Metal Mouth Message Board

I am almost 52, have had two orth consults and am making the decision of whether I want to have treatment. I have always been self conscious about my teeth and wanted them to be straight. However, I read a lot of "horror" stories, pain, inconvenience etc. etc. I'm nervous that if I get them on, I may regret it. Although my teeth are crooked, I have no problems, no cavities, no toothaches, no TMJ. Honestly, is there anyone who has gotten braces at an older age and then regretted your decision?

I am 66 and looking forward to my first Orthodontist evaluation at the end of this month. I don't have really bad teeth, just 2 on the lower left that have "fallen over" and really affect my bite and beginning to get some TMJ. Even though there are horror stories out there about the pain and other things, the majority of people seem to accept it and are eagerly looking forward to straight teeth and happier lifestyle. I guess it depends on how much you are willing to put up with to gain the appearance that you want. I have a high threshold of pain in my mouth and don't even get novacaine to numb teeth for crowns and fillings so I am not too worried about the pain. Also when you read about the horror stories they are the ones complaining and there are lots out there with minimal to no complaints. I hope you can research enough to get the confidence to go ahead with treatment. I have watched a lot of youtube videos and gotten a good idea of what to expect.

No regrets here. I have my braces for 3 months now. After living years with crooked teeth and a horrible bite and only one tooth that hit to chew on I am very excited to one day have straight teeth and finally be able to eat and chew foods better. It will be a long road I am sure but the ortho keeps telling me it will all be worth it.

i am regretting everyday about getting braces at age 38. i didn't have any bite problems, practically no gum issues, no black triangles. now everything is a problem

Looking back, what i should've gotten was a good old teeth whitening and vaneers

I think if you go looking for horror stories, you will find some. If you go looking for good experience stories, you will also find some. So I would say to take everything you read on the internet with a pinch of salt. Different people respond differently to the same treatment, so what others experienced may not necessarily apply to you as well.

That said, the decision to get treatment or not I believe is a pretty personal one. Our individual motivations for getting treatment are not the same, and perhaps only we ourselves would truly understand the depth of our own insecurities and whether having straight teeth will truly be worth it to you in the end.

I personally experienced quite alot of pain, not enjoying eating as much as I used to, cut cheeks, ocd flare ups over keeping my teeth clean, fear and at some point some depression. It was definitely by no means a walk in the park for me. But I would still say it was worth it and I have no regrets.

Regret everything that was done to me since day 1... I had good teeth, they were just crocked and causing wear to the bottom 4 incisors; that was my ONLY problem, the rest were orthodontic "problems" and cosmetic annoyances that caused me no issue whatsoever. Fast forward to today and I have TMD, missing healthy teeth, an ugly a*** smile and just came out from an appointment to confirm that I have lost a lower premolar to nerve necrosis and will need a root canal, ALL due to my (now former) ortho's incompetence and inability to listen to me, while pursuing her own little secret agenda. I'm so depressed that I could cry...

Remember that negative stories tend to overshadow. The positive stories on the internet, so I would take everything you read on the internet with a large pinch of salt. I’m not saying that people who regret getting braces are naysayers—I’m sure many who do regret braces have understandable reasons.

Personally I have no regrets for getting braces at 29. I wanted straight teeth, and the fact my bite got fixed too is a bonus. It’s no walk in the park, but if I had to do it again, I would.

I am nearly 7 weeks in with braces on and when looking for the right ortho i purposefully avoided the horror stories because i knew this would scare me off. You should always be fully informed on the risks however. There are risks with most medical/body type procedures and we all have to take a chance.
The best thing to do is ensure you trust your chosen ortho fully and research them them thoroughly!

I deeply regretted getting braces the first week and i was told by another brace wearer i would. The regret has subsided more since my ortho showed me pictures of how my teeth looked before treatment earlier this week. I find when i have a wobbly moment, looking at pictures of myself before braces helps remind me how down i would get looking at my teeth in holiday pictures and feeling too self conscious to even smile in groups pictures. Then i stop regretting and know its worth the chance.

Of course the responses may not be representative - both positive and negative. If you scan this board, I think you'll find that the overwhelming majority of people who had braces after say, the age of 50, are very pleased after the conclusion of treatment. I got braced at age 63 not so much for cosmetic reasons, but to correct minor but numerous issues with my bite that could give me problems later in life. I do not regret my decision at all. I had the option of an implant (for a similar price) but my general dentist was able to logically and in a compelling manner why braces would be more beneficial. If you are in the US in the DC/MD/VA area I would recommend my orthodontist, Dr. Andrew Schwartz who has offices in MD and DC. Best of luck to you!

