHoooo

 

[LindsayDunn228]

At what age? My ortho and my oral surgeon told me I need to have the surgery first. I'm 36. They both told me that my jaw wouldn't expand without having the surgery, it would just tip my teeth.

I was 14 (I think). I find what your ortho said interesting. Why wouldn't your jaw expand?

 

[SillyMe]

I was 14 (I think). I find what your ortho said interesting. Why wouldn't your jaw expand?

As you get older, your tissue sort of fuses together and has to be cut in order to be expanded. My dd15 had the expander without surgery also. Adults can't do it that way.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

SillyMe, thanks for the explanation. I had no idea.

ETA: I lost about 40 lbs. when I had that #$%^&$%^& expander. That dang thing was torturous.

 

[JVL1018]

A little update--I got my braces on today!

I got one tooth pulled then I had spacers on for two weeks, I heard they would be horrific and very painful, even the ortho told me its usually bad--I had one tooth that hurt if I pushed on it, but other than that, nothing-I was lucky!

The braces were not painful at all-they feel very odd, like my teeth are twice as thick and its making me nuts, oh and I look like a dork but its all good.

The ortho told me 18 months, so next summer hopefully Ill be all done!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

A little update--I got my braces on today!

I got one tooth pulled then I had spacers on for two weeks, I heard they would be horrific and very painful, even the ortho told me its usually bad--I had one tooth that hurt if I pushed on it, but other than that, nothing-I was lucky!

The braces were not painful at all-they feel very odd, like my teeth are twice as thick and its making me nuts, oh and I look like a dork but its all good.

The ortho told me 18 months, so next summer hopefully Ill be all done!

Congrats on getting your braces on! I'd LOVE to get braces again, I still have an overbite even after wearing them for 5 years when I was a kid/ Just a little warning to you, DD13 got hers put on last week. She was fine that day and even the next morning, but about 24 hours after they were put on, the pain began. Just be sure and have lots of wax (the metal will cut up the inside of your mouth a bit at first) and have plenty of ice cream and tylenol on hand. The pain lasted about 3 days for her, but now she is fine! I can remember being in a lot of pain when I had them and only eating soup for a week. Not try to scare you, just a little warning.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Congratulations on biting the bullet, so to speak! It's a big deal, I know. I had braces from age 12 to 15, and it was not a pleasant experience. So I was pretty horrified when my ortho suggested I have them again at age 42! He said it would fix the popping in my jaw as well as other issues that would come along with age. Yes, my teeth were not correctly aligned any longer, but I honestly cared less about that, but wanted to avoid future problems.

So I got the metal braces, and wore silver bands at first. However, either the ortho or the assistant told me after a few months that navy makes your teeth look whiter, so I used that for most of the 18 months I wore them.

Now I have a retainer (which I didn't get the first time through, hence the reason my teeth moved.) Still looks a bit silly IMO, but a heck of a lot better. And my teeth? Boy, they sure are beautiful.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Congratulations to the OP!! The beautiful smile you get in the end is all worth it!! I also was an adult in braces - I spent well over three years in braces in my 30's, and got them off a few months ago. What a difference now that I have a normal smile! Best money I EVER spent.

 

[kandeebunny]

My mom is turning 60 this year and has metal braces. It isn't that bad. Get it fixed now...my moms turned in to TMJ she could barely eat, it was awful.

 

[dreamcometrue]

it'll all be worth it in the end! One of the 2nd grade teachers in my kids school got braces. She is probably in her 40's. She made all her students want them too. They tell her she looks SO cool!

 

[dvcfamily41801]

Hey there Vick! Just saw this and could not figure out how I missed when you started this thread...Oh yeah we were at WDW celebrating our 10th Anniversary

Anyway....hope you are feeling okay and take it easy. You are beautiful braces or not!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I had ceramic and they are fine.

The one thing about fixing only one problem with teeth--being cosmetic or other...it is rather difficult to do that sometimes without fixing other issues.

My whole bottom row was collapsed and that was why I got braces. But I still let them fix the overbite that I had (very subtle) b/c I had to have the whole thing anyway.

I had ceramics and the only difficulty was in the beginning when the ortho tried a new glue..my brackets popped off one by one--they discovered that glue could not be used with ceramic and he went back to his old stuff and all was fine.

There are also the new orthodontia where you wear inserts--they make the whole series for your mouth and then I think every month (maybe longer???) you go to the next piece. But you have to be very very religious about wearing it otherwise it obviously will not work. It is clear and removable.

 

[CathrynRose]

It makes me feel better when I hear of other adults with braces! Thanks for the pep talk.

From age 27 to about age 30, I had big ol' metal braces. You get so used to them, that they dont bother you or seem like an eyesore.

I was actually DISAPOINTED when i got them off, cuz my lips looked "poofier" with them on.

I'd get carded constantly with them on, too. AND when I was a bartender I had several drunk men tell me I should do those "barely you-know-what' magazines cuz of the braces.

So, do it - you wont regret them. Your teeth under the braces will get straight practically right away - which feels so good after looking crooked for so long.... then you just have to WAIT until theyre locked into place.

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

Well, my cousin is 25 and she just got braces put on about six months ago. She's a middle school teacher and says that she prays that she doesn't get mistaken for a student. =]

 

[LindaG4458]

I had braces at 30 and wore them for two years. Mine were the traditional "metal mouth" kind - not sure if ceramic ones were even available at the time. Anyway, it wasn't that bad and well worth it. There weren't many adults with braces when I had mine in 1980; these days you see them all the time. As a kid we just couldn't afford them.

It was well worth it and I don't regret it for an instant. Only two teeth have slipped at all in 25 years. Go for it - it will be over before you know it and you will have that beautiful smile!