Metal Mouth Message Board

I started my dental work in October 2006. I got an expander put in on the top only that month. In April of 2007, I had 8 teeth pulled at one time. Then June 2007, I finally got my expander taken out and my braces put on. They told me I will have my braces on for 2 1/2 years. So far they have been on about 7 months and I just want them off. Its not the braces themselves that I dislike, its the fact that Im waiting to get married when they come off. I will have been with my fiance for 8 years this March, and we set a wedding date for June of 2010. If it were not for my dental work, I would already be married and either pregnant or have had a child already. Having the braces on is holding me entire life up and its really depressing me! I guess what I would like to hear from others who have braces, or who have had them taken off, is...are they really on as long as they tell you or is it even longer!?

Some orthodontists will take braces off for you if you are getting married or some other big occasion and then put them back on afterwards. You should ask

What about getting them whitened though? They are in desperate need of that!

Hi Anastasia,
I know exactly what you are going through. I was with my boyfriend for 7 years (some of that time in college), but decided I really wanted to get braces in July '05 - the time of my consult. Instead of going through with it right away, I decided to plan my wedding and do that first. I got married in April '06 and finally got my braces in Oct '06. For ME, I'm glad that I waited. I didn't want to have to go through the hassle of having them removed or paying extra to have that done. I was told that braces wouldn't show up in photos, but I wouldn't be fooled into believing that because you can see them (even the ceramics).

I'm going through the same sort of situation again now. I have to undergo orthognathic surgery. I have a trip to Italy in April and so I must wait until AFTER that to do the surgery. In the mean time, I am also getting "baby fever" bad and really wanting to get pregnant.....Unfortunately that will also have to wait until after the surgery.

Best of luck in whatever decision you make.

Don't let them hold you up! I understand how you feel, but you can't let your mouth stop your life I had braces put on in July '07...3 months after my fiance proposed and 11 months before our wedding date! I knew I wanted them, and that I didn't want to see my crooked smile in hundreds of pictures from my wedding. I also thought that after the wedding, so many other things might come up...like having a baby...that would make me not want to spend $$$$ on myself!
I'm having my braces removed, although I don't think they are very noticeable in photos anyway (ceramic). The ortho will polish and clean them, and if I want, I can get them whitened as well. It'll be a pain to have them put back on, and it will delay my treatment time by a bit, but it's worth it to have the wedding that I want AND the smile that I want!

I am also being inconvenienced by my braces in several ways--I also want to have a baby, but I want to stay home with the baby and if I did that I would lose my awesome dental insurance. Plus I am missing out on several lucrative and fun job assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan because they won't let me deploy with braces, of course. My 10-year high school reunion and my grad school graduation will also be this year, and it looks like I will get to experience both in braces as well. I didn't decide to get braces until RIGHT after I got engaged and had to put the braces off until after the wedding. Now I can't stand to look at all my wedding pictures with my crooked teeth a blazing. Really bad timing! This was supposed to be my big 'adult' year!

My sister in-law took her braces off for the wedding but is adamant that it delayed her treatment by at least a few months

I understand why you would want to wait, but I have a colleague who has braces and just got married. Her pictures were lovely. I just throw out the alternative - It's not necessary if you really don't want to wait to get married and start your family. I'm sure you would look so beautiful with our without braces!

hey!! i must say when i read your post, i felt this incredible urge to post back=) well the thing is i think nothing should put your life on hold...especially not something like braces. i mean come on i know they might seem as a big deal to you but i'm sure other people don't even notice. at least not in the way you think. if you come to think about it, it's a thing in your mouth and believe me, it's minor (just count in how many people wear or wore them, that makes you nothing special). i don't want to offend you or anything, but still there are bigger problems in this world than that. besides, imagine how many people out there wouldn't care about their braces appear anywhere as long as they could have their teeth fixed properly. rather consider yourself lucky and burst that bubble. feeling in love, getting married, having someone who supports you and still being able to see braces as a problem, you must be the luckiest girl on earth. do whatever you want, but please don't contemplate too much about such a thing...rather put your energy in real, important things. wish you best and good luck with making the right decisions=) cheers!!

i told my boyfriend that i wanted to wait until after my braces came off before we got married, too, so that will put our wedding date around fall 2010 (if they even come off by then!). i think he was a little surprised by my decision, though, because it doesn't seem like something i would normally care so much about. but i look back at years' worth of pictures and the first thing i see is my crooked teeth. i simply don't want to look back at my wedding photos and have my braces be the first thing i always see.

Hmmm, I have never thought of it that way. I've been with my boyfriend for 7 years and marriage is in the plans... eventually In the meantime we are buying our first home together, having lots of fun and enjoying our lives together. My life seems to be continuing down the same path it was on before I got braces and never once did I put anything off because of them. I'm not in your situation though, we do not have a date set and technically aren't even engaged yet... but I still don't think my braces would control a wedding date if we were ready to get married *tomorrow*. We're just not, right now buying a home is more of a priority for us and we need to scrape together all the money we can for that. Weddings can come later. But that's just me, and I've been able to all but ignore the fact that I have braces for some reason.

I'm astonished that anyone can let braces hold their life up like this. Then again I thought marriage and having kids was about something other than the pictures you have taken at the time.

Am I missing something or are you really just not getting married because of how you look on the day and this is delaying you having the kids you want?

It's not the braces that are holding you back, but your skewed attitude to what matters.

I kinda agree with Shaolin. But for some women it is very important to look their best on their wedding day. I never had that feeling though, I did not have a wedding party because I think it's a waste of money but I'm happily married for almost 4 years now

[quote="wonky mcsnaggletooth"]I am also being inconvenienced by my braces in several ways--I also want to have a baby, but I want to stay home with the baby and if I did that I would lose my awesome dental insurance. [/quote]

you should be able to continue your insurance under COBRA (in the US) for 18 months, no? or does that not include dental insurance? (Sorry, not sure that i am quoting correctly to get the text box)

I totally understand about the wedding pictures and such and my ortho even mentioned it during my initial consultation this would be a possiblity for me if this were to come up during my treatment. I wasn't worried about it, but because I am an adult with braces - I guess he wanted to put my mind at ease.

I don't understand how braces would impact getting pregnant and having a family though? The only thing I have heard is that your teeth can move when you are pregnant and such, possibly destroying the work you have had done during orthodontics... The baby can also take needed nutrients and such, but I guess I am missing something about how having braces can impact starting a family???