Starting my journey!

[kelly88]

Hello!

I've been posting for the last week but now I'm finally starting the get the ball rolling I thought I would start documenting my journey properly.

I'm 27 and I'm getting braces! I am so excited.

I have previously been a member. I had braces in my teens. It was done on the NHS. However because I have a missing tooth on the top they never allowed me to have upper braces and never corrected my overbite. My teeth started shifting and wisdom teeth came in and my retainer for the lower teeth didn't fit. As I had treatment on the NHS they were unable to make me a new retainer. Fortunately my lower teeth haven't shifted too much however I can definitely see there has been some movement and I'm not happy with it.

When I had braces the first time around I knew that some day I was going to pay for braces and get the job done properly. It's been something that's been on my mind for the last few years but recently I've decided to just go for it.

I have a severe overbite, gaps between by upper teeth (all the way back to my molars), some crookedness in the uppers. I'm already noticing some enamel wear on my front lower teeth from where they're rubbing against the back of my upper teeth. I know my bite really needs correcting before this gets worse. I think those are the main problems. I'm mainly doing this so that my teeth stay as healthy as possible without my bite ruining them. Having straighter teeth is also going to be a bonus I'm currently still in my pyjamas but will post some pics later when I'm more presentable haha. Oh and I also plan to get a dental implant to fill the gap where I'm missing a tooth when my treatment has ended.

I've picked my orthodontists. I've only been to see one but I don't feel like I want to go and see any others. I felt happy and comfortable there. The prices seem reasonable (without being too cheap) and the orthodontist seems to be top at what she does. I went in for a free consultation last week and booked myself in yesterday for moulds, x-rays etc. That's going to be tomorrow at 1.

I am just so excited. It's all I've been thinking about for the last few months. I'm going on a big holiday in May and I don't want to be in braces for that so the orthodontist recommended getting started in June. I have a countdown on my phone I am that excited

Oh and I'm getting married next year... so it seems I'm going to be a braced bride, eek! Doesn't bother me too much though.

Will update as I go along! And will post some photos soon.

[kelly88]

Some before pics. I feel embarrassed posting these, no one ever thinks my teeth are that bad. But there is definitely room for improvement, honestly! As I said in the last post, the main problem is with my bite.

Taking photos of your teeth is awkward haha.

OK here we go! This is the right side when biting down. Can sort of see some of the gaps at the top in this one. They look bigger in real life but it was awkward getting the angle and lighting right.



The lower teeth. They were straightened with the last lot of orthodontics so they're not too bad. The side teeth (what are they called?) weren't included in the original braces though so they're crooked. Again, hard to get a decent picture of the crookedness!



My bite. I have quite an overbite. It's also not straight. I don't know what it would be called (I have a lot to learn!) but it's sort of on a slant... if that makes sense. When I bite down like this, my lower teeth hit the bit of my upper front teeth, the bit where they just meet my gum. Again, I make no sense haha. It all makes sense in my head!



Can sort of see the crookedness I mean in this picture.



Can definitely see the gaps here. I'm missing two of the side teeth (whatever they're called). My dentist removed them when I was a child because they were growing in behind my other teeth. I always think that moving them in with braces would have been an option but my dentist didn't ever mention it, he just said they needed to take them out. Hence the gaps!




This is the horrible side Again, my dentist removed that tooth when I was a teen because I had a little bit of toothache. So I'm missing the two teeth there. I think we're waiting till after treatment then I'm getting an implant.

[kelly88]

I'm getting braces! June 10th. Although I'm assuming that is for spacers then braces will come after. But I have a date set! I'm so excited.

I got my x-rays and moulds done this afternoon. I met my orthodontist too (not the lady I met last week). She was really lovely (and so was the assistant who did my x-rays). I felt really comfortable.

Moulds weren't pleasant. There was some bother over getting them to work I think. I thinks he said that the temperature of the room was affecting how they were working? It was like they were falling apart when she took them out of my mouth so she had to do them twice. The bottom one felt quite painful. The top one felt quite nice when it started to set I quite liked the tightness, is that odd? Haha.

