here's my story so far.As a kid I had no major problems with my teeth, I was a little bit goofy as is everyone in my family and they were a bit (naturally) yellow but the issue of braces never came up. When I was in my early twenties my dentist gently suggested them as I had a gap between my top set and bottom set, but I was totally against the idea at the time and not *that* unhappy with my teeth...
..Roll on a few more years, I'm 32 and things have gotten worse, I noticed that a little bit of tooth is often showing in all my photos when I'm not smiling unless I make a real effort to shut my lips firmly. My front teeth are becoming more and more uneven as the process of my wisdom teeth coming through has exacerbated the bit of overcrowding I had before. I look back at photos of me in my late teens and early twenties and wish I had teeth that even again
So in January this year I went to a rather overdue appointment with my dentist and ask his opinion, he refers me to the local orthodontist.
The low down from the orthodontist is this;
I need fixed braces for approx 18 months, I can have metal or ceramic, I choose metal because they're cheaper and I like the look of them better.
I'll need (Essix style) retainers for 2 years after that of night time use.
He said that my X-Ray showed I was a very good candidate for braces, he talked about my angles being good, I still don't know *exactly* what he meant but I think it's something to do with my teeth being at the wrong angles but my jaw placement being sound.
He explained that my lower lip was gently pushing my right central incisor out further, so even though the damage had been done with regards to my wisdom teeth, my teeth were still slowly, gradually, gently on the move and *not* in a good way. When he told me that, my mind was 100% made up I'd get the braces
I assumed I would need my wisdoms removed but he wants me to keep them, he's getting my dentist to take out 4 of my premolars instead and is going to brace my wisdoms to straighten them and bring them more fully out of the gums, but he won't do that from the start as it might be a bit too much all in one go.
Total cost including retainers is £3100.
But enough writing here's the pics
(I hope these come up okay, please shout if they don't!)Straight on - not that bad really
Top arch - you can see the problem more easily
Bottom arch - a bit of overcrowding, nothing major really though
Profile shot - here's where you can see the problem most clearly, my central incisor is *wayward*
I've got my extractions on the 7th and 14th April and my brace day set for the 21st April
Great pics and I look forward to seeing your post-braced pics, too!!
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