I'm a 41-year-old man who just had braces put on on Nov. 30, to correct various issues, including a mild overbite, a mild overjet, some crooked teeth throughout, some crowding in my lower teeth, and, most notably, a prominent gap between my top front teeth (which may have recently widened). Although unclear, it's possible that the movement in my top front teeth was initiated by a top wisdom tooth I had removed a year or so ago.
I have metal (smart clips) top and bottom.
In addition, to the purely orthodontic matters, I have a baby tooth in the bottom that needs to be extracted as it may be subsiding (there is no adult tooth underneath it). While this would need to be done in any event, it will help with the orthodonics by freeing up some space where my lower teeth are crowded. (Interestingly, this baby tooth is significantly wider than the adult teeth, although also much shorter). Near the end of my treatment period, I will receive a smaller implant in that space.
My treatment time is 19 mos., followed by 4 mos. in a retainer (with a bonded retainer for my bottom teeth).
A week before I was to be braced, the ortho put spacers around two bottom molars that will be banded. Unfortunately, when it came time to put on the bands, one of my spacers hadn't made enough space, so the ortho put a different spacer in, and I'll get that molar banded next week.
I'm still getting used to the braces, although it hasn't been too bad. I've been eating mostly soft food because my teeth are sore when I chew, although they seem to be somewhat less sore now. I've had some irritation from the molar band, but that has almost gone away now, too. Finally, I can't really bite down all the way because my top canine hits a bracket on a lower tooth; my ortho said one of those teeth would move enough in a couple of weeks so that this would no longer be a problem.
So, that's my story. I'm glad that this website is here so that I don't have to bore my unbraced friends will all of the gory details.
