Reasons for people having braces again....

[Angel269]

I have often heard on this board about people going into braces for a second time. That scares me the thought of that.

I have done this for the first time as an adult who started treatment at the age of 24. I don't think I could go through this again as once is more than enough for me!

Do people's teeth just need braces again or is this a case of wisdom teeth moving teeth or lack of retainer wear?

Would be interested to hear from people who are doing this for the second time.

[ALFuser]

Hi,

I originally had braces in my early 20s, and, now in my mid-30s, am having them again. In my case, it's a combination of only going so far with the original braces, and then walking in to a door a couple of years ago, which knocked things out of line again! Up until that point, my teeth had stayed nice and in line...

My current dentist feels that it's the retainer wearing that's of the utmost importance once the braces come off, and he pushes people a little bit further during the treatment, to try and compensate for any 'moving back' that might happen afterwards. Does that make sense?! I hope it's helpful.

[kennyandrew85]

I'm in my first time at 27, I would have no doubt having it done twice if i went ahead as a teenager.

Most of it is down to retainers, orthodontists used to recommend 1 or 2 years and then stop, in reality they need to be worn forever.

For this reason, I am going to pay for a 2nd retainer in case I lose/damage one.

I have wisdom teeth coming through on the top I just hope it doesn't cause me problems down the line.

[Ciara]

I had a palate expander from age 8-9, then a retainer and finally braces ages 14-16. When my braces came off, I was given another retainer and told to wear it for 2 years which was standard at the time. I did exactly as my orthodontist told me to.
Over the next 20 years or so, my wisdom teeth came in (age 27 for the first one - 39 for the last one), my canine tooth also finally grew and with all these new teeth my bite changed and teeth shifted. I am now wearing braces for the second time due to a deep bite, a canted upper jaw and an asymmetrical midline. I also have a few teeth that have started tipping inwards, and one premolar that is tipped and rotated.
Nowadays, orthodontists understand that teeth continue to shift throughout our lives and that to maintain a good bite, it is necessary to wear a retainer long term not just 2 years.

Ciara

[plugnickel69]

I think we're all different. I know people who had braces as teenagers and a year or so after having them removed their teeth looked worse than before. Had to be more than just not wearing their retainers. My guess is their teeth were not put in a stabilized position.

I had braces about 50 years ago and wore an upper hawley retainer at night for at least a half dozen years. In those days they often used a lingual wire on the bottom attached to two molars, but not to any other teeth. I was never sure how they worked or how well they worked, but in any case they only seemed to last a couple of years before they broke and the orthos usually didn't replace them.


Long story short, my canines and second premolars (first premolars had been removed during original orthodontic procedure) did a slow migration over the decades and my bite began to bother me, teeth rubbing against teeth, thus the orthodontic consults and braces as opposed to allowing my dentist to grind down tooth structure. Cosmetically the teeth looked fine.

I will say the process is much easier today, more aesthetically pleasing, and has had no negative professional or social implications. I attend professional meetings al the time and see people who seem to need braces a whole lot more than I do. I feel sorry for them and good about myself.

[Ciara]

I will say the process is much easier today, more aesthetically pleasing, and has had no negative professional or social implications. I attend professional meetings al the time and see people who seem to need braces a whole lot more than I do. I feel sorry for them and good about myself.

I've found this too. My braces today are a lot smaller and less noticeable than the ones I had as a teenager. I am a university lecturer and one of the pt lecturers asked me 2 days ago when I was getting my braces on (we'd talked about it about 6 weeks ago). I gave her a big smile and she was amazed to see I already had them and even more amazed that they were not negatively influencing my speech.

I've seen so many people here who really need braces and more frequent visits to the dentist. I just wish people wouldn't keep showing me their teeth and telling me horror stories about their past dental treatment. I've become very good at saying "I'm not a dentist!" in Japanese.

Ciara

[bracesagain2]

Hi - I got braces when I was a teenager. For whatever reason, I developed a crossbite over time on my left side. I got my braces in my late 30s, hoping to get them off this year. I have had them on for 2 years now.

I decided to get them again because it was either now or never. I just posted in another thread - that I'm not sure I was happy to get them again. I didn't think my teeth were that bad. But the crossbite is fixed and that part I'm happy about.

[JumpTheDitch]

Well this is something I never thought id be posting about, I havent posted here in about 5 years, after having braces for the first time at age 27. Ive had escalating issues with jaw problems & now constant headaches, grinding etc over the past few years, starting not long after debanding. Ive recently discovered both TMJ discs are 'slipped' & a whole host of joyful problems that come with it, including a narrowed airway & sleep apnea. It seems my previous ortho work with upper bicuspid extractions, & subsequent power-chaining back up the upper arch has compressed both tm joints & reduced my airway

So my options according to 3 separate dentists/craniofacial chiro is to have a splint for 3 months, followed by upper arch expansion & braces again to give me back a functional bite, better posture, & hopefully a headache-free life! I nearly cried when they all recommended expansion & braces following splint therapy, but after living with the alternative, Ive cried many times & now just cant wait to reverse the damage. Hopefully!

Fingers crossed this'll be my last time in braces, & that it'll actually work!

[sweetcynic]

I did phase 1 as a child, was recommended for but didn't have phase 2 as a teenager. If I had promptly had my wisdom teeth extracted before they caused problems or early into the problems, I wouldn't need ortho now. But, after being an unassertive teenager and not having my wizzies out until I was 19 and the gums were infected, teeth messed up, etc. my wisdom teeth exacerbated my crowding and overjet. I waited for them to go back after my wizzies came out. At 27, I decided I would stop waiting for what would never happen and got 2 extractions and an invisalign plan. Had I done phase 2 of braces, I no doubt would still need orthodontic treatment now.

My husband has considered invisalign but will never do regular braces again. Long story short, he was in braces from 9 to 16, had the ortho say "well this is as good as they're gonna get" had constant pain throughout treatment, one of his teeth now has such a poor root that his dentist has told him it will eventually fall out, and after all that his bite was never fixed(4 mm overjet still) and his teeth were(and are) still crooked. So for him, totally not worth it.

[angelatsang]

I had braces when i was 15yrs for about 2 years. I have very big teeth and in order for them to all fit, I had 2 removed from the top and 2 from the bottom. I wore my retainers as instructed and would say that the braces were a success. However, after about 5 years I started to notice my front teeth splaying outwards, giving me an overbite and my bottom teeth starting to shift to one side as a big wisdom tooth came out. I developed a clicking jaw and started grinding my teeth which I guess made things worse. Stupidly I didn't do anything about it as I was a student and therefore broke.

Now at 33yrs, I have finally decided to see an Orthodontist to sort my teeth out once again. I was told that having 2 of my upper teeth removed has considerably reduced the space for my tongue to lie comfortably. As a result, my tongue has been pushing against my front teeth, giving me an overbite. As for my bottom teeth, because one has twisted outwards and my molars do my lay flat, I would be needing surgery to straighten them out. YIKES!

Long story short, I will be wearing braces again because my first orthodontist gave me a great smile albeit temporarily. However, he did not offer me a long term solution with regards to the position of my jaw in relation to my tongue.