It's now or never - braces at 37
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 8:15 am
My long journey into braces started at 11 when I went to see an ortho at the suggestion of my dentist. He reported back to my dentist that I seemed "relunctant" and had decided not to proceed with treatment. I was a quiet kid so it's not surprising he thought I was relunctant. What kid wants braces really?
Anyway, fast forward about 15 years and I bumped into my old dentist who had recently become my sister's landlord. After a quick chat we went our separate ways. My sister later told me he said he'd seen me and noticed I hadn't had my teeth straightened yet and did I know I would lose all my teeth by the time I was 40? It came as news to me, no-one had mentioned my teeth for years but as I was only in my early twenties it didn't seem like a big deal. I was busy with work and didn't give it much thought although it was always at the back of my mind.
Fast forward another 10 years and I started to notice my teeth were moving further and further out of alignment. I could feel the pressure on my two top front teeth, my jaw clicked quite a lot and even dislocated a few times and some teeth were beginning to twist and cause problems to the soft tissues in my mouth.
The "deadline" of 40 was becoming more and more relevant and I started to feel I was running out of time. So I made an appointment with an ortho to see what could be done.
We had a chat about the problems I felt I had and he looked over my teeth, took x-rays, impressions and photos.
So, the conclusion is I have a Class II, division II malocclusion and a very strong bottom lip. My lip has pulled my top teeth inwards which in turn has also pulled my bottom teeth inwards too. My bottom teeth are rubbing the gum on the inside of my top teeth and my top teeth are rubbing the gum on the outside of my bottom teeth. This will eventually cause gingival recession and I may well lose some teeth by the time I am 40. So, my old dentist was probably right.
Seeing as I am now 37 and my treatment will take 18 - 21 months I have left this as long as I can without losing teeth so it's now or never.
My treatment so far:-
Upper ceramic braces witth 3 partial archwires 22 June 2012
1st Pre Molars extracted 9 July 2012
New complete archwire and power chains 13 July 2012
Coming up:-
New archwire 6 September 2012
Lower metal braces in about 3 months
So, that's me. I will post some pictures so you can see my progess so far.
Thanks for reading!
Anyway, fast forward about 15 years and I bumped into my old dentist who had recently become my sister's landlord. After a quick chat we went our separate ways. My sister later told me he said he'd seen me and noticed I hadn't had my teeth straightened yet and did I know I would lose all my teeth by the time I was 40? It came as news to me, no-one had mentioned my teeth for years but as I was only in my early twenties it didn't seem like a big deal. I was busy with work and didn't give it much thought although it was always at the back of my mind.
Fast forward another 10 years and I started to notice my teeth were moving further and further out of alignment. I could feel the pressure on my two top front teeth, my jaw clicked quite a lot and even dislocated a few times and some teeth were beginning to twist and cause problems to the soft tissues in my mouth.
The "deadline" of 40 was becoming more and more relevant and I started to feel I was running out of time. So I made an appointment with an ortho to see what could be done.
We had a chat about the problems I felt I had and he looked over my teeth, took x-rays, impressions and photos.
So, the conclusion is I have a Class II, division II malocclusion and a very strong bottom lip. My lip has pulled my top teeth inwards which in turn has also pulled my bottom teeth inwards too. My bottom teeth are rubbing the gum on the inside of my top teeth and my top teeth are rubbing the gum on the outside of my bottom teeth. This will eventually cause gingival recession and I may well lose some teeth by the time I am 40. So, my old dentist was probably right.
Seeing as I am now 37 and my treatment will take 18 - 21 months I have left this as long as I can without losing teeth so it's now or never.
My treatment so far:-
Upper ceramic braces witth 3 partial archwires 22 June 2012
1st Pre Molars extracted 9 July 2012
New complete archwire and power chains 13 July 2012
Coming up:-
New archwire 6 September 2012
Lower metal braces in about 3 months
So, that's me. I will post some pictures so you can see my progess so far.
Thanks for reading!
