Bekah's Story Pics *Update September27*

[Bekah]

Well first of all I am 32, when I was in high school I had perfect teeth. I even had dentists that wanted to know when I had my braces taken off and were shocked to hear that I never had them.

Around the age of 18 my wisdom teeth came in. All four of them were impacted. Although my orthodontist's assistant claims it is impossible for it to happen, these new teeth pushed all of my front teeth on the bottom over each other. This crowding didn't start until my wisdom teeth came in, so that is what I say caused it! lol

Anyway, ever since I was in my early 20's my teeth have bothered me. When I smile, you can't see my bottom teeth and I have never been able to afford to get them fixed.

About a month ago my oldest daughter got braces and I started talking to the orthodontist and scheduled a consult. He said that as my top teeth were relatively straight, I could just do invisalign on the bottoms, but my BITE was off on my right side and that I could get that fixed by getting traditional brackets on both tops and bottoms. Fearing that only fixing the bottoms would shift my bite farther off, I decided that I would just get it all done at the same time.

So I went in this morning on March 19, 2008 and had my records done! I finally made the decision. I am scheduled to get my braces on April 7, 2008. I have discussed it with my husband, who had braces as a child, and he is 100% behind my decision. Unfortunately he is pretty much the only support I have in my decision. My parents are telling me that at my age it is stupid for me to be spending the $5000 on my teeth. Her view is that I have lived with them for over a decade and should just leave them alone and continue to whiten them.

Anyway, as an adult I am doing this and have made the decision that I want to get traditional metal brackets instead of the ceramic ones. Thank you to everyone here on the board that offered opinions for both types! You guys helped me more than you will ever know! I finally based my decision purely on the fact that I want my bottom teeth to match the tops and I want to play with all the pretty colors!

I am in the process of buying a new camera so I will post pics as soon as I can!

[LynB]

Good Decision Bekah,

My parents say the same thing and I feel that now I am older and can finally do something to make myself happy. I know in the end age won't matter when I smile and people see how pretty my teeth are.

Hang in there.

Lyn B

[shayw]

Congrats on your decision Bekah!

You have us along with your husband for support!

[elpi]

Congrats from me too, woo! we're both the same age and going for metal braces next month and roll on the coloured ligs

Hope you can get some pics up so we can watch your progress and good luck with everything!

[laineyloo]

Best of luck Bekah. Looking forward to seeing your photos

Don't worry about your folks. I'm sure they will come around. My mom was really support and encouraged me to do it but my dad was Mr. Negative .... he still is even though I have them on! I just laugh at him and don't let it get to me. He even said my wonky teeth were part of my character ... eh thanks dad

[martinboyce]

Hey Bekah,

Had to post, im glad youve decided to join us all in this wibbley wobbley adventure that is braces, i hope in some small way i was able to convince you to follow your heart. I must admit i may have subconsciously wanted you to join us as your a really nice person with a similar story to me. Hehe

Do you know any more about your next steps? teeth out? or straight in for braces?

get your camera sorted, im waiting for pics. Im a very multimedia kinda man, i neeeeed pics!

cant wait to follow your story

Take care chic,

Big Hug \o/

[Bekah]

OMG you have no clue how hard it is for me to put these pictures online! I am mortified that I am doing this!

As I said before, my top teeth are basically straight. The only reason for top brackets is to fix my bite on my right side of my mouth.


My bottoms are starting to cross in the front. You can't see them when I smile, but you can when I talk. And anyone who talks as much as I do will know that means that EVERYONE sees the crooked ones!


Right side



Left side



All Tops and bottoms



At least now I have Before pics! These are the ones I save off the orthodontists website! Now to get that camera within the next couple of weeks so that I have pics of my teeth on brace day!

Oh my they look really bad without my face around them!!!!!!

[Miss Smiley]

I think your teeth look fabulous! I can't believe they need work!

[Bekah]

Thank you Miss Smiley! I have just always been worried about how crooked the bottoms were. Then I looked at my mom's teeth and hers are even worse. My dentist and the orthodontist are both telling me that they will only get worse as I age. I am scared to death to lose my teeth after years of neglecting them.

I figure 18 months in braces is nothing! Thank you for your kind words! Hopefully that will mean an early release for me!

[Braced32]

Hi Bekah ~

I'm also 32 and just beginning the braces journey! WELCOME!!

I can see where they are crooked but I'm surprised it's going to take that long to correct that and your bite.

I say CONGRATULATIONS for being BRAVE enough to finally get braced!

[Bekah]

I can see where they are crooked but I'm surprised it's going to take that long to correct that and your bite.

My orthodontist has informed me he is a "perfectionist" so he is saying 18 months to get everything perfect. I thought it was an awefully long treatment time too. Oh well, they really bother me and I am honestly kinda looking forward to braces!

Thank you for the kind words Ken! I really hate taking any pictures! I have always felt like I didn't have a chin and now I know that braces as a teen could have helped to fix it! I just can't wait to finally get started!

[melliemoo]

Congratulations! Just to provide some more support for you: I am 48 and in lower braces and I do wish now that I had done this when I was younger. But you will not regret this I am sure. You have beautiful teeth and you will look and feel great.

[missfashionista]

Congrats, Bekah!! I am turning 30 this year and when I was younger, my parents couldn't afford braces for me. So now, since I am older and am financially-stable, I feel that it is time for me to invest in my smile. Yes, I lived till 30 to make this decision but hopefully I live another 50 more years to enjoy my new smile! So don't let anyone say anything negative to you, you have a long life ahead of you and you want to enjoy every moment of it and not have that "should've, could've" thought.

I look forward to following you in your journey to a great smile!

[Braced32]

Bekah ~

Fortunately my parents had the money to fix my teeth when I was younger. Unfortunately, as a teenager I refused to get them fixed because they didn't bother me that much. Plus, I didn't like my dentist and ortho, and actually had a traumatic experience when my dentist extracted my teeth for braces.

At age 32, I was FINALLY brave enough to go through with the journey!

I would rather have my ortho tell me a longer rather than a shorter time frame - that way if you get done early, you can be thrilled rather than going over the time frame and being upset and disappointed.

Looking forward to going through this journey together!

[jenny101101]

Hi Bekah,

Congrats on deciding to take the braces journey! I'm 32 also and my biggest "problem" is overcrowded bottoms, very similar to yours. Your pics look great and I look forward to following your story.

It's great you have your husbands full support. My DH is the same, behind me 100%. It's great you'll have your daughter to "compare notes"...how exciting! You're getting braced the day before I get my lowers on(got tops on Feb.21st)....the waiting is the hardest part! lol

Best of luck...Keep smilin'!