lookin for support,finding this all very hard to cope with

Message

#1 Post by **natgol** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:21 pm

hi everyone..this might be pretty long as my story is not complicated but quite lengthy! ever since my early teens i was unhappy with my teeth. at the age of 13 my dentist referred me to an ortho with an overbite. this visit resulted in me having a block stlye retainer,to try n bring my bottom jaw further out( by the way i really dont kno the proper terms for the treatment so bare with me!!)i also had gaps (madonna style) in the middle top two and a few smaller ones on the rest. this brace `sort of` worked the gaps did close and the bite was better.i finished the treatment although the results were not perfect and was adament that i would not have a fixed brace.

im now 18 and thats the biggest regret of my life.over the years my teeth have gone back to how they were but have worsened. my confidence dipped to an all time low and i cant even meet, talk or laugh with someone without thinking about them.after a visit to my dentist when he asked me to teeth smile i knew i had to do something.i would not smile at him, which he found distressing as he said it was awful to see a beautiful young girl with such low confidence about her teeth and smile. he was right.i was booked in to an ortho within a few weeks. the ortho told me that my overbite had now increased to 9mm and my gaps have widened.treatment..to my horror he told me that for the perfect teeth i longed for i would need surgery.this involved me having my jaw broken and re set further forward,following this fixed braces would be needed on my upper and lower teeth, lower because i have mild crowding. after the initial shock i studied in the mirror how i would look with my jaw further forward,if im honest it looked awful. id never really been worried about my jaw(i thoght it was fine) it was jsut the gaps i hated.realising the operation would leave my face looking totally different in a bad way i opted out.i decided to have clear,fixed braces on the top and bottom.my ortho told me this would be a compromised treatment that would dramatically improve my bite and close the gaps,which i was fine with. the total cost of treatment is Â£3000, which luckily my father has agreed to pay for as he sees the distress my teeth have caused me( i burst out crying at very trip to my ortho) i know i seem pathetic but i guess its jsut a sore spot for me and my life as my brother teased me badly about my teeth as a child. any way, i booked in.

at my first appointment i had rubber bands placed at the back of my upper and lower teeth to create gaps in which my brace would be fitted.i hated the bands!! it felt like i had meat stuck in between my teeth and i had very sore toothache,which made eating difficult( and this was meant to be the easy bit!!) i went today and had the bands taken out and my bottom brace fitted.i hate it.the brace feels bulky, and im even more self concious than i was before.i dont see how i can ever get used to this.whats worse is i cant chew anything,so its soup on the menu.ideally i would be gettin the top brace next week.however my ortho failed to inform me that id need 3 appointment and i have already booked to go on holiday,and then he goes away..so my top one wont be going on until the 25th april.im also having something fitted that is apparently going to make speech difficult for 2weeks on the bridge of my mouth.

i am dreading my top brace and getting worked up about having to face people and im even considering deferring university until sept 07 as i feel so distressed at the prospect of having both sets of fixed braces at my age.my friends have been supportive,altho i feel they don't understand as none of them are in my position and most of them just tell me they dont notice i have bad teeth and in fact thought i had nice teeth!!i know i sound dramatic but everyone reacts differently to situations i suppose.i would love to hear any comments or help anybody has to offer me..this is all very new to me.thankyou very much
Natalie (or Nat)
18, Manchester.

#2 Post by **Dexter** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:48 pm

hi Nat
first of all, I'm italian so sorry I my English is not so good.