She said we're mainly going to be working on my bite. She said a lot of people would kill for teeth as straight as mine but that my bite can definitely be improved. Umm I can't remember what else she said but she said she was going to mail me everything that we had talked about. Oh and she said the bone where the gap is looks perfect so I should have no problem getting an implant there after treatment. She said they can keep that gap and make the tooth next to it nice and straight ready for the implant afterwards.

She said she's got a list of people waiting at the moment and because I can only go in on a Wednesday or a Monday we're a bit limited for when we can start (if I'm hoping to get started ASAP). I said it was fine though. I'm going on holiday in May so any time after June is fine for me, I don't really mind waiting a couple of months. She said to give them a call if I decide I definitely want to go ahead but I booked myself in there and there. I WANT TO GET GOING!

I am so excited! It feels a bit more real now I'm all booked in and ready to go

[kelly88]

Haha while getting my x-rays I blurted out that the guard the assistant put over the bit you bite on on the machine looks like a condom. She said "I can see we're going to get along"

[igneous]

Lol ^

Good luck on your journey!!

[kelly88]

Thank you. Just seen that you're just starting too. Good luck

[igneous]

Thank you. Just seen that you're just starting too. Good luck

Thank you very much, always helps to see people starting at the same time

[kelly88]

It is! it will be nice to follow along with others who are going through the same

[kelly88]

Just remembered this morning that I'm getting my braces two days before a big wedding we're going to. Am I going to be regretting this? Will be the first time the whole family will have seen my brace face too.

[aspiromusings]

Congrats on the decision and upcoming wedding

I have almost the same issues as you've outlined, severe overbite, front teeth wearing away although I have no gaps in my teeth, my ortho has braced me on the top first, extractions coming up at the next appointment , she wants my overbite to move up a bit before she puts on the bottom braces

Oh and in answer to your last question I have damon clears, when I take pictures you have to really zoom in before you can tell I have braces on

[kelly88]

Thank you! Congratulations to you too

I'm getting bog standard metal braces so think they're going to be very noticeable in pictures. I've been watching tonnes of videos and looking at pictures online and some people's braces (metal) seem more noticeable than others. Maybe depends on the size of your teeth? I'm not too bothered about people seeing them though. Think I'll even be quite proud of them!

[NeilH]

Hi, welcome to the forum and good luck for when you start in June. I'm almost two years into my journey and went for metal brackets and don't regret the decision for a second. I think they look great, I'm not trying to hide the fact I have braces and like that you can change the look of them with coloured modules each time (black is definitely my favourite so far but next time I'm letting one of the lovely therapists have complete free choice so guess I will end up with some pink or purple!!). I have tried to accurately record my progress through my page (I'm getting braces this year..) and you will read that having braces is no big deal. Yes, there is some soreness occasionally and we all have some need for support and TLC in places but overall, its been a really good experience, I have met some lovely people and found all the fears I had, completely unfounded.

[kelly88]

I will check out your thread in the morning

Thank you. I'm actually quite excited about getting plain ol' metal braces and being able to choose colours. I wasn't able to do it as a teen (there were only a few colours available at the orthodontists where I originally had braces) so why not do it now! I plan to make them as colourful as possible, I don't care what people think I thought as soon as I booked the appointment I would start doubting myself and the choice to get metal braces but I'm not. As long as my teeth look good and are healthy at the end then I don't mind

[kelly88]

I have just three weeks left till I get my braces!

I've been on a road trip for the last week or so. Now my holiday is over it's on my mind constantly. I'm dreaming about it at night, I'm obsessively reading stuff, I'm really excited. The nerves have also started to kick in though. I keep thinking people are going to judge me for having braces at my age, people are going to talk about me or laugh at me. I know this shouldn't matter. Braces are common these days and probably most people won't notice or care. It shouldn't matter anyway. But I have had a few niggling doubts. Not enough for me to change my mind though of course! I know I'm not going to regret this.

I am just so ready to get started now!

[ItsFreyja]

Congrats on making a great decision. I felt the same way (and still do even though I've had my braces for a week now) but it sounds like we'll get over it eventually! Good luck!