Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone!
I've been lurking for a few weeks in preparation for the big day. Thanks for all the sage advice and invaluable information.

My best friends for the last few days have been advil, wax and this message board.

My biggest pet peeves have been hearing this: "Your teeth are nice! You don't need braces." While my teeth are not terrible, they are so tight in the back, flossing was impossible, my left top canine hits the bottom and is wearing down, and the tooth on the upper right is completely rotated. It is strange to feel like I need approval from the general public to get my teeth fixed. I didn't realize my getting braces was such a big deal for everyone else on earth.

Luckily, my husband is extremely supportive (despite the literal ROFL incident when I first came home with them on), and now my 10 year old and seven year old are kind of interested in braces. I'm hoping to model good dental habits for them so they take their braces seriously when the time comes....

A funny story....I look young for 34 and the braces make me look even younger. I had a patient the other day (I'm a labor and delivery nurse) who was 19 and wanted to know if we went to school together! I think I was in high school when she was born....

Thanks again everyone!
Sarah

Rotated tooth is on the left, not the right...

Sarah

I can relate to the "oh your teeth are so nice, why are you getting braces" comment. I had the ortho assistant doing the impression ask me the same question!!!! She said something like "your teeth are so straight and nice, why are you here?" (almost verbatim). Had she only noticed that I have lost over 25% of my tooth structure of most all of my lower teeth (exposing dentin now) because my bite is such that it is neither over, nor under, but my upper teeth land directly on top of my lower and I grind my teeth so it is not a pretty scene...

That's a great story about your patient asking if you went to school together. Maybe we need a thread about the comments we get when we "all of a sudden" look so much younger.

Welcome.

I get the same comment about my teeth already being straight.....what no one can see is the headaches I get from the TMJ and all the wear on my teeth from grinding and an incorrect bite.

I wish people wouldn't make comments like that. Believe me....If I didn't have to spend the money on braces, I am sure my husband and I would love to take our little guy on a holiday instead.

Congrats on getting started.

Welcome, sarah!

The young comments make me laugh because I got them all the time. I was so excited about getting my braces off, I had told my hair stylist a couple of weeks ago. I love this guy. He's great and has a quirky sense of humor. His response was, "Great! Now you'll look at least 21." It made me laugh and feel good . Even at 29, it's still nice to be told you look younger!

Best of luck in your braces journey!