Metal Mouth Message Board

hey guys, i am new here, and wanted some opinions and support/advice...

I am currently 24 years old, basic history would be that i had braces when i was 15 i think, and basically it was never a polished finish, just "meh they are straight enough" and my ortho retired. so he obviously couldnt really be bothered.

anyway. my current position is that i can see a private orthodontist, and my mother is willing to help pay for the treatment.

As i said, i am 24 and currently about to go into second year of university. so really i dont want to be wearing a brace, not only because of the look, but also because of sports, and foods, drinks etc.

unfortunately i dont have a picture of my teeth just yet. i shall take one when i am less stressed.

id like to feel proud about smiling, if i had perfect teeth id want to smile all the time to show them off.

the problem i have is that the front main tooth slightly overlaps the other front tooth. and the rest are slightly wonky and off. my bite needs correction. and the lower set are all bunched up and again not straight.

i will need to go and speak to the ortho again to chat about what can be done and how long it will roughly take to achieve this.

i have had 4 teeth removed when i was younger pre molars? and then a brace slapped on and teeth pulled in. this has left me with fairly straight teeth but they are not that great, plus the smile has been narrowed. my concern is that since these teeth have been removed, will i ever achieve a straight wide smile?

id really like to be in my graduation photo's in 2 years time with a really nice smile. and for life after that!

I'd say your graduation pics should be a great incentive to get on and get braced! Yes, it's a pain as an adult in braces, but all I can say is, don't leave it until you're in your 40s like me - get on and get started as soon as possible. We think beforehand that braces will rule our lives for two years (or whatever), but actually they shouldn't stop you doing all the things you want to do (sport etc). Good luck and let us know how you get on!

thanks for that! the only other thing, would be that i may not do so well with the ladies. and this wouldnt be good to my self esteem lol. however. that image of the teeth after being amazing would be so worth it.

apparently my ortho will send off the mould to america and then they do a CAD simulation on the teeth, once this is done they can show you what i will look like and to make sure that widening the smile wont result in gaps!

so basically its not even 100% that i can have a brace. but i want to dive in with it and see what can be done.

what if i waited until after uni? or will life always get in the way? maybe its best now as i just broke up with my girlfriend and one thing i liked about her the most was how amazing her smile and teeth were

If you are a guy I think braces can sometimes be an attraction rather than a deterrent in terms of the ladies. The reason is that it gives the impression that you care about yourself and take good care of yourself.
Speaking from personal experience, I put off getting re-braced during university because I was self conscious enough as it was and I didn't want to look even younger than I already did. However, I would give just about anything to go back and change that decision. Not only would my parents insurance have covered it but the truth is braces in university are much more common than braces in the business world/work place. It is every bit as difficult to go to a job interview in braces as it is to go to class. Dating is as much of an issue after uni as it is before. My personal suggestion is to go for it now and enjoy that perfect smile for those extra few years. Good luck with your decision!

Lil

PS What country are you in? Is it normal for them to send moulds all the way to USA or is it for a special kind of brace?

doidonti wrote: apparently my ortho will send off the mould to america and then they do a CAD simulation on the teeth, once this is done they can show you what i will look like and to make sure that widening the smile wont result in gaps!

Are you talking about Invisalign? They do CAD simulation. If so, I think it will work perfectly for you. You dont seem to have many problems and Invisalign is kind of invisible (kind of ).

ah no its nots invisalign, but i have heard of this. thing is, it takes longer, costs more money and cant achieve what i am after or so the ortho says.

Yeah think i will strike while the iron is hot to be honest. what would be the point in waiting? would be awesome to get it sorted properly and reap the rewards sooner.

doidonti wrote:ah no its nots invisalign, but i have heard of this. thing is, it takes longer, costs more money and cant achieve what i am after or so the ortho says.

Yeah think i will strike while the iron is hot to be honest. what would be the point in waiting? would be awesome to get it sorted properly and reap the rewards sooner.

That's the spirit!

Go for a consultation! I'm sure you can find several that will be free and at least you will know *about* how long it will take.. If they say it will take a year then you should be golden for your pics! If they say it will take longer.. you will be risking have braces in your grad pictures. I'm in college too I'm a "junior" but I changed my major so.. I still have two years left. I just got my braces on at the beginning of august and they told me my treatment would be about 20 months.. I will more than likely have braces on in my graduation picture and then get off the month after haha oh well though! I would rather have them on in college and deal with a metal mouth graduation picture than have them on during professional school or after college. If you're worried about eating/drinking with them on.. don't worry about it.. The "list" they give you isn't long.. and it's pretty just common since.. and you're not going to want to eat those foods anyways. I don't think there were any drinks they told me not to drink.. except to cut back on soda if I drank it often and that too much coffe might stain all my teeth except for the bracketed part and that would not look very good when they came off haha