Anyway...Your story is interesting....but I think that you don't have fear of your teeth...
with braces infact you could correct your teeth no?
so don't you worry

#3 Post by **natgol** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:14 pm

thanks davvy..
yeah by teeth will be fixed and fine after my braces..its just in the mean time! thanks for the support

#4 Post by **natgol** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:14 pm

thanks dexter..
yeah by teeth will be fixed and fine after my braces..its just in the mean time! thanks for the support

#5 Post by **Joanna20** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:17 pm

Hi I'm in a really bad situation myself and I'm feeling pretty miserable too but hey, we just have to cope with it. Look at my situation: Got braces at 12, Orthod. didn't do extractions and my teeth were never perfect so they came further and further more sticking out and crowding and now I'm waiting for my treatment plan and I'm really freaked out 'cause I'm missing my second molars and that can bring some complications and stuff. I can't even sleep at night just thinking about it, how bad I look and everything. And not knowing when theyÂ«re going to call isn't really good at all... I'm stressing out too. But I do see a light in the end of the tunnel.
Every problem in Orthod. has a solution I was told, Unless you have NO TEETH at all, which you do. Even if you don't have the money just work work and work hard untill you can afford them and be strong and confident that everything is going to be OKAY. I know teeth can be a pain, I've suffered a lot with that too, specially since my sister HAS perfect teeth and people were always compairing us and stuff... Even more stupid is the fact that my problem mainly comes from thumb sucking, which is not even genetic.... So anyways do that, get braces ASAP and youÂ«ll feel MUCH better.... If only I could have them tomorow or so.. That's all I want too.
Good luck
Joanna

#6 Post by **natgol** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:25 pm

thanks joanna..im so glad i joined this page..all the support is helping me sooo much.evryone is such an inspiration to me

#7 Post by **Dexter** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:46 am

Nat...can I ask you,if you use Msn Messenger?

#8 Post by **jennielee81** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:14 am

I felt much the same way about getting braces. I was VERY concerned about other people's reaction to them. This is why I waited until I was 42 to get them.

I got ceramic on my upper teeth so they wouldn't be that noticeable.

To tell you the truth, only a few people have said anything to me about them (maybe 10 in a whole year) and they've all said very nice things to me about them.

Infact, there is a lady I work with (have for that whole year) and I have lunch with her about 2 to 3 days per week. She was eating popcorn the other day and offered me some and I said, "no thanks, my ortho would rather I didn't eat that right now." She said, "Why, did you get braces or something?" Uh...I've had them for a year and she didn't notice them as I sat across from her and ate and talked...

After your first week or so, you'll feel much better about it and you will realize that it's only an issue for you; nobody else really cares as much as we are afraid they will.

Then the time will fly by and you will be getting your final adjustments done and you'll be so proud of yourself!!!

#9 Post by **bethne3** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 11:19 am

Hello,
I felt compelled to post a response because your story really affected me.
I can totally relate to how you've felt all your life about your teeth. Always being self concious, low self esteem, not wanting to smile, fear of dentist/ortho..everything.
I am 28 and i got my braces on last year. There is never a "too old to get braces" age. Please don't wait to start school until 2007 because you will hve braces on. The thing I try to remember is that I don't hvae to be embarassed anymore about my teeth because I am actually doing something to fix them. So i might look alittle goofy with all of the metal in my mouth. In a few years I am going to have a great smile!

You are doing the right thing and trust me, you are going to be so happy once you're done!

Bethany

#10 Post by **belmikry** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 2:01 pm

hi there and welcome to the forum

I really hope you don't delay your schooling because of your rbaces- it's not worth it- I promise, the minute you notice your teeth moving, you'll smile more with braces than you ever did- promise! I had the same problem- I never wanted to get them and i finally took the plunge- and I don't regret it at all! the first week is the hardest- after that, all of the support and progress pictures on this site made me realize its an internal problem and not eternal when you have braces- once you concure your fears of appearance [and you will!] the whole thing is a breeze!

#11 Post by **kel** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 12:41 pm

Hi,

I just wanted to let you know that I am at University with braces and have absolutely no problems. No one has ever mentioned it except my close friends who obviously asked how it was when I got them on. I even forget that I have them now. So I really hope that you wont feel that you have to put off going to Uni just because of getting your braces.

Good luck with everything,

Kel