Thinking about getting braces (pics)

[janet0716]

Hi all,

I'm 23 years old and thinking about getting braces. I've never thought about it that seriously before, although my teeth have always been an area that I've been self-conscious about. I haven't had an orthodontist appointment yet but my Mom was a dental assistant years ago and says I will probably have to get 2 upper teeth pulled and braces for about 2 years.

I have an sort of significant overbite...it's not overly noticeable from the front but definitely is from the side when I smile big. I usually don't think about it enough to not smile when I'm out socializing but I feel getting it fixed could only increase my confidence more - and there's nothing wrong with that!

Here are my teeth!





I didn't attach a side view but you can probably tell from the first picture that I have a definite overbite.

I guess I'm just worried that once the braces are on, I'll be unhappy with the way I look. I'm pretty confident about how I look now - I think my teeth work for me in that I look "cute" like a bunny if nothing else - but once the braces get on I think there will be more (negative) attention drawn to my teeth and .. most of all, I'll look younger. I wear glasses but have contacts, and I'm pretty petite - everyone always says I look about 16! Braces can't help with that at all I imagine

For those who have had their overbite fixed (or are in the process), do you find you look older now? I figure my teeth have something to do with me looking young as well. Did you feel less attractive with them on while they were on? I realize the end result is what the whole process is about, but I'm still insecure about what I'll look like with them on..."was it worth it?" or - more importantly - was it all that bad while they were on or am I just "freaking out" over nothing?

Thanks.

[alimommy1]

I had my braces the first time when I was 20, and I was almost 23 when I got them off. I look about 10 years younger than I am.... when I was 20 that was terrible because people thought I was still in jr high or something. Now it's not so bad, as long as people are not assuming I'm under 21 - I'm married and have a step daughter who is 21 in a week, a step son who is 19, and a daughter who is 6. Anyway, I will definitely agree that being petite doesn't help, and wearing braces doesn't help - with people believing you are much younger than you are.

I will say I was SO thrilled to get braces, my teeth were awful, so once the braces were on, it was a confidence boost because it was obvious at that point i was fixing them - which I couldn't say BEFORE I did it, of course. I do not remember any negative attention, curiously enough it was either positive attention, or non-attention - as in people did not seem to notice. That made sense after the wires all straightened out, people do look more if the wires are all wonky or if they are 'sectioned', not one arch wire but several cut in sections - or if you have clear brackets sometimes people will look closer because they see smething but they aren't sure what they are looking at.

As far as feeling less attractive.. no, I definitely felt more attractive with them. Now I am dealing with relapse, but it's still not a big deal - unless I go somewhere where Im planning to eat but I can't leave an appliance in the case in the car because it's too hot.... I know that sounds silly but I have had that happen once or twice. It's worth it, for sure.

[alimommy1]

oh, and I'm not sure what happened to your pictures but it's just code, I can't see them. Try uploading to imageshack and c&p the 'forum' code, then use preview to see if you can see the pictures before you post.

[SDFD TSchott]

Snapfish is the worst site to use for uploading images to a forum based website such as this, try photobucket.com or imageshack.com

[VA5]

If you are thinking of braces, you should get them.. you'll regret waiting til you're even olde.r I wish I had gotten them when I first considered them, which was around your age. Now flash forward over 10 years and I tell myself, darnit why did I wait this long.

Also, if you just have an overbite, i think you'll be in and out of braces fast.. you already have built in spaces in between your teeth.. they might not need to extract at all.. just pull your teeth back and straighten out the bite situation might be all you need to do, which would be pretty fast I'd think. Go for it! At least, get a consult and let us know what you learn!

[janet0716]

Thanks! Yeah, I think I will go for the consult and maybe I won't need them on for a full 2 years. And as with most things, they probably won't be as bad as I anticipate.

I would fix the photos in my post but I can't find an edit button. In the future I'll know to not use snapfish.

