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

[natgol]

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 £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.

[sjsarre]

Hi Nat

I do sympathise with you completely. I've just posted my pictures in this message board and i've started a blog dedicated to my teeth...

http://sarsarre.blog.co.uk/

Maybe you should do the same aswell? I've suffered lots of torment and teasing about my teeth and i've always looked so moody because if it.

I've had an operation years ago on my jaw and more recently although I know its not connected I had my tonsils out.

Its not very nice to grow up being teased about something that is the first thing that people do notice about you.

It would be great for you to share your experience of all of this with other people as i'm sure there are people out there that really do need help and support from all of us!!

[natgol]

thank u so much for the comment..its a big step for me to be able to admit my demons and talk about them openly..its ppl like u giving so much support that helps

[Flora2006]

Hi Natalie,

First of all, welcome to the board. Everyone here is amazing and you will receive so much support from everyone here.

I am 22 years old and got my braces this January. I am also in University, actually graduating next year and I thought having braces in University was just the craziest thing but you know what...no one cares. I'm learning this every day as I am still struggling with the knowledge that I actually let someone glue metal and plastic onto my teeth. I still get self-conscious but I am slowly getting better.

Trust me, you will get used to the braces and as you start seeing movement, that alone will encourage you to continue this process and it will make it all better. Seeing movement is the best thing ever - it really does boost up your energy and confidence. It's amazing for us to actually be able to see our teeth moving into their proper position and become perfectly aligned...

So...please don't choose not to go to University or postpone it just because of braces. University is not like high school...people are more mature, they don't care what you wear, what kind of music you listen to, etc...Trust me, no one will really care if you have braces.

And...feel better!! Trust me, once you start seeing movement...it's the best thing ever

Keep us updated with how you are doing and hope to see you around the board.