18-year thumbsucker

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wonky mcsnaggletooth
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat May 12, 2007 1:48 pm
Location: Maryland

18-year thumbsucker

#1 Post by wonky mcsnaggletooth »

Hi everyone,
This board was what convinced me to get braces, which I am anxiously waiting to get this Monday. I sucked my thumb about 18 hours a day from birth until age 18, when my thumb was finally yanked out of my mouth for good by a drill instructor the first night of military boot camp!

It is really amazing that my teeth weren't more messed up by it than they are:
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I have one wonky front tooth that sticks out, but the real problem is on the lowers:

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So I will be doing 18 months (hopefully less!) in Damon 3s. I am having only the bottom brackets put in first to test for nickel allergy, and I will let everyone know how that turns out, since I am allergic to nickel. Also a dash of IPR in there too to make room for the snaggle tooth.

My problems seem so minor compared to others on the board: one protruding incisor, one twisted eye tooth, little bit of crowding, midline is 3mm off. Does anyone think I could do less than 18 months? :lol: Also, I am pretty tired of people arguing with me about my need for braces. Everyone tells me I have such a beautiful big smile (it's how I met my husband). I know everyone is thinking "oh, how vain" because I also got LASIK a year ago, so I've been lying about having "jaw problems"!!!! I have always been self-conscious about my one buck tooth, so now at 27 I'm getting a wild hair about braces and nobody seems to be happy for me or supportive, just indignant that I would be so vain.

Anyway, just sending a 'hello' to all the other thumbsuckers here if there are any!
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kirjax
Posts: 478
Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 8:57 am
Location: Philadelphia

#2 Post by kirjax »

I also am tired of people telling me "I'm crazy" my teeth are "fine" and why would you spend "all that money"....to me this is a wise investment that I have been saving for. People may look at me and see that I look fine but to me I've always hated my smile. So I figured the only way to fix it was to spend the money, suck it up, and do it.

I still had people discouraging me with the "it really hurts you know". The best is when it comes from people who never had them! It's like how would you know how much it hurts. Not saying I wasn't prepared bc I was (one reason I've procrastinated for 7-8 years).

Just hang in there and don't let anyone discourage you from any decision you make for yourself. One day we'll all be able to smile and know that it was all worth it. I didn't expect this journey to be easy but I am doing my best to stay positive.

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Sentenced: 20-24 months
Braced May 11, 2007
Debraced Feb. 23, 2009
21 months in braces, 17 months in elastic, NO regrets!! Now in Hawley retainers!!
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wonky mcsnaggletooth
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat May 12, 2007 1:48 pm
Location: Maryland

#3 Post by wonky mcsnaggletooth »

Yes, the that is why I decided to get braces finally...within the past year my teeth have shifted in a huge way, and I noticed my chewing becoming awkward and unnatural and my upper and lower eye teeth knocking together and wearing each other down. One day my husband asked, "Have you always had a lisp?" and that was when I noticed that my lowers had shifted to the right several millimeters and I had indeed developed a lisp. Let's hope my teeth can move that quickly back into their proper place.

Also: no allergic reaction to my damon 3 brackets yet.
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wonky mcsnaggletooth
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat May 12, 2007 1:48 pm
Location: Maryland

#4 Post by wonky mcsnaggletooth »

Yes, he did specifically mention that he is using nickel-free wires, actually. I don't know what the difference is in performance, but if what you say about the brackets is true then I should be fine.
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skyclad
Posts: 279
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 4:09 pm
Location: Phoenix, AZ

You are not alone

#5 Post by skyclad »

I sucked my thumb until sophomore year in hs. I dont think it really affected my teeth because they were already jacked up.
When you win, nothing hurts....Joe Namath
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Dr Jon Harrow
Posts: 80
Joined: Wed Feb 07, 2007 5:59 am
Location: Hampshire UK

#6 Post by Dr Jon Harrow »

:) Hi
So a drill instructor to stop thumb sucking...perhaps you could send them here. Im 42, and still a thumb sucker....I know as a psychiatrist and psychologist what freud would have to say and I'm happy with that!, but Im getting nagged by two orthodontists about it now....but its such a comfort :) ..so when can you send the DI?,the orthos are wearing me out!
Jon XXX
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Lisa65
Posts: 3469
Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:12 pm

#7 Post by Lisa65 »

I don't think Freud sucked his thumb, but he smoked all those cigars and steadfastly refused to let any of his "disciples" analyse him. I guess he needed oral gratification too.
We all have our little comfort habits, it's just a shame when something so pleasurable or comforting can ruin our teeth nd undo all our ortho's hard work. :( I am not a thumb sucker but I've always been a knuckle chewer, and I'm trying hard to break myself of the habit.

Hope nobody takes offence here, but there are pacifiers/dummies available in adult sizes which would possibly be suitable for private use (obviously you wouldn't want to use one around your workmates). They are made by NUK. The NUK 4 and especially NUK 5 are the adult sized ones and they are used in speech therapy when somebody has had a stroke, to help them relearn correct swallowing. Like an orthodontic dummy for a baby, they would presumably have less of a detrimental effect on the teeth, being softer than a thumb.

They are made in Germany and are available on ebay if you search for NUK 4 or NUK 5.
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wonky mcsnaggletooth
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat May 12, 2007 1:48 pm
Location: Maryland

#8 Post by wonky mcsnaggletooth »

Well, I think if you got braces the thumb sucking would almost certainly stop. What happened with me was I was too afraid to suck my thumb for six weeks, but the day I got out of boot camp I tried to plug my thumb back in. However, my teeth had moved so much after six weeks that my thumb did not fit, and I couldn't suck on it, and it was just not comforting anymore and actually hurt. I never did it again.

I am sure that if you got braces, along with the general mouth irritation making it hard to put anything in there, your teeth would move into position and make it uncomfortable.
I of course moved directly from the thumb to food and gum, and now that I can't satisfy my oral fixation basically at all, I've moved to reading and working out and moving constantly!
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kypsis
Posts: 35
Joined: Tue May 08, 2007 8:40 am
Location: New York, NY

#9 Post by kypsis »

Wonky, sorry to hear the people around you are not supportive, but you are doing this for YOU! At your age you still might have some 60+ years ahead of you, and why not have it with 20/20 eyes and a correct bite? The people who are critical of this are either unable to relate because they had the vision and teeth perfect as is, or just jealous cause they don't have the courage to do the same themselves. Don't listen to them and do what's right for you :D

I had LASIK last August as well, and am now in braces, and after that is done (in 2 years) I will have my teeth whitened as well. And I diligently hit the gym 3 times a week to get in awesome shape for the bikini season. LOL, talk about vain! But this is my mouth, my eyes, my body, and I will do with that as I think best. Luckily my bf and friends are supportive of all of this "self-improvement", but even if they weren't, I would do it anyway!
Congrats on making this decision for YOU and good luck!
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bracedintx
Posts: 140
Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:52 am

#10 Post by bracedintx »

Lisa65 wrote: Like an orthodontic dummy for a baby, they would presumably have less of a detrimental effect on the teeth, being softer than a thumb.
Perhaps, but anything with a static shape that stays in your mouth for a prolonged period of time will affect the development--or in this case, reshaping--of your oral structures. If thumbsucking or use of a pacifier is what got you in braces in the first place, returning to that habit will likely affect the work you are having done :cry:

I have had to retrain my tongue not to thrust when I swallow--I can only imagine how difficult it would be to curb thumbsucking...don't give up :-1
self-ligating metal brackets all around


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