A relapse case....the whole saga begins again...

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#1 Post by **Olivia** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:03 am

Hi all!

After lurking around for ages...It is only fair to come "out of the closet" and introduce myself! I'm Olivia, 33 yrs old, and seriously considering going for braces the second time around...

I vaguely remember the first time, 15 months, only upper brackets at 14yrs old...No real discomfort, but I DO remember how socially awkward I felt..
After they came off I got a retainer and I wore (? I'm not a native speaker, please bear with me

) it at night until I got bridgework done at age 17 to fill up a gap, which was there due to a non existing molar (It just wasn't there!) After that I couldn't wear the retainer anymore and I was told it wasn't neccesary to get a new one...3 months later I was back with a rotated tooth and the dentist decided to make a bonded retainer. I decided I could live with one rotated or shifted tooth and that was that..

Fast forward 15 years..(FINALLY, I can hear some of you think

)

To my horror I suddenly found my front teeth and the teeth next to that shifting...spaces formed an the teeth felt...sensitive...I went to a new dentist and she referred me to an ortho who concluded that the bonded retainer was badly applied and subconsciously I've been biting down on in with my lower teeth, causing my upper teeth to "flare"...yay...

Obviously, not a problem that will fix itself or go into remission...
I was shocked by the way by the "open office" construction at the ortho's office, not something I expected...He presented me with two options:
1. Invisalign (lite) which is 7 mnths tops with maybe refinements
2. brackets for a year ("a year??" I yelped, he said: "could be shorter, but I don't want you nagging at me when it takes longer dan 6 mnths")

Overall I didn't like his attitude, obviously I am an intelligent adult independent woman (yay!

and not a twelve year old...So on friday I'm going to get a second consult...If it's the same prognosis, and I meet the same slightly arrogant, hastlly approach, I will bear with it and go with ortho nr. 1, he's the best in my region.

So....having all said...it really comes down to the last choice...invisalign or brackets...My selfconscious and very single little me (contradicting the whole intelligent independent thing, I know!

)screams INVISALIGN!!!! But my realistic self says I will probably not have the discipline for something like that....*sigh* I could try though? hmm..?

I took some pictures and I will try to place them...This means I building up the courage and try to get the tech stuff at the same time...

Congrats on all of you who already took the plunge, I greatly admire you!

thanx for reading this LONG post,and please tell me what you think!

Olivia

#2 Post by **Olivia** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:46 am

Ugghh that looks bad...And I'm sweating because I thought that Imageshack was sharing it with my facebook account!!?? THE HORROR!!

#3 Post by **sisi** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:20 pm

Hi Olivia - great first post!

Your teeth look pretty good to me and I suspect that you would not be in braces for as long as a year (health warning; I am not an ortho!).

I'm 36 and about to get my braces off on Weds. I've had the full set for 8 months and I am not going to pretend that the social side of having braces was easy. I found it tough at times but I am glad I did it. Having said that, there are many people in their 30s on this site who totally embrace having braces and happily flash their shiny grins at colleagues and friends. I wish I was like that!

Really it comes down to whether or not you have the will-power to do it for yourself. If you think the end result will be worth it you will find the courage to do it. The truth is that most people will not notice your braces and those who do notice them probably won't care. Most people are quite wrapped up in themselves, I find!

Good luck with your decision.

#4 Post by **yoginbraces** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:29 pm

First off, welcome!

Like you I went back and forth on whether to get regular braces (ceramics) vs. Invisalign. I opted to go with regular ceramics b/c I wasn't sure I had the discipline to wear the Invisalign molds day in and day out for 20+ hours a day. I knew I was disciplined enough to do it most of the time but I was concerned about the nights I might fall asleep w/o wearing them, or go out in the evening w/o wearing them and not put them back in for several hours, possibly several times a week.

That said, I'm not suggesting that ceramic braces are a walk in the park. They are a pain to keep clean, brushing & flossing take a lot of time, and there are still areas that I can't seem to get as clean as before.

I have been in braces 7 weeks today. I still feel self conscious but Im happier now that I have them. I know this time next summer they will be off and I (hopefully) will have a dazzling smile.

#5 Post by **drrick** » Mon Jul 19, 2010 3:42 pm

If you get lingual braces you can have invisible and fixed (so you cant take them out)

Something to think about

#6 Post by **Olivia** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 12:17 am

Thanx for the replies!