None whatsoever. There is pain, don't get me wrong, but this is the best decision of my life. Got them at 39, am 40 now. Look like a different person.

However, I am very different from you. I had grinding, severe overjet and protrusion with overbite. A convex profile and a requirement of a herbst device. But most importantly worsening oral condition due to overcrowding and near fusion of teeth from tarter.

Mine was also risky, 7 teeth taken out (3 wisdoms, 4 bicuspids).

It was very very expensive.

However I did a lot of research and the pros far outweighed the cons.

From what you're suggesting though I can't quite say the same in your case.

If you just don't like your teeth because they're a teeny bit crooked but your dental health is great and you don't have any TMJ, frankly I would leave my teeth alone and invest in whitening.

My case was not "a little crooked" but a severe health and appearance issue. Therefore I sometimes feel that people who get braces often are overtreated especially when they go through the same thing I did.

I'm among those who feels there were getting overtreated when all I asked was for my front incisors to be made straight and stop wearing out. I didn't even care about aesthetics and I was so clear about that! I have so many more issues now that can't even be solved, so yeah I wish I could undo it all...

I think the lessons here is if you don't have any big problems, leave your teeth alone.

All I wanted was to straighten out like 4 overlapped Lowe teeth....

My bite was fine, my upper teeth that people see when I talk are fine

Now after 6 months of braces, my upper social six has black triangles all over, and upper teeth are all slanted towards the center, making my upper arch more V instead of U...

Looking back at my pictures before braces, I should've gotten a good old whitening , especially since I am a heavy coffee drinker and my teeth are really yellow.
People don't even see crowding in the lower teeth

I know what your saying, but I did have one funcional issue which was the wear to my lower incisors due to my crooked upper ones. Aesthetically I couldn't care less, but I wanted to save those 4 teeth before it was too late, and I was SO freaking clear about that goal!!!! Now, because I trusted my idiot former Ortho I have lost no less than 4 healthy teeth and my TMJ health. Plus, whatever benefits I got from 2 years of braces are gone as in just 3 months i suffered major relapse for not retaining the teeth (I hated them like that, hence my refusal of retainers) and I still need a new round of braces to fix all her sh**...

I don't regret getting braces at age 56-57 as my bite was really wonky after a jaw fracture due to a bike accident. For me, getting braces was a must-do.

However I do regret that I only went to one consultation and chose my ortho based on convenience and one personal recommendation. He's a nice man and probably a very good ortho for many patients (board-certified, etc.), but he has rarely told me much at all over the course of my treatment, which drives me crazy, and he way underestimated my treatment time. He told me 8-10 months verbally (although my contract did specify a 12-month payment plan, so I figured on more like a year). My time in braces is going to end up being 14 months. While I know that's less than most folks, I would have appreciated a more realistic assessment up front, as the delay has caused problems with my life and plans made when I thought I'd be getting my braces off earlier than what has ended up being the case.

If I had to do it again, I'd go to at least three consultations so I could compare treatment plans and timelines. If two other orthos had told me 18-24 months, and one told me 8-10 months, I would have demanded to know why his estimate was so low. I know he was trying to accommodate my lifestyle (full-time traveler), but he ended up causing me more problems by not being more realistic upfront. So do get multiple consultations if you are considering braces!

Reading through these posts, you hear the good points and some of the bad points. You also are getting some great advise. Get several consultations, look for those red flags (i.e. an ortho that is trying to say quick turnaround time)..

I would say that it is highly likely that you've probably already made up your mind regarding what you really want to do. I think it's okay too if you are doing it for aesthetic reasons. I had a horrible overbite as a child and remember begging for braces. There's nothing wrong with dreaming of straight teeth. Or for a bite where you don't eat your cheek when you're having dinner.

I would add to the list if I was having a do-over:
1. Get into a practice with more than one ortho. This way if you think ortho "a" is chasing down the wrong rabbit hole, you can schedule with ortho "b" to validate your theory or disprove it.
2. Go all metal. I truly believed the ceramic would make me look less like I was wearing braces. I still look like I have braces...Issues with ceramic include (a) they stain easily and I LOVE my coffee and tea, (b) the metal is easier to move/shift/manipulate the teeth, and (c)the hooks for elastics look stronger than the ceramic ones. They look longer too so the stupid latex free elastics are less likely to continually pop off.