Metal Mouth Message Board

Who chose to go through this on their own? I did. Neither my regular dentist nor anyone thought I needed an orthodontic treatment. I had decent teeth without any problem, and actually my dentist often said I took good care of my teeth with good cleaning. But as I got older, I began to notice my upper front teeth stuck out more than my liking, so I decided to do something about it. Of course after I made a decision, my periodontist told me that it was an excellent decision. She said it is good for me in a long term. Anyway I would like to know who else just decided to do this on their own.

I remember my dentists always saying I had nice teeth. I did have nice teeth but they got more crooked over the years. I don't think the dentist wants to offend anyone unless they ask advice.

My Grams actually helped me decide, she wondering what I did to my teeth to make them so crooked. LOL. At the time not funny, it made me cry but now I am thankful she said something.

I bet most people could benefit from braces, unless they have had them and are still wearing their retainers.

I did too! At a regular periodontal visit last year, this 50-something finally spoke up about not liking the way my teeth looked even though I was always praised for taking such good care of them and cleaning them so efficiently! So he says, "Well you get adult braces!" and he referred me to a young ortho in my area....long story short, less than two months later I was in braces. I love the way my teeth are moving into position and I WISH I had said something to my periodontist decades earlier (I have been under periodontal treatment since my 20s). Well, better late than never right? I will put up with the annoyance, pain and weird looks I get because I am looking forward to the outcome of life after braces....even if it begins in retirement!

I did! At age 59 I embarked on "the year of pain" which turned into 15 months. I was tired of looking at crooked overlapping teeth (top and bottom) and worrying about my smile. I do a lot of networking and business development work for my job- I wanted a nice smile!

It's been 2 months since I've been debraced, and for me the pain and $$$ were totally worth it!

I asked my old practice for braces, his response:

(dentist) Sorry, we only do them for children on NHS.

(me) OK, I am willing to pay, how much will it cost me?

(dentist) As I just said we only do them for children on NHS.

(me) Right, could you please refer me to someone I can pay privately?

(dentist) I can't help you as we don't offer braces for adults.

Absolute moron, last time I ever went there for anything.
So yes technically I did this on my own, but I was recommended to have them when I was younger and skipped that idea!

I did as well! When I had my baby teeth, my teeth were fairly straight besides a gap between my two front teeth due to my frenum. But when my adult teeth grew in, they grew in really, really wonky. I knew I needed braces but my parents just couldn't afford it, so I made up my mind when I was around 15 or 16, that whenever I could afford braces, I would get them myself.

So here I am, 23 years old, 7 months into treatment and I couldn't be happier!

I did. It was never something mentioned or recommended to me by my dentist. Although I never cared about my crowded, crooked lower teeth, I had been feeling for several years that my top teeth were getting more and more 'buck' as I got older, and then one front tooth started to kind of cross over the other a little bit. I had been thinking about re-bracing (I had them as a teenager) for quite a while. The straw that broke the camel's back was looking at photos from Christmas that my mom put on snapfish. There was a pic of my sisters and I busting up laughing about something and I was like, HOLY BUCKY BEAVER.....from that moment, I was committed to getting braces. Got braced in June!

kbp22...I just LOVE your "holy bucky beaver" line! I am so happy to be in elastics now, and I can actually see my overjet backing up some. You made me smile!!!