31 Years Old - Fastbraces UK

[andrew291082]

Hi everyone.

I'm actually six weeks into my experience with Fastbraces but I've taken photographs from the beginning so hopefully from now I can begin my documentation.

A bit about myself, I'm 31 from the UK, as a kid I did have a brace, however it wasn't a fixed brace, it was one that I could take out as and when I wanted, which meant the teeth moved but not half as much as they should have and I guess my dentist realised I wasn't interested and he told me that if I really didn't want the brace, I didn't have to have it. At the age of 10 I was ecstatic, that soon changed when I hit 15 and became conscious of my appearance.

Long story short from then until now I've always been paranoid of my teeth, I avoid smiling open mouthed and most situations where my teeth will be on show, which in turn has had a knock on effect in social situations and shaken my confidence quite a bit. Although I'm by no means old hitting my 30's after spending much of my mid-20's as a minor social recluse I feel that now is the time to sort this problem out as I feel this is the last barrier that I have to overcome to really get my life started - another reason is my brother is getting married in May 2015 and if I'm being photographed from all angles as part of the wedding party I don't want to be the shy, retiring recluse in the corner hiding from the camera.

Which led me to my initial research, after looking online and finding out about six month smile, Invisalign and Fastbraces I contacted a local cosmetic dentist with a great reputation. Looking at my teeth the dentist recommended two options, Fastbraces or Invisalign; quoting 6 to 12 months for Fastbraces and 12 to 18 months for Invisalign, obviously the shorter time frame appealed to me but the dentist also informed me that the Fastbraces would offer more stability and much less chance of the teeth reverting back to their old positions.

So I went with the Fastbraces, however, prior to the consultation I realised that Fastbraces were fairly new to the UK, and I had worried that maybe the dentistwould be relatively inexperienced with the technology - these fears were alleviated when I was informed that the dentist who would be carrying out my treatment is one of the most experienced in the country with regards to Fastbraces, as a result several of the staff within the establishment had chosen Fastbraces and I was able to see the results first hand as opposed to simply seeing before and after shots in a glossy brochure.

Anyway, here are a few photos of my teeth before:

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/idXElijUj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/661/XElijU.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/exlark6tj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/lark6t.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/kpw1aPwVj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/745/w1aPwV.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

The photos flatter them, they're done with Snapchat plus a filter so they look a good deal whiter than they usually would - anyway as you can see the front two are prominent and also a bit wonky causing a bit of "goof" when I try to open mouth smiled, they also look worse sideways on and much more crooked.

This photo shows my teeth the first day they were fitted, as you can see, only the top six front teeth:

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/pdsCYNJXj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/913/sCYNJX.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Two weeks later the rest of the top half was fitted.

Four weeks later the bottom half was fitted (two days ago) and this is how it all looks:

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/exfpJpsoj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/537/fpJpso.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/knqN9Durj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/743/qN9Dur.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=https://imageshack.com/i/eyCt8riVj][IMG]http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/538/Ct8riV.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

As you can see, as of two days ago I had guards placed between the front teeth to prevent me from biting down on the bottom brace which is making it very difficult to eat anything beyond soup, but I'm sure it will get easier.

You might have noticed not a great deal of movement in 6 weeks to the naked eye, this is because the top two front teeth are primarily the ones that are "off kilter" in comparison to the rest, which means the rest of the teeth have to move to accommodate them - the dentist is pleased with the progress so far which is good enough for me.

Anyway I hope I've embedded the photos correctly, if not I'll try and correct them.

Thanks again and I'm looking forward to hearing any tips, advice or similar stories from anyone else!

[andrew291082]

Sorry, just realised I can't embed because I'm a new member.

