Braces Date! (Another new member? Yup, here I am...)

[hippyhippo]

Hello peeps!

Been lurking on this board for a few months, and as everyone here already knows, this is an amazing resource! Without this board I would likely not be getting braces soon. It defintiely gives you the confidence to see that many adults out there actually DO wear braces, and in fact, are proud of it!

So brief details about me: 27 year old female, professional, moderately crowded teeth (both top and bottom), narrow arches, and an 8mm overjet and the bad bite to go with it. I did not have braces when I was younger because my dentist at the time said it wasn't needed and "overbite can be sexy, look at some models!". Bleah. Needless to say, things have gotten much worse and here we are now.

My preliminary treatment plan so far looks to be 1.5 - 2 years in full braces (damon 3s on social uppers, full metal damons elsewhere), sometime during which I'll have orthognathic surgery to move my lower jaw forward. Fun fun. X-rays and molds are scheduled for this thursday, 2 weeks after that I have my last consultation to discuss treatment and finalized costs (early estimate was $7K CDN, not including surgerical fees! OUCH!), and then hopefully being braced sometime in August. Eep!

Anywho, just wanted to introduce myself, as I'm sure I'll be posting here often with many annoying newbie questions.

[BoringBrandon]

I just joined today too.

I am 19 male and just finished my first year of college with braces i have had them on for about 4.5 years, i had a real construction yeard thing going on for some time, but in anycase i am now down to 15 days till they come off.

So welcome to AW.


Brandon

[OneTime]

Welcome!

[Flora2006]

Welcome to the board.

Everyone here is amazing and so supportive...you can always count on people here to make you feel better and support you when you feel down at times because of this braces journey...

Good luck with the braces...let us know how it all goes!

[Metal smile]

I'm a 28 years old female. Glad to see you onboard! Been in the braces world for 1.5 weeks now

[hippyhippo]

I'm 18 months in, and just a few days post-surgery to correct my overjet - ask me in 6 months if it was all worth it, but even now, with my black, blue and yellow melon-head, I'm going to give it a

Congrats on your surgery, and I'm glad everything seems to be working out for you! How was the surgery? And how is the recovery going? Also, how many weeks before your surgery were you given a date? Sorry for the 20 questions, but I guess I'm too impatient to wait the 2 weeks before my final consult

[hippyhippo]

Thanks for all the welcomes and well wishes!

Just a quick update: Got my x-rays taken today (with a very cool 3d x-ray device, which unfortunately made my panoramic x-ray from my dentist useless.... no saving money there) and I also had my molds made. Very quick and painless, and I was in and out much faster than I thought I would be. Now I just wait for a couple of weeks to chat about my final treatment plan, and then hopefully I get braced!

Crossing fingers that my case will not be as complicated as initially thought, and therefore will be both cheaper and less time. Well, a girl can dream, right?

[hippyhippo]

Just thought I'd update you all on my braces situation.

Had my final consult this morning, and really, nothing had changed from my initial consult. My molds / x-rays just reaffirmed that my bite was wacky and I needed to have surgery.

So now I go back on August 15th to get impressions made, and I'm officially braced on August 22! Yay! Or is it Boo! I haven't decided yet I know it will be Ouch! soon though, both on the mouth and the pocketbook (7K up front! Yikes!).

I do have a question though: I asked my ortho how many teeth would have the damon 3s on vs all metal damons, and he indicated that it would be just the top "social six". Which is fine I suppose, but I've since looked in a mirror and I have a REALLY big smile. I definitely have more of a "social eight". Do you think it's reasonable for me to push getting my top eight with damon 3s? Is this likely going to affect my treatment time? While it's definitely not a make or break situation, I think it would make me feel more relaxed about my treatment. I just don't want to piss off my ortho so early in the treatment by being unreasonable either!

[Kriz]

Well, I am a 27 yo, professional, female too with crowding also I have been in braces for 20 days now, and I dont regret one single moment of it. I cant wait to see my new smile and if I have to go through 2 years of alittle discomfort then so be it Welcome aboard, and congrats on making the big decision. Your b-day will be here before ya know it!

Wish ya lots of luck!

Kriz

[juf_84]

Hi hippyhippo and welcome!

The time will fly before the 22nd- and your B-Day is my 2 month mark!

I, too thought it would be a pretty painful experience. But so far I have had a really good run. The spacers were actually the worst part (you haven't mentioned if you are getting spacers- if you're not, that's great!). So I have my fingers crossed for you, hoping that discomfort will be minimal

Definitely have a chat to your ortho about getting the damon 3s on your top 8. It is your mouth and you are the one living with braces 24/7. I don't think it's being unreasonable, all you can do is ask.

Best of luck with everything, keep us posted!

[hippyhippo]

Well, I am a 27 yo, professional, female too with crowding also I have been in braces for 20 days now, and I dont regret one single moment of it.

Wow, if I didn't have a bit of a medical mishap back in May, I'd likely have been braced about the same time as you.

Thanks for the well wishes, and it's great to hear that you have no regrets! I only hope that I have as positive of an attitude as you do.

[hippyhippo]

Thanks for the feedback juf_84,

I'll definitely bring up getting my top 8 with damon 3s at my next appointment (impressions), that is, if I get to see the ortho then. When I got my molds, I literally saw him only for about 30 seconds! If not, I'll bug him about it right before I'm getting braced. Or if it's really bothering me, I might just give him a call before my appointment. Thanks for the vote of confidence!

As far as spacers go (I believe he used the term "separators"), the ortho said I likely wouldn't need to be banded so I shouldn't need them. That was a relief to hear!

[starbaby71]

your problems sound just like mine!! Well, almost. I have crowding too. It's not really severe but certainly enough to make me want braces. My arches are narrow as well and I have a 5 mm overbite. It's not as big as yours but my ortho sure commented on how big that is.. lol. He did give me the option for jaw surgery because he can't fully correct my bite without it, but he said the overbite would be pretty minimal after braces so I decided to forgo that. I've only had mine on for a little over 2 weeks now. Good luck with everything!!