[sadpanda]

Hi Janet -

I'm 29 and just got braces, all metal, and I'm hoping they make me look younger. I've always looked young for my age, but I'll turn 30 in Nov. and I think that makes me old, so I'm hoping I kind of look like a teenager now. I think I look better with the braces on, especially since I have a huge overbite that I thought was so obvious before braces. I always covered my mouth when I smiled. With braces, I'm more willing to smile because I like the braces and I think my overbite isn't so noticeable. My ortho is straightening everything first and then is going to work on my bite and overjet with rubber bands and it should take about 2 years. If your overbite is not so bad, you could be in braces less time. Like the others, I couldn't see your pics, but if you want braces, you should get them soon because I think that I should have gotten them a long time ago instead of almost waiting until I'm 30. I have a small mouth, but I didn't need any extractions before braces and I had had oral surgery to extract my wisdom teeth that were all impacted and didn't have room in my mouth to come through, but that was when I was 18. One other thing - I think that ceramic braces are associated more with adults and that if you got them, you wouldn't look that much younger than you would with metal braces, so that's an idea.

[alimommy1]

Ceramics or clears (radiance? Innovation?) are an excellent option for adults who don't want to show off metal braces but aren't candidates for invisalign. The new clears are very discreet - I had friends who had ceramic braces when we were younger, and they were technically tooth color - I like the clears MUCH MUCH better. The self ligating clears are even BETTER because there are no ligs to stain. Of course i say all that and I probably wouldn't get clears unless the cost was exactly the same as metal.

[BraceFace2o1o]

Hi Janet and welcome. I am 24 and soon to get braces too, I would have preferred to have them when I was younger, but know that I would definitely prefer them now rather than when I'm even older! I say go for it if you can

Also, I think I am getting confused with overbites and overjets? I think what I have is a slight overbite (my upper front teeth cover my lower front teeth - so that you can't see them, but there isn't a space between them horizontally, I hope that makes sense lol).

For example an overjet:
which looks like this from the side

Overbite:
which looks like this

Sorry for all te pictures LOL. I'm NO Ortho and kinda new to all this, but from your pictures I'd say you have an overjet (not sure if you can have an overbite too, so wont comment on that). I guess your Ortho will confirm for you at your consultation/s! Good luck!

[akellol]

Hi Janet,
I am 32 yrs old, female from Uganda (East Africa) and have really crooked teeth. I am getting braces next week. I am scared and do do not know how people will react to it; especially in my workplace where there are over 40 people.
I wanted to get them about 2 yrs ago but was discourageda friend who is a dentist; but I think it is now or never, and I have made up my mind that it is now!

[sammywantstraightteeth]

Janet, definitely do it now - the earlier the better because then you have longer to enjoy the results. If I had started mine when I first started considering this 2 years ago it would all be over now.

[KimC]

I am 36 and just finished my 2nd round with braces in March. I wanted to get them many years ago, but my husband was very reluctant. he didn't want to have a wife with braces...so I divorced him. I am so glad that I went through with it and wish I had done it many years before. Good Luck

[akellol]

Thanks all. I am greatly encouraged!

[janet0716]

Yes, thank you to everyone.

I guess it will be hard to say exactly how long I will need them for until I get the consultation. My mouth is pretty small and so I guess that's why I figure I will need teeth pulled. Perhaps that won't be the case (hopefully!)

I definitely don't always cover my mouth when I smile but I guess I only get super self-conscious about it is when I see myself in pictures. While some pictures (usually straight-on) you can't hardly tell...if the angle is different it's very noticeable.

Thanks for the suggestion about ceramics, alimommy1. I hadn't really known there were so many different options and that makes me feel a bit better.

Chrystal, yes - I'm sort of confused about overjet and overbite now too..those diagram pictures look the same, but overjet I guess describes the horizontal and overbite, the vertical. Anyway, my teeth look like the picture you included in the 'overjet' description so I guess that best describes it!

akellol, I guess we are in a similar situation - I'm beginning to think it will all be worth it though!

KimC, glad to hear you finally got braces like you wanted

These replies are making me think it is now or never! And I'm actually getting excited about it

[sadpanda]

Hi -

You can definitely have an overbite and an overjet. I have an overbite that covers my bottom teeth almost 100% and then my overjet (the space between my top and bottom teeth) is not so bad at about 5 mm. I always knew I had an overbite because dentists would mention it, but I didn't even really know what an overjet was until I was considering braces. I took some pictures before getting braces and could always see the obvious overbite because I saw it in the mirror, and I always knew the overbite stuck out, but when I saw a picture from the side and saw the teeth sticking so far out, it looked horrible! Plus, the teeth were crooked, so it was like looking at a bunch of scary teeth sticking out far. I can't believe no one ever told me it looked so ugly!