@ sisi: congrats on reaching the finish line! ! You must be thrilled...!
And thanx for the realistic posting....I've come al long way deciding that I wanted this, finding myself in some sort of "circle": Not happy with my teeth, knowing that things could look much better and not happy with the options to fix it...I'm not going to lie either..I'm dreading it...I don't like myself for it, but I am....and that's just the way it is.

@ Yoginbraces: Thanx for the welcome! I recognize what you are saying....I could do t most of the time, but not ALL the time...and the latter is the "secret" of the invisalign I've been told...

@ Drrick: Thank you for thinking with me on this..Do the lingual braces have a longer treatment time? I thought I heard something like that...The first ortho was very enthousiastic about invisalign and didn't mention lingual braces...I guess I've been used to having something behind my teeth for so many years, it would be a serious option...But I'm thinking...Why doesn't everybody opt for that if its invisibale and does the job? Finance? It is more expensive I think...or another reason? I will look in to that...

Anyway, I'm going in on friday for a second consult after that I will decide what to do...Strangely I feel kinda happy about that...Let's get this show on the road...my teeth got WAY to much of my attention lately!

Again, thanx for reading!

#7 Post by **drrick** » Tue Jul 20, 2010 7:54 am

Lingual braces are typically a bit more expensive and fewer offices provide them since additional training is needed.

Treatment time isnt necessarily longer, in some cases it can actually be faster.

#8 Post by **Olivia** » Wed Jul 21, 2010 1:11 pm

Thank you drrick!

That is helpful information!

I´m going in for a consultation with a second ortho on friday, I will ask her about the lingual braces.

#9 Post by **alimommy1** » Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:47 am

Welcome Olivia

I'm chuckling about the 'open office' observation, I thought it was normal for their offices to be that way. The only time I have ever been in a room with walls was for an original consult, checks for appliances or adjustments with braces are always almost elbow to elbow with other patients lol. The last time I was at the office I was seated inbetween two youngsters... I'm guessing I may have been older than one of their parents!

It was VITAL to me that I found an ortho who didn't have an 'attitude', I am like this about any person I hire, whether it's health-care related or just to paint my fence or collect my mail while I'm gone... or whatever the case may be. I have high expectations of whomever I hire, which means if I am paying somebody money to provide me a service, not only do they need to be qualified, they need to have decent people skills, excellent communication skills, and understand that since I am paying them, they don't get to act like a pompous arse lol. I hope that your second consult nets a better result than your first, or at least that the ortho is positive about what can be done and has a little less arrogance on the brain.

As far as invisalign vs fixed braces, yes, I suppose if you know you may not wear the invisalign as much as you're supposed to, it would lengthen your treatment, BUT if the self consciousness of braces would interfere in your life to the point where you'd be completely miserable the whole time you were wearing them, maybe invisalign would give you that extra little oomph toward getting it done anyway. I had fixed braces the first time thru and I'm re-treating mild relapse with active retainers. The best part about something removable is probably being able to eat and brush/floss without having to worry about damaging appliances or have a naughty list of things you're not supposed to eat. Sorry for rambling so much but you made such a great post... and I must have insomnia because I thought of so much to say!

#10 Post by **Olivia** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 3:27 am

Hi Alimommy!

Thanks for your great response!

I guess I was a bit shell shocked when I found myself in an office with 5 chairs and a lot of little boys and girls who were curious as to why an adult should be there...

But that was not the main reason I backed out for the moulds (and having my fixed retainer removed, point of no return)
It was the ortho, who, at my initial consultation, was checking his watch constantly, and was , in my opinion, rude and condesending (is this the right word?

) When I came in the second time, he started talking to me about my treatment while having his hands in another persons mouth...telling me that if I didn't have the motivation, I should not progress...
I totally agree with you when you see that you expect service and attention and understanding from someone you hire to do something! I'm so happy that someone agrees with me on this point!!

I guess it is a bit of a personal thing...For me, I need to have a feeling of control and comfort with what I'm doing, especially when I spend more than 3000 euro to get it done!

Yesterday I went for a "second opinion" and it was great! This ortho is a half hour further away than the first, but she was communicating with me, instead of talking to me and made me feel comfortable about doing this. She took her time to explain what was going on in my mouth and how we could fix that. She opted for invisalign because fixed lingual braces, in her opinion would be "overtreatment" if you look at prices.

So I'm going to ask the first ortho to send the Xray's etc. to her, and I will start treatment in september, I'm so happy about that!!!

I read your story about the inman brace (didn't know that excisted) and this also sounds like a great solution to fix mild relapse!

I guess I am also rambling a bit, I was excited about your great post!