Metal Mouth Message Board

First off, this board is great. It's given me a lot of information and love reading people's stories.

So I'm finally getting my teeth fixed at 42. I grew up with a single mother and we just couldn't afford it. I have an overbite and crowding on my bottom teeth. I was constantly teased all through my life so I always cover my mouth when I laugh or smile. Tired of living like this but scared and embarassed to get it done :(

The ortho says I have to get 4 extractions which I am not to jazzed about either. The bottom I understand because there is just nowhere for my teeth to go to fix the crowding (front 6) but the top bothers me. I went to 3 orthos and they all said the same thing but it still freaks me out. You can't see my bottom teeth at all when I talk or smile. They said I could try the shaving on top bit it might mess up my gums and the overjet would not be competely fixed. I am spending 7k on this so I don't want to waste my money so I'm trying to not think about the extractions.

My other concern is what people will think at work. I know it's stupid because they are prob thinking worse things now ha. Oh well I just thought I'd post my story for some words of encouragement :)

I'm getting the ICE inspire on the 28th. Ortho said to put on braces first and will remove the arch wire when I get thr extractions. Getting top on first then bottom after. They said 18-24 mths I know at the end I'll be happy but I'm really scared about the extractions. I read all these horror stories about people's faces looking different. My ortho said she is going to have them take out the second molar and not the first so it's farther back and won't mess with my profile and lip support too much. Sorry for rambling on I'm just scared.

Spree43,

I am 38 and just got my braces on Wednesday. Two days in, I can say I am pain free. Ortho has me taking 2 Motrin (Ibuprofen) every 4 hrs for another 48 hrs. I have not had a stitch of pain so far. A couple places the gum is tender but only when I brush and floss.

As for people at work, I was surprised how many did not even notice. In my case, I have no issue speaking or with excessive spit/drool. Others were supportive and asked if I was in pain. I find the more self conscious you are, the more they will be. Be proud you are improving you!

I can report I have smiled more in the last 48 hrs than I have in the last 4 years!! Go for it.

We are here you. We will help you through... I know extractions can be scary, but it will change the confidence boost you get!

Hi! I'm a bit younger than you (I'm 30), but looks like we are getting braces around the same time! My spacers go in on Tuesday, and the braces on the following Tuesday! I am NOT looking forward to those spacers based on what other people say about them but hopefully I'll get through them. Part of me is super excited to start, but the other part is terrified.

I also am getting 4 extractions (in April), but in my case, it's more that they are bad teeth that need to go anyway - fear and anxiety kept me away from the dentist for years and I'm just now fixing the mess that is my mouth. I've been terrified about these extractions and we left them until the very end (my dentist was waiting to see what my ortho wanted to do, and the treatment planning part took awhile), but I'm just ready to get them over with. It means that the results won't be perfect...my midline will be off, and I am doing canine substitution, and part of me is worried that it will look weird...but I've hated my teeth for my whole life so It can't get any worse.

I'm worried about what others will think too, but I think because I've hated my smile all my life and have hid it so much, that having the braces on wouldn't bother me so much.

Good luck to you! Can't wait to hear more about your journey

After years of being embarrassed by my crowded teeth and terrified of doing anything about it, I finally got my act together and got braces two months before my 40th birthday. It was hard to face going to work the first day after getting braced, but only two people commented--one asked me to be his prom date (ha ha) and the other said "I see that you've been to the dentist". It was really nothing like I imagined it would be, no jeering and pointing or anything like that. Truly no one cares about your teeth as much as you do!

It took me a while to build up my confidence with braces, but after a few months, my teeth started looking better and I felt really good about what I was doing for myself. I'm now nearing the end of my two year sentence (hopefully I'll finish in the next couple of months) and am so happy with my results! If I could survive it, you can too!

Good luck with your braces!!!

--Prof

Pretty sure you mean 2nd premolars, and if they all recommend the extractions I'm so all will be well

And as I like to say, we are our worse critics and care the most, and sometimes we think things are going to be so bad, but in reality, nobody cares about your own teeth and that you got braces like you do

I'm sure most people won't say anything at all about you getting braces

thanks so much for your responses! It has made me feel alot better. Still scared about extractions but I need to start focusing on the end goal and how much better I will feel when I can finally smile without covering my mouth :) :)

Spree,

Now your talking! Did the ortho tell you, in most cases, teeth move faster after extractions?

