Why didn't you have braces as a child/teen?

[jeniwan]

My parent's couldn't afford braces for me when I was younger. When I was 18 I received a small inheritance... enough to get either braces or a car. I decided to get the car, braces be damned. This year I finally have good enough insurance to be able to afford them. I'll only have to pay $700 out of pocket!

So yeah, for me lack of $$$$ was the main deterrent.

[fromjersey]

I grew up in 1930's. I had never seen braces, never heard of them, no dentist ever mentioned them. I had severe Class II malocclusion and when I mentioned my receding chin to my mother I was told I was crazy. Of course we had no money even if I had ever been referred to an orthodontist.
Helen

[spragers]

My dentist firt mentioned braces when I was about to graduate from high school and take on the debt of a 4-year private college. Nice of her to wait until my teeth were set in their wonkiness. Eight years later I finally got up the nerve to go through it all (mostly because of the fact that I could no longer close my jaw or chew properly).

[WhyMe?]

My parents only took me to the dentist once while I was growing up. They felt that anyone who visited the doctor or dentist regularly was paranoid or just plain crazy. My mother says that people should like you how you are no matter what and my father said that spending money on such "worldy" things is vain and "not good". Funny because neither of their parents or siblings are like that...I just lucked out with the outcast parents.

Needless to say, they are whacked and we are in the real world. Where I live not fixing your teeth definitely puts you into a lower class in some people's eyes. Not that I put much worth into what everyone is talking about, but I firmly believe you must take care of your appearance. So in my late twenties, I am all braced up and ready to go

[blondie111]

For me and my family, it was purely a financial reason. My younger sister and I both needed them, we even did the steps needed before braces, such an an upper palate expander and other retainers. I even had 4 permanent teeth pulled! But my father's business burned down in a fire, and we literally lost everything, so there was just no way we could afford it.

Now that I am an adult, and have a stable job and steady income (although not enough I can finally afford it. Plus, my boyfriend has been a wonderful supporter of me getting them on at 32. I was really just thinking I should forget about it and just live with crooked teeth for the rest of my life, but he helped me realize it's not just for cosmetic reasons, it's for a lifetime of dental health!

[cookie]

It would have made sense for me to have braces properly as a teen as they would have been free (the NHS is good for something!) However, firstly my dentist referred me to a rubbish ortho - who said I'll fix either your top or your bottom teeth - not both. So we went for top teeth - I had my upper 2nd pre-molars extracted then the "treatment" started - which basically involved wearing what I now know to be a Hawley retainer. I was 15 and very self-conscious so didn't like to wear it, so I didn't. As a result, my not very involved in my wellbeing mother didn't force the issue, so nothing was achieved.

I had been thinking about getting it done "properly" for a while and my husband was the one who really encouraged me to go for it. Am very glad I'm doing it now, and whilst it would have been nice to have straighter teeth from a younger age (I'm now nearly 27), I guess on the polus side I'm much more self-assured and confident with dealing with wearing braces at the stage I am now rather than I was in my teens.

[Pirate Wench]

I was never told I needed braces as a child or teen. When I was really young I remember my dentist saying I had perfect teeth. As I have gotten older, I started noticing my teeth are getting progressively more crooked on the bottom. I also get really bad migraines. I have alot of clicking and popping in my jaw. My dentist has given me referals to Orthodontits on a few different occasions, but I have been too scared to get braces.

Now I am 30 years old and I have finally taken the plung......I will get my top braces on June 15th. My bottom ones should follow shortly after that.

I am really glad I am getting this done now. I am looking forward to not having as many migraines.

[jcdamon3]

In the sixties when I grew up you didn't get braces unless your teeth were REALLY bad. My teeth were pretty good. Even by today's standards they weren't that bad, but my bite was driving me crazy so I decided to fix it. And yes, shift DOES happen. My teeth were just getting worse and worse. I didn't want to do anything cosmetically to my teeth except straighten them. It just seems more "narual" than veneers. Of couse veneers would not have fixed my bite problems, it just would have hidden the "shift".

[KathleenH]

We couldn't even afford to go to the dentist, let alone the orthodontist. I finally went to the dentist when I was 16, and, of course, he referred me to an ortho. We just couldn't afford to do it. My brother's teeth are worse than mine were, and my sister's are not as bad. My parents could probably have paid for one of us, but how to decide?

The company I started working for at age 25 offered ortho insurance, but I still couldn't afford it (only paid up to $1000). So then in the brief two years that I did not have any ortho coverage, my husband and I decided it was the right time.

I am actually happy that I waited, as far too many people who'd had braces as kids have to return for further treatment as adults. Now I get it done in one treatment course.

[*Denise*]

I had perfect teeth all my life until 2 years ago... I started seeing gaps on the lower arch. Reason been... is because i pulled out my tooth at the age of 12. That tooth never grows back. That one space have me getting braces at 32.

[Brooke]

My mom was a single mom of 3 children. So, when it came to braces, we just couldn't afford it. Not only that but it wasn't a dental health issue for me... it was a cosmetic thing. So, as I got older, I took it into my own hands. I am actually glad I did it as an adult. I have better cleaning techniques and I feel that being an adult, I followed orders a lot better and I know to wear my retainer. I know as a child, I would've never wore a retainer and never took the care I do now with my teeth. Like I always say, everything happens for a reason.

[SapphireJen]

Well my parents tried to fix my teeth (after I told them I wanted to) but took me to a dentist instead of an ortho. The dentist gave me a plate - a horrible contraption that kept my mouth open 24/7. I remember it being sooo bulky, and I would spit when I spoke which was so humiliating.

I partially blame the dentist as I have since found out that I definitely needed braces (not a plate). I partially also blame myself for not wearing the darn thing. I think I gave up after a couple of months!

[Kodius Champion]

My parents divorced when I was in elementary school, leaving my mother to raise my sister and I alone. We barely had enough money to live, so braces were simply out of the question, as was any other type of dental work.

[jennandtonic]

Well, when I was about 12 my dentist and dental assistant brought up the idea of me having braces. My father nixed the idea, then when I was 14 they brought up the subject again. He said no again, that I didn't need braces because he doesn't want me to be 'Miss Perfect Teeth.'

Well, when I was 16 I just got tired of my teeth and got a job to start saving up. Fast forward to October 2005 at the age of 19, I hadn't been to the dentist in about 2 years, and the first thing I told my dental assistant was to recommend an orthodontist for me. So she did, I went, and after having extractions and the wisdom teeth taken out I got braces February 2nd at the age of 20 years old!

And my dad can just shove it, I'm going to love being 'Miss Perfect Teeth!'

[badteeth]

I'm not sure if orthodontic was already invented when I was a child.