Here are the direct links to the photos:

https://imageshack.com/i/idXElijUj

https://imageshack.com/i/exlark6tj

https://imageshack.com/i/kpw1aPwVj

https://imageshack.com/i/pdsCYNJXj

https://imageshack.com/i/exlwntaDj

https://imageshack.com/i/exfpJpsoj

https://imageshack.com/i/knqN9Durj

https://imageshack.com/i/eyCt8riVj

[Ataerys14]

Hi there Andrew - welcome

I'm unable to view the images for some reason, even on the links - not sure whats happening there but anyhow
Very familiar read I am now 33, always smiled halfheartedly throughout my adult life, no one else seems to notice too much but my trademark photo pose is a sultry scowl - I darent show my teeth, as a result I am also having fast braces however my impacted canine has hindered the "fast" part of that process... meaning I had the top 4 on then off for surgery so I am to be braced again in around 3 weeks time

I'm very excited as it has taken such a long time for me to get to this point due to one hick up or another plus the quickness of alignment on my top 4 was unbelievable...I can only hope the rest of my teeth follow suit

Best of luck with your treatment and that it gives you the desired result, will keep a look out for your updates
Ataerys

[cs2thecox]

Good luck with it, but do make sure you understand the difference between a cosmetic dentist and an orthodontist

My issues weren't particularly major - a bit of an open bite, and my midline being off although we have no idea how, when or why it happened - but I decided to go for lingual braces with a proper orthodontist. I had good old NHS train tracks as a teenager, so the roots of my teeth are a little shorter than people who have never had any orthodontic work, and so I have to avoid the "fast" approach to sorting my teeth out as that could ruin them forever.

Honestly, I'm super happy with how it's going. I've had my braces for a year so far, and just heard yesterday that I might well be out by Easter. So not a long process all in, and really doesn't feel like a year!

Caroline
33, London...

[andrew291082]

Thanks for the kind words Ataerys14 and cs2thecox :-)

Ataerys14, apologies for the pictures, hopefully I can get them viewable soon. Sorry to hear about the delay with your own procedure, it's good that you noticed a swift change in your teeth though, so despite the delay once they have been put back on again the results will come sooner rather than later - good luck to you!

cs2thecox, I am similar, my issues in comparison to some are relatively minor, without the pictures it's hard to describe but I'll give it a go, basically all of my top teeth are "in line" aside from the front two which are slightly in front of the rest causing a bit of "goof", or overcrowding - so basically the rest of my teeth have to be moved off to the side to allow the front two to realign with the rest - apologies for the lack of clinical dentistry terms by the way! During my consultation I was advised to go with Fastbraces due to the stability that the braces offer after the period worn - but could you give me a bit of info on the sort of braces you have chosen and the reasons for those choices? :-)

[clearstepguy]

Good luck with your treatment.

Where are you based in the UK?

[andrew291082]

Thanks!

The north east of England, how about you?

[clearstepguy]

North West!

The time in braces will fly by, it'll be over before you know it.

[andrew291082]

Almost two months has flown by already!

Are you currently wearing braces yourself or post-braces?

[clearstepguy]

Yeah, I'm currently in Fastbraces.

Here's my thread...

http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 19&t=38476

[andrew291082]

Wow, I'm really sorry to hear about your bad experiences, it sounds like one spot of bad luck after the other!

Surely you must be entitled to some form of compensation?

It really puts things into perspective, I'm two months in and worrying my teeth aren't shifting fast enough and there's you four years in with two sets of treatment including one provider going into administration!

I hope you get sorted as early as possible in 2015 and hopefully obtain some sort of dispensation to go along with your new smile - you deserve it after such a long journey!

[clearstepguy]

Thanks for the words of support

Keep us updated on your treatment! I'll add to my thread when I have some more news.

[WhisperPntr]

i'm glad the time is flying by fast!

[cs2thecox]

Sorry for the delay...
I'm in linguals, top and bottom.

I didn't want something visible if I could possibly avoid it, and wasn't a candidate for Invisalign. Although my teeth didn't look too bad to the uneducated eye, apparently I had a whole load of bite issues, and Invisalign also wouldn't have closed my open bite.

Linguals have allowed my ortho to take a relatively classical approach in terms of the amount of control he has over individual tooth placement, the speed of my treatment, and being able to tweak things as we go along (as I understand it, once Invisalign have made all your thingies, that's it and you can't change them without having to pay a lot of money to have them all remade).

For me, vanity was more important than speed, so linguals were the natural choice really...