So proud of you overcoming your fear! When you can proudly smile, it will all be worth it!

MetalMouth

How exciting! Don't stress, the time passes so quickly and you're going to love the result. I'm almost 28 and about to get my metal braces off after 17 months (my parents were never able to afford them) and the time has flown by. I deal with hundreds of customers a day in a front facing role and it's really not a big deal; people have only ever mentioned my braces to either ask for (or offer) advice. Within a few weeks you'll forget you have them :)

Spree43 I am 53 and get braces in 3 weeks!! I found this forum and it is my new best friend and top hit website! Make it yours! I echo all of your fears, but reading here, everyone says it is no big deal once treatment is underway. I am trying not to worry about it too much....yes I have had sleepless nights and my stomach churns at the thought?? BUT I had a consult 2 years ago having thought about it for 2 years before that! And if I had followed that through they would be off now! SO.....this time I will not pull out! it is all booked.
The great thing about this forum is there are so many people who are so encouraging and let me think.....How many have posted and said after their braces are off they wished they hadn't done it???? Errrrrr ZERO!!
I am expecting some pain and discomfort, but can only think so many people do it it can't be that bad!! Everyone's experience is different I know, but I honestly feel that smiling with all that on my teeth will be better than they look now! No gain without pain!
I doubt most people will even care you have them on and I am sure we will get used to them!
The worst thing I think is going to be the time cleaning and flossing round that lot! But hey ho....someone said look at it as your time out for yourself!!
At 53 I am expecting some comments about them, but my standard reply will be that I am simply doing something I should have done 40 years ago!!
Good Luck and keep us posted

Well said MummaFish!

As for cleaning goes, I recommend a water flosser? Worth the cost, PM me if you want a product recommendation!

I love mine and it saves me sometime cleaning my braces.

thanks again everyone! still really nervous but it needs to get done. I'll be happy at the end:)
I just got a waterpik ,silicone wax and some interdental brushes . So I think I'm ready for next week :) If anyone else has any other suggestions of what helped them in the first month or so let me know :)

I know how you feel. I'll be putting mine on on thursday and I thought it would be no big deal because I'm a young adult already so Meh. But as the date comes closer, it seems as if we're back to teens again and we're concerned about everything and can't eat right because of the spacers and need to plan ahead so much because you need the time to go to the appointments and you need to prepare some groceries ahead and you need to save the money and you need to buy all the needed jazz like brushes, proxy brushes, floss or water pick or both and that requires so much time and energy (at least for me it has). I sometimes think braces would have been funnier If I was 16 and wasn't in charge of all those things you need to do pre-braces.
Oh I don't know if you agree, but kids don't freak out if something happends but adults do, because everything that happends may compromise the treatment and that would mean more funds are needed and time.

Spree, I agree. This board is great. I pored over the many topics and posts in advance of getting braced in July of 2013. I was just about to turn 52. The thought of the extractions almost sent me into a tizzy for sure, but I was determined to make this small improvement in my life. I had to put trust in my regular dentist and the extractions were really a breeze. I think trust is what it is all about....for me, first in God and then in those who are trained to take care of these things that make such a difference in our lives....whether in our looks, our speech, or how we are treated because of how we feel about ourselves.
You can do this! You may have some discomfort and pain along the way but nothing that a little Tylenol and the joy of your progress won't take care of. And, as they say, you can have pain but you don't have to be one.
People may notice your braces at first and have comments to make but for the most part, people just don't care!
Good luck to you. I'm sure you will do just fine and the time really does pass quickly. Just today, I got my braces off and I am so pleased with the results. I would hope you will be, too, when your time is done.

thanks nana51! I'm extremely nervous about the extractions. The thought of taking out healthy teeth scares me. I'm almost thinking of telling the ortho to just do what she can on the top-shaving or whatever and just take out the bottom two to fix the crowding. I don't know..I think I'm reading WAY too much and should just trust the dr.

Hi Spree!

I had 4 premolars extracted last Friday and I'm getting my braces on tomorrow morning. An eventful one week for my teeth! I'm not nervous yet, maybe I'm in denial haha. But the fact that I have the extraction gaps is making me anxious for the braces because I know the sooner I get them on, the sooner the gaps can start to close so that's a somewhat bright side. Good luck to you, let me know if you have any questions!