Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all,

I've been lurking on the board for over a year, and as my B-day approaches I am really starting to stress out, and my brain seemed to be in orthodontic overdrive.

A bit about me....I am male, 30, from belfast and I had removable braces when I was a teenager. Foolishly I didnt wear them, and I've been trying to figure out why I didnt. I think it was probably that I didnt realise the long term benefits of straight teeth then. I only cared about my 'immediate' image and the teasing that i got (well, thought I would get). also, i didnt like my ortho, he didnt explain the process or the reasons for wearing them to me. So, after about 2 years of wearing them on and off, he gave up. I was not particularly image concious then, so i was happy to trundle on with crooked teeth.

This is something i have regretted since. We all have regrets, they are a fact of life. Its easy to live with a regret, but its much harder to try and correct the mistake of the past. But in the end its the only thing to do.


Fast forward 15 years to today. Some friends commented that I never smile with my mouth open. I noticed some other people who had cosmetic dental work (some withe braces and some with whitening) and what an improvement it made to their appearance. i then started looking at my own teeth at every chance, almost to the point of obsession, and always picking at my teeth, . This got my cogs moving in my brain, and I though t I'd look into the possibility of sorting my teeth out.

I first approached my dentist last june, and he then made the apppointments with the ortho. Things are not simple as I had treatment before (including extractions). I have crowding on upper and lower (lower is worse) and a deep and tight bite. Infact, the ortho says that to sort out my bottom teeth would be a hell of a lot of work. But the top could be done in around 9 to 12 months.

So, at my last consultation i decided to go for ceramics, top only. (my thinking being that the top are my "smile teeth" and it would offer the biggest improvement for the least amount of time.) This will cost me £900. I'll have to wear a retainer at night for the rest of my life.

I now have a spacer date of the 6th of june, and a Brace-date of the 8th.

I have a million 'what ifs', 'whys' and questions going through my head at the minute. Is it worth it just to sort out my top teeth only? What will my friends think? How will i cope? will it hurt?

This site has provided me with a lot of answers to my questions. The most important and common one being... "yes... it is worth it".

My B-day is two weeks away, and i am (as i'm sure you all did) having second thoughts. I know what i have to do, but the intrepidation, nervousness, anticipation and fear is rising up from my gut. I just keep telling myself "It will be worth it" and "its not a big deal".

reading the board really helps, it has halped me along the way to reach the decision, perhaps you guys could post your thoughts on the run up to B-day, and what you did to overcome the doubts and uncertainties of bracing....??

And I'll try and post some pictures soon.

Thanks again...

IntentionallyBlank

Sure, I had second thoughts and up until the day before I got my top braces, I was considering "rescheduling". I had a million excuses to delay - running a workshop, presentations, etc.

Like you, I'd been wondering for a long time whether something could be done about my less than attractive teeth. I had read a bit about Invisalign and thought, well, this could be the answer for me (I've always been nervous about showing metal at my age....I'm somewhat past 30, BTW). Well, Invisalign was out, in my case.

My lead time to getting braces in February was about 5 months. I'd got a referral from my dentist last September; it took another 2 months to get a consult lined up, and a further 3 months to start the process. This gave me plenty of time to reflect, reconsider, wonder about it all....

But, really, once you get going, there's no looking back - literally. It doesn't really hurt, other than perhaps immediately after a big adjustment, and it's easy to cope with braces. There's nothing I did before that I don't do now, perhaps with the exception of playing touch footy!

Few people are aware that I have braces, as I've got lingual uppers (completely invisible) and ceramic lowers (almost invisible unless you're on top of me). I think two friends have spotted something different in the 3 plus months I've had them. My cover will be blown when I start elastics in a month's time. I have to admit to being a bit nervous about handling this, particularly professionally. But like everything, I guess the anticipation is going to be worse than the event itself.