Start of my braces journey at 66

[redwine]

Lower braces on, my (56th!) birthday was last Friday, and my 1st adjustment is coming up on Thursday. My mouth feels different so I think the teeth are moving. Guess I'll find out on Tursday. Now I am looking forward to SARPE in late December and getting the top braces on. Then it will really feel like I'm getting down to business! Yeah, there will probably be some uncomfortable times (I refuse to use the P word for now), but I think it will be worth it. And, I bought myself a smaller size pair of jeans for my birthday! The old ones are just too big!
Question: is there an average time between adjustments? And if not, how often do you go? We're trying to get my lower teeth sorted before the SARPE is done. Four weeks seems like a good amount of time to me, others seem to go much longer between adjustments.

[Dee17]

Hello,
I just found your posting. I can't tell you what a feeling I get every time I read a posting by another person over the age of 50. I myself am 54 and will be getting my braces on October 25th. My orthodontist says I will have to wear them for two years. I only hope that once they are actually put on that some of my anxiety starts to dissipate. Since I first started wrestling with the question of "Do I or Don't I get braces?" I have had so much anxiety. It wakes me up at night. So, once I actually made the decision to proceed with treatment, I felt much better and slept very well that night. A good sign.
I'll continue reading your postings and hope that the remaining part of your journey goes well. Smooth sailing from here on out!

[Bomb]

52 years old. Braced in October 2010. Lower jaw sugery in June 2012. Still recovering. Never too old to help yourself!!

[Dee17]

Yes, you're absolutely right about that. Even though I have been very reluctant, I am actually starting to look forward to the beginning of my treatment. I'll be on the way back to a beautiful healthy looking smile. Best of luck to you!

[gemini4]

48 years old here, and it will be one week tomorrow that I've been braced. Ceramics on top, metal on bottom (though bottoms won't go on for another month or two ... the top front teeth need to move out of the way for the bottom brackets).

I hate to wish time away, but time does seem to go by quickly now that I'm older. My braces will be off by the time I'm 50. My 50th birthday is a little over 19 months away, and the best birthday present for me would be for them to come off by the Big Day!

[gemini4]

Even though I have been very reluctant, I am actually starting to look forward to the beginning of my treatment.

I made the decision to go for it back in late July, and at that point I really wanted to just get started. I figured the longer I waited, the longer it would be to be done!

[Dee17]

I can definitely relate to that. It seems like it took me forever to finally come to a decision. I finally did and now I have to wait until the end of October to get them put on. I'd just rather get the process started so I can relax about it. I hope my anxiety will go away once my braces have actually been put on.

[Dee17]

Just checking in to report that I got my braces put on on October 25th. Within a few hours, I could feel my anxiety starting to melt away. Life in braces has been relatively uneventful. I've had some pain but was able to treat it with just Tylenol. My biggest problems have been flossing (!!!). The first night, I spent an hour trying to do it until I finally gave up in total frustration. Last night ( a week later) it only took me 25 minutes. So far, so good. I've also been doing a lot of teeth clenching and have been waking up 2 or 3 times each night with terrible pain and a raging headache because of it. So, it's back to the orthodontist for me on Monday to get that, along with a very sore spot on my upper right gum, checked out. I hope he's going to be able to help me stop the clenching. I've also noticed that I've started doing it during the day so that's been kind of icky. Major headaches!
Overall, though, I must say that I have adjusted remarkably well. Haven't had much trouble eating despite getting molar buildups on my back teeth. Not too much pain in my front teeth. I've also started to notice some movement -- my midline gap seems to be starting to close already and my right front incisor which was twisted and sticking out about 2 mm has moved right back in line with my other teeth in my upper arch. Very encouraging things to see.
Hope everyone else is doing well with their braces adventures!
Dee

[Marie45]

It is a year this month since I started my journey with braces (at 66 yrs old!) and I just wanted to say to all those "over 50s" that it is worth it!! my teeth look so much better and I am so happy I did this. To smile in the mirror and see how straight they are thrills me. I'm not sure how much longer I have, maybe 6 more months to a year as there are some gaps to close, but I feel like I'm on the home stretch in my journey. I am so pleased I found this Forum and enjoy reading everyone's stories! Best of luck to all of you