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Hi all...I'm 25 years old and have honestly wanted braces since I was 6 but my mom couldn't afford them. I'm married to a man with naturally perfect teeth so I'm always telling him how jealous I am. I'm also an attorney and want to be more confident about my smile/teeth when I'm in court or meeting with clients.
I have a large gap between my front teeth and a decent sized anterior open bite. I was never a thumb sucker so I can only guess it's a tongue thrusting, or possible skeletal issue. I've decided on an ortho and am scheduled for spacers on 3/24 and braces on 3/31. I intend to do several backflips when I can finally bite into food without using my fingers to break it up!!
I'm really excited about the potential outcome but skeptical because I know open bites are tough to fix - especially when there's tongue thrusting involved. I've chosen self-ligating ceramics and my ortho expects that I will need 2 miniscrews about 8 months into treatment to bring my molars upward?? I'm not totally sure how you push teeth back into your jaw but I guess I will ask at my next appt. I was terrified of jaw surgery so I turned that down flat. Plus, I absolutely cannot tolerate painkillers (which I learned after having my wisdom teeth out).
Anyway...here I am, I look forward to sharing this ride with you guys
congrats on taking the plunge! I myself am 29 and just started my journey a month ago. I also have a gap between the top front teeth, but no open bite. I have a 110% overbite, with a little over jet. It's been a experience so far, but I wouldn't change the outcome for nothing!
Good luck to you, and I look forward to seeing pics!
I'm 34 and had braces put on last Wednesday (3/11). Like you, I've always wanted straight teeth. I have a moderate overbite, with some crowding. My bite didn't line up properly on the left side of my mouth, causing abnormal wear of my teeth.
Congratulations on making the decision to get braces. My husband now says that adults with braces are very brave.
I look forward to sharing the journey with you! Good luck!!
Hi Dani1983, congrats on deciding to get braces, and welcome to this group! Once you start seeing progress on your teeth, you will be so glad you took the plunge!
You said you can't tolerate pain killers - that's a bummer! Did you mean the strong prescription stuff? Hopefully you can take the over the counter stuff. Most of us count on this type of pain killer after adjustments. There is some disagreement about whether or not to use ibuprofin. Some orthos say to avoid it because it reduces swelling, and they want mild swelling to occur because it means extra bloodflow to the bone around the moving roots. Others say it doesn't significantly affect healing, and to go ahead and use it. Just a little sidebar there.
So I hope you will start a braces story and include pics! It's great if you can take pics now so you can show the "before" view. You might also be able to get the pics from your ortho. I was able to get mine, and they were way better than any pics I've been able to take.
Click on WWW to see my braces story.
August 16, 2007 - Braced on top
January 3, 2008 - Braced on bottom
Hi, Dani1983! I'm the same age as you and have very similar problems (anterior open bite and a tongue thruster)..as well as some others. I was given two options--TADs or surgery...and I had the most difficult time making a decision since there's a lot less information about TADs for fixing a "gummy smile." For me, I ended up choosing the surgery route since I do have some other problems that need to be fixed and likely TADs wouldn't have worked for me.
I just wanted to post that I was in a similar case and let you know I wish you all the luck and hope you keep us updated on your progress! Brace day isn't too far for you!
Catfish - I was given a generic for oxycodone after having 4 wisdom teeth out in September. The first day went great because the meds put me to sleep. After that though, I got incredible migraines and nausea when I took the pills and sometimes didn't take them at all because the pain from the pills was worse than pain in my mouth...I'm fine with over-the counter stuff though.
I'll try to post some "before" pictures this evening when I get home.
I also get sick/nausea from oxycodone...after my premolar extractions I took Darvocet that my dentist prescribed and it knocked me out more than I would have liked, but no nausea to speak of..so there are alternative prescriptions. You just have to ask (and be persistent- my dentist tried to tell me oxycodone wouldn't make me sick over and over- I finally got through to him though).
