If i hear "your teeth look fine" one more time!!!!!

[Huggypillow]

Hi everyone just need to vent on this topic.

What on earth is wrong with people someone said to me just a few says ago " your teeth look fine you don't need braces"
well thank you expert in nothing. Out of all the teeth in my head i have only 3 that are where they should be. aside from the 2 rotated teeth, the crowding, 9mm of gaps, deep bite, the midline shift and the placement of tad's next month. Yes WHY ON EARTH WOULD I NEED BRACES?

Funny thing is this comment was made to me by a 14 year old who HAS BRACES. Then she told me that she only brushes once a day. Just proves the point that adult patients are more complient with oral hygiene, and children/teenages think what they can't see doesn't happen.

I got so frustrated with this teenager who I see a few times a week through social settings i just couldn't help myself i said to her " oh well you know they use special glue under the brackets and if you don brush your teeth enough while wearing braces the Ortho will know and when he takes your braces off beacuse you will have little green squares on you teeth from not brushing enough"

Funny thing is she actualy beleived me and rang her ortho then said to me "thats not true about the green square thing" i said to her funnly enough you dont know what your talking about either.

And when her mum heard her telling me she only brushes once a day she went balistic. and from now on she has to brush morning and night infront of her parents for 2 mins and while at school she has to go to the office and be supervised by a teacher and if she doesnt show, the school has to ring the parent.

Her mother said she was disgusted that they have saved up almost $5000 for her braces, while they have all had to make cutbacks on outings for her to have braces, and shes being so lax about her end of the deal.

My intention was not to get her in trouble, actually her mother thanked me as she doesn't want to have to pay to fix cavities even after paying for braces, and ive proberbly done her a favour for her oral hygiene.

And the teenager also admitted she doesn't bother flossing either. That has also changed from what i hear too.

[ashesgap]

Good for you! I see some teens getting their adjustments and the ortho is telling them they need to brush more and that he's going to talk to their parents. It's just so yucky to have all that junk on their teeth.
As to the "you don't need braces" I haven't gotten that, but two weeks ago my father in law looked at me and said, "why do you have braces?" this is after over a year of having them, and my gaps are almost completely closed, but I've got two large gaps for new canines. Luckily my family knows I don't spend money easily, so they haven't questioned me. And I'm not the kind of person people say rude things to....my sisters say it's cause I give off a "I'm a witch" vibe Whatever the reason, I still can't believe some of the things people on here have had said to them. If I don't question your over priced vehicle and shoes, mind your own dang business.
SIDE NOTE- I tried to use the grown up word for WITCH but apparently we aren't allowed to. Thought this was a site for adults?

[Crazy4Snow]

I have noticed we can't say a lot of things on here ashesgap. What's up with that?

And I agree with you Huggypillow....I'm like..."if you couldn't tell that I needed braces then you need glasses, badly".

Eww, eww, brushing once a day??? Gross! Since getting braces I can't get by without brushing at least 5 times a day...after every meal AND snack.

[Huggypillow]

Thanks to both of you.

Having to pay for braces myself as we all have had to do, i am totally aware of the cost-cutting that is required i saved for ages and payed upfront to get the discount.

But these kids/teens that think money grows on trees just push my big red button. And i know brushing once a day eeeewwww totally agree how disgusting... not only is brushing needed for the obvious it also help contain and eliminate the bacteria that causes bad breath, and slightly moreso with golden gate bridges across our teeth....

Yuck she even has a boyfriend.. that cant be good.

[ashesgap]

There are sometimes that I haven't eaten anything, but it feels like the brackets are holding onto yucky stuff....I run straight to the bathroom to RediBreeze and brush, then use mouthwash. That happens a lot during the day. I can't imagine how her mouth tastes (and I mean what she tastes, not her poor boyfriend) and feels all day. Kids are gross. I have two, and you can be sure I ask twice a day if they've brushed their teeth.

[Plumcore]

I can't help but brush at least 3-5 times a day. Mostly it's twice in the morning (before and after breakfast) and once at night, with maybe once or twice after dinner. Rest of the times i use the waterpick if i feel the need. Not to mention flossing, now that i can actually get it in.

[lilone]

All I wonder is, how on EARTH did the parents manage to find a high school teacher who was willing to track down a teenager to supervise her teeth brushing? That is one dedicated teacher/school. Imagine if they did that for all the tenny boppers who aren't diligent enough with their braces...it would be a full time job for multiple people. Most teens I know would simply refuse to have a teacher watch them brush. And most high school teachers would refuse to do it.

Edit: maybe she is still in elementary school? I just realized she is 14 so could be yet to graduate.

