Hi all!
I am SO happy this website exists.
I hope to get up the courage to post a full "braces story" in the next couple of weeks, but to sum up for now...
A couple of years ago, my dentist told me that he feels that the reason my jaw has been locking for the past 10 years or so is because of my atrocious overbite forcing my lower jaw to work overtime when I talk and eat (I also used to smoke, which made it work even more, but I quit two months ago! Hooray!) and that I basically have two options: Get braces to TRY and reverse as much of the problem as possible with no guarantees, or continue doing nothing and recognize that it will continue to get worse and I'd likely need surgery in 20 or 30 years.
Well. At the time, my dental insurance didn't cover orthondontic work for anyone over 19. So I backburnered the idea, hoping to come back to it again one day.
Last year, my company was bought by a much larger company, and when we were switched to their dental plan I happily noted that the new plan had no age limit on orthodontic treatments. It took me awhile, partly because I had to have my wisdom teeth removed and partly because I needed to get up the courage, but I finally got my brackets placed yesterday afternoon (no wires yet, because I still need to have four premolars extracted, but the wires are coming soon!)
I nervously asked the orthodontist yesterday, after going to the office 3 times and seeing no one over the age of 14 in the waiting room, whether he had other adult patients. As he was telling me he has plenty of adult patients, one of his assistants piped up telling me his oldest patient is 62!
Although the thing that pushed me to want braces was the hope that it might help my locking/popping jaw problems, I've also been embarrassed about my teeth for years. I have a horrible overbite and a slight crossbite and my two front teeth on the top stick out noticeably. I refuse to smile in pictures because I don't want my teeth immortalized, and I tend to cover my mouth when I laugh, even when I'm in the company of good friends. It's also something of a hinderance in the dating scene, which I just re-entered last year after ending a very long relationship. I'm a really happy-go-lucky person and I don't think that shows at all when I'm afraid to smile too big around strangers.
I got my brackets yesterday and I COULDN'T be happier to be rid of my spacers, but I also have bite turbos which are creating a whole new challenge to the world of "chewing." I suspect I'll likely lose the 15 pounds or so that I gained when I quit smoking just because I'm going to be thinking a LOT harder about whether or not I'm REALLY hungry enough to deal with the trauma of eating!
I'm kind of happy I get the chance to get used to how my mouth feels with the brackets before the wires get put on and start creating a lot of pressure though.
Anyway, if anyone's still reading after all that, thanks in advance for your support. I really do feel very alone right now, having braces at my age and knowing I'll be over 30 when they come back off again. Since I realized I actually AM going to be 30 before too much longer, I decided to make the most of the rest of my 20's so that I would turn 30 and think about how much work I've been doing to improve my life instead of turning 30 and thinking about how I wasted it. As I mentioned already, I ended a long relationship, quit smoking, and am getting my teeth straightened. I also started going back to school last month and got a promotion at work recently as well. Things are looking absolutely fantastic for me and I can't wait to have my beautiful new smile!
28-year-old braces newbie
Moderator: bbsadmin