Newbie....Hi Everyone

Message

#1 Post by **Iccle_Peanut** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 7:14 am

Hi people, i stumbled across your site and what a site it is. I've had a good read of some of your stories and have found the site a help for me.

I'm about to start some treatment, i need a fixed brace on my upper teeth due to overcrowding. My orthodontist would prefer me to have a metal brace, although i'm worried about how visible it will be. I wanted to have the ceramic one so he said ok but only on my front teeth. So i'm unsure what to do....can anyone offer me advice

Obviously i'm excited

and nervous

about treatment.....did having a brace make anyone's voice change? I'll have to do seminars at uni so am worried i won't be talking normally.

Thanks guys
Claire

#2 Post by **juf_84** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 7:56 am

Hi Claire, and welcome!

It is a fantastic site, and such a wonderful place to go to for support.

My orthodontist would prefer me to have a metal brace, although i'm worried about how visible it will be. I wanted to have the ceramic one so he said ok but only on my front teeth. So i'm unsure what to do....can anyone offer me advice

I think ultimately the choice of brackets- if you have a choice- will come down to what you will feel comfortable wearing, and most importantly, the brackets your ortho feels most comfortable working with. It is the ortho's skill, not the type of brackets, which will do the job. If your ortho is happy to offer you ceramics on some of your teeth, and you would feel more comfortable wearing them, then go for it! However, I would discuss this with your ortho, because from your post, I get the impression he was a bit hesitant. Maybe he finds it easier to work with metal? But again, if he is happy to offer the ceramics, go for it.

I am braced in full metal brackets- and I love them. However, I didn't have a choice, I was basically told, these are the brackets we work with, and this is why. I was more than happy to follow my ortho's advice, because he is the one working with them to treat my teeth.

did having a brace make anyone's voice change? I'll have to do seminars at uni so am worried i won't be talking normally

I didn't notice a huge change. My fs were a bit funny at first. I do find when I have been talking for a long time or I am tired I can get a bit lazy and my speech changes a little bit. But you really don't have anything to worry about. I am also at uni, and I am a tutor at my college, and have no problem talking to people. I have also had an interview and assessment day whilst in braces and they haven't been a problem.

If you are having trouble, try reciting this passage. Thanks to KK who is often posting this to help out people worried about their speech.

The Rainbow Passage

When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act like a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colours. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it. When a man looks for something beyond his reach, his friends say he is looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Take care, Claire, and I wish you all the best.

Jennifer

#3 Post by **hippyhippo** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 3:00 pm

Welcome!

I'm new here myself, and I love this site. It has given me the confidence to actually get a "metal mouth", which is something I thought I'd never do. Invisalign, sure.... but metal? Yikes! But just reading all the stories of other adults in braces you realize "hey, everyone else is doing it, why can't I?".

I'm not braced yet, but I'm going to end up with all metal. Well, mostly metal since I'm going to have some Damon 3s on the top (half metal, half ceramic). At my last consultation the ortho said he was only going to put them on my top 6 teeth and the rest would be metal, which was a bit dissappointing. I'm going to ask for the top 8 to be damon 3s when I get my impressions done (a week before brace date), and hopefully he'll give me the a-okay. Otherwise, I'll just have to suck it up and live with more metal.

I personally am not going with all ceramics for a few reasons. The most important being that my ortho doesn't recommend them. The second reason has to do with my own laziness. I can't be bothered to worry about avoiding foods that stain the clear ligs, and I don't like coloured ligs either. But I've heard metal ties can solve this problem.

Anyways, welcome to this board, and good luck with whatever braces you end up with!

#4 Post by **Iccle_Peanut** » Sat Aug 05, 2006 11:47 am

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. Hippo i've just got to get some of the money together for my treatment and then the braces will be on (it's so pricey, but worth it) As far as i know theres just one initial appointment and thats when the brace will be fitted.....i'm not sure though. How long do you have to have yours on for Hippo?

I'll get some piccies and post my 'before' teeth and keep you upto date with my progress, seems like me and you will be going through it around the same time hippo so it'll be good help each other through it.

Jennifer and KK thankyou for the advice, it's so good to be able to get advice from someone who actually wears braces, i've never actually met an adult in braces before, so am glad you lot are here

I'd love to get a time line like you lot have once my treatment starts too if possible (not sure how to get one) i hope the next twelve months go as quick as possible like the last twelve.

Thankyou so much
Claire

#5 Post by **fitchick** » Sat Aug 05, 2006 12:06 pm

Hi Claire,

Welcome to the site. As you have been told already, you will definitely find lots of helpful advice and support on here.

I have experience of 2 months in braces so I can share my story with you. Firstly, it took me 30yrs to summon up the courage to do it (I'm 40 now too aaargh!). I said to my ortho on my initial visit 'I only want Invisalign or Lingual braces' and I came away with metal bottoms, and ceramic tops to be fitted in 6mths! I can, hand on heart, say that my lower metal braces do not bother me in the slightest, I don't even think about them. I have just come back from holiday and I can't even see them in my holiday snaps! I so wish I had done this years ago, and it was the metal braces that delayed my decision for all those years.

My advice is go for it as soon as you can. I have only had positive feedback. The brace doesn't make my voice sound different but the bite plane and TPA took a little getting used to. I consider that a small price to pay for the end result.

Good Luck Claire and let us know how you get on. The sooner you start then the sooner you finish.

Julie

#6 Post by **hippyhippo** » Sat Aug 05, 2006 2:22 pm

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post. Hippo i've just got to get some of the money together for my treatment and then the braces will be on (it's so pricey, but worth it) As far as i know theres just one initial appointment and thats when the brace will be fitted.....i'm not sure though. How long do you have to have yours on for Hippo?

I've had quite a few ortho appointments so far even though I'm not yet braced, but I don't think all orthos work this way. So far I've had an initial consult (free, guesstimate on price and treatment time), records (x-rays, molds, which I had to pay for), final consult (where final price and treatment plan were discussed), impressions (haven't done this yet), and then brace date! Phew! Good thing parking is free!

To answer your question, the ortho predicts that I'll be in braces in for 18=24 months, and somewhere during that time I'm going to have lower jaw surgery to correct my overjet.

I'll get some piccies and post my 'before' teeth and keep you upto date with my progress, seems like me and you will be going through it around the same time hippo so it'll be good help each other through it.

Absolutely! One of the best things about the internet is the moral support you can get from it.

I'm going to take pics right before I get braced and right after, and I'll be sure to post them here. We can compare wonky teeth

Good luck!

#7 Post by **Kimber** » Sat Aug 05, 2006 9:50 pm

Welcome aboard, Claire! I have found that sometimes I do lisp or mispronounce words because my tongue or lips get stuck, though I think I'm the only one that hears it. Other people tell me they don't notice a thing. Like KK says, keeping hydrated helps. Lots of lip gloss, too! The crazy part is that your voice will change on a day-to-day basis as your teeth shift, so one day it's fine and the next your tongue and lips are sticking to everything in there! Just part of the fun!

I had an interesting experience with brackets. I opted for all metal for price and because I really didn't care that much that they showed. Then I started looking at this site at all the cool lig colors people do and I couldn't wait to "go wild." But on my metal brackets, the colored ligs don't stand out near as much as they do on the ceramic ones!

It's so ironic that you have to have the white ceramic ones to really show off the cool lig colors!

Good luck! It's all VERY worth it!

#8 Post by **bracesmom** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 1:55 am

Welcome! This site is great.