[Robot Teeth]

I've had braces for about two weeks, and had about 2 or 3 people say something to the effect of, "I never thought your teeth were that bad." and I just open my mouth and show them this (below) and direct them to the fact that they couldn't even hook up one of the teeth yet because it's so crooked, and that three are so rotated that they're only half hooked up. And then they're like, "Oh, yeah, I see."

But overall, everyone has been supportive.

[Hopefulsmile84]

Yeah I've gotten the "I didn't think your teeth were bad" before but it was coming from people I actually look up to and their arguments are somewhat valid. Honestly I never smiled much and on the surface my teeth problems were actually really well hidden but I got to the point( that I found out recently) that I would eventually have to fix them or I would have oral hygiene problems which bothered me the most or I would have never got braces. Having a tooth in the roof of your mouth and a baby tooth hanging on for dear life and food getting stuck in there on a regular basis is pretty much what I have to tell people as to why I got braces it usually helps. I'm actually afraid to tell people I'm doing it to look better because then I get "well your are so pretty why?". People do need to mind their on business though. Just because you don't see the reason for it doesn't mean there isn't one or that you need to know it to justify why the person has them. The reason is good enough to have paid out the money, time and energy for it so shut up!

Anyone that wants to do this and pay for it out of pocket are heroes in my book. This is not an easy decision to make even if you have been planning to do it for years or knew you had too.

As for oral hygiene I try my best to clean as best I can but I honestly just don't have the time since it takes me longer to eat. I end up just trying to rinse my mouth out with salt water after meals which I've stopped doing due to time. I brush twice a day and use two kinds of mouth wash now after brushing. If stuff is stuck I'll use a little brush, tooth pick or floss to get it out. I'm still afraid of breaking something while eating or brushing since the orthodontist scares me and I have even less time to go to the office to fix it. *heavy sigh*

[Kipepeo]

Yeah I've gotten the "I didn't think your teeth were bad" before...

Sometimes it's not about how "bad" the teeth look. Just review my case.

[Huggypillow]

Hey "lilone"

In Australia we have a different school structure she is in a private school and when the parents are the ones paying all the money, the school has to in many situations accommodate the wishes of the parents. See they have like a big main office building has heaps of bathroom and stuff. so after lunch everyday she has to go there with toothbrush and paste in tow and wait. A teacher or guardian will then come get her and monitor her in the bathroom while she brushes. It costs a lot to go to private school (more than a public school prices vary but have more powers than public) here so they want to keep the parents happy. if she doesnt show up by a certian time or not at all the receptionist will notify the parent by phone, Her mother told me last night that this will continue to happen at school until she can demonstrate some level of maturity and be responsable.

And good on her imaging taking off your braces and having decayed teeth. eeeewwwwww

[TinySmiley]

i completely understand your post, Huggypillow, about how fustrating it is when people tell you "your teeth look fine"
I was on Invisalign and it worked for the major movements, but I still had gaps and crooked teeth. Since I am paying out of my own pocket and I am in the middle of this treatment, obviously, I plan to see it through until my teeth are completely straight (duh!!) so i moved on to fixed braces to finish the treatment....
My mother, constantly said throughout Invisalign "Your teeth weren't that bad to begin with" (then, can u explain why I have had Invisalign on for almost 2 yrs??), then when I switched to braces, she kept saying that I shouldn't because my teeth looked straight enough! (so why am I in my 4th mon of braces then??)
In the end, I said to her, do you really think I am doing this for fun? do you know how sore my teeth are? and the commitment involved-brushing, appts, avoiding certain foods, it's not easy. *People should understand that when someone decides to take on the journey of straightening their teeth, it is because they want to, but also because they need to. Straight teethed people do not walk around wearing braces*

[Robot Teeth]

I just open my mouth and show them this (below)

Oops I forgot to post the photo I was referring to!

[nifer237]

I too, hate this comment. I suppose people are being nice and saying it in complimentary form, but I don't take it as that. My parents do this to me too..."You're teeth were fine the way they were". No, they weren't I had too many and some of my teeth were behind eachother. I have saved $6000 to pay for these and I pay $200 a month that I'd really like to spend on something else, not to mention I am self conscious about my looks for the next year and a half, so for Pete's sake: Please don't undermine my treatment!

I could vent about this all day, but you get the gist...

[PrincessLea]

I feel the same way! I understand its just people trying to be nice, most of the time... but it does get to me. It makes me feel like I've been stupid for putting myself through this. I've been told since I was 15 I need jaw surgery for an open bite and I've finally decided to go through with it. The operation is early next year and so its full swing ahead with braces. Its even worse btw when people find out you are willingly letting someone break your jaw!!! its like they think I decided I wanted this done and went and begged the doctors for it (I'm in england and I'm getting it free on the NHS so they certainly wouldn't start doing cosmetic procedures on my jaw at the drop of a hat!!)


ahhhh vent over!