the big 2-9, getting ready for metal

[ish]

- when i saw my little sister's mouth after a year and a half in braces (the 1st in our fam to get them) to correct her overbite. beautiful! amazing! totally different!

- started wondering if i could get similar results for my overbite. i have straight teeth, i'd just like to move them all back INTO my mouth. i have a huge smile and on top of being slim... it just looks a little goofy!!

(i've actually tried to gain weight to fill out my face, just so my teeth don't look so big)

- after my first consultation last week with a cosmetic dentist. suggested that braces would take too long and offered a "visual illusion" of a reduced overbite instead... needless to say i was not interested in getting a GUM LIFT. i had another appointment scheduled with an ortho for the next day and ALMOST cancelled it. actually if i were in the 24hr period i would have.

- at my next visit! found out i was a candidate for ortho work to reduce my overbite, correct my midline, mild upper/lower arch crowding, and lower jaw being behind my upper jaw. i didn't even know i had all of these problems!!

- now just figuring out what procedure to get. the ortho told me i would be a candidate for invisalign (18 months) with the possibility of braces afterward. extractions of course of 4 premolars. although he stated that i'd be a guinea pig because they haven't really used invisalign to close gaps (from extractions).

uh.... this kind of worries me. so i'm scheduled to see two more orthos next week and will consider metal.

i'm a 29 year old grad student by the way. not sure what to expect. but this site has helped TONS!!! i've read so many interesting stories here and you wouldn't believe how exciting it is to see real pics of you guys as you progress. you can just get a better idea of what month 1 looks like and so on.

thanks so much guys! i'm excited to start on this journey.

[**shinyhappybraceface**]

Hi there!
I'm also a 29 year old graduate student - and, as you can see from my ticker, I'm due to get "braced" in about three weeks. I'm planning to get traditional metal braces and the ortho is guessing it'll take about 18 months. I have minor crowding in my lower teeth and an slight open bite.


Man, oh man, I wish I'd done this sooner, but this is the first time in my life I've been able to afford it (no help from my insurance tho since I'm not a child or covered under my dad's insurance)...

I'm probably the only kid on earth who, at 12 years old was BEGGING my dad for braces. (Braces were even on my Christmas list a couple of times!) But, he asked my dentist about braces and was advised that I didn't need them.

Anyhow...welcome to the boards - I've found everyone to be tremendously helpful.

[invisagirl]

O.k. I'm an almost 29 part-time grad student (does 1 class a semester count?) whose getting metal braces in 6 days!!!! My treatment estimate is 15 months but that's after 2.6 years with Invisalign.

Good luck in starting treatment!! Getting more than 1 ortho opinion is really great way to go. Just don't be surprised if they all say different things! I had one say no extractions and one said 2 extractions. I went with the no extractions person cause teeth can always be pulled later on if need be.

Anyway welcome and good luck!!!

[PaPHIL32]

I ALSO AM A GRADUATE STUDENT BUT I'LL BE 33 IN 2 WEEKS, AND I'M GETTING BRACED ON OCT14, WITH SPEED BRACES ON TOP AND BOTTOM. aFTER 8 EXTRACTCIONS ON JULY 25 I HAD MY CONSULT ON TUES AUG 16 NEXT COMES A VISIT FOR A CLEANING AND A FILLING AND A WEEK LATER BRACES, CANNOT WAIT OH WELL GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF US NON TRADITIONAL STUDENTS/PATIENTS.

[john_doe]

ISH,

I was very upset to see that i wasn't a canidate for invisalign , because I have an overbite. my ortho is in the top 1% worldwide for invisalign, so i trust his opinion.If you read some of the articles on invisalign, you will find that their are alot of people who are dissapointed with the product so i would defiantly get another opinion from a different ortho.

Good luck!!!

[ish]

well, i've seen two other orthos and of the 4 i've seen, i thought that the last one was really great. great office, great staff so i'm going with them!
they are also FAST. had my initial eval today (called 2wks ago) as well as my molds.

john doe:
yeah, i decided not to go with invisalign since the 2nd ortho wasn't sure about the result to correct an overbite. plus, the possibility of having to wear metal afterterwards. i just decided to go with the metal from the start. but i know how you feel. going into this i was ONLY considering invisalign. but after going to 4 different places and just learning more about the procedures in general, metal didn't seem like such a big deal. i also started to realize how many friends of mine are also in metal (about 6), and how i really don't even notice it.

scheduled to get damons on sep 13th! i'll go in for 4 extractions later.

[Attagirl2]

Ish - and all you others, congratulations on the up-coming event. I have had Damon 3's for 9 months now and I think you will like them. Best wishes to all on your journeys through braceland...