New to the Forum

[BraceDva22]

I have been checking this site out for a while so I can prepare myself for my journey to a pretty smile. I am 33 yrs old (female) and I have needed braces since I was a teenager but my mother was a single parent who could not afford them. I am set to start my journey in 2 1-2 weeks, I wanted to say hello and introduce myself. I cant wait to start- it has been long overdue!

[stepher7]

Congrats on making the decision to get braced! This site is a great form of support and answers when you're feeling bummed about something or are curious to know if what's happening in your mouth is normal! It's definitely not an easy decision to get braced as an adult, I struggled with the idea for a while before finally just going for it. There are some days where I just want them off, but even on those days I'm sooooo happy I finally did it! Once you start seeing how awesome your teeth are getting you'll be so glad you went ahead with it!

[Harriet]

Hi I'm new here too and getting my braces in 3 weeks. Good luck with yours

[BraceDva22]

Tomorrow is B-DAY Im sooo nervous. I've been waiting for what it seems like forever to be able to smile with confidence. I am so ready to start this journey. I know that once its said and done I will have a beautiful smile. I look forward to all the pain to come-lol b/c I know the end result will be wonderful!

[Jensniffer]

Congrats! Tommorow is 'B' day for me too!! (but I am a 34 yr old female ) Good luck to us!

[BraceDva22]

Good Luck to you too! I havent decided on what kind to get. It's between Damon metal and Damon clear. Im leaning more towards metal, there's only a 200.00 difference but I plan to embrace my metal mouth so why hide it- lol

[JulieFL]

I am 33 and just got braces for the first time on May 26.

I have metal Damons, some springs, bite turbos and some buttons for my crossbite. I didn't expect so much!

Julie

[BraceDva22]

ok So yesterday was my first day being braced. In was in and out in less than an hour. Everything was fine until yesterday afternoon, maybe I was talking too much but I have sooo many sores in my mouth from these braces. I didnt think it would hurt this much! I cant eat anything, and the only thing I want now is a big juicy hamburger-lol Oh well I have to stay positive and keep thinking of the final outcome- a beautiful smile!

[noveldevice]

Eat soup and drink heavily. Best advice possible.

[Twinks]

Great to see more people the same age as me just starting their treatment. I'm 34, female and am coming up to the end of week 1 in braces. Exciting but anxious at the same time. It's funny because I don't normally care what other people think!!

Good luck on the journey. It's nice to have others going through the same thing. My boyfriend thinks this pain is self inflicted and doesn't have much sympathy.

Twinks

[hadbracesonce]

I'm new here, and I had braces as a teenager, along with a host of other extensive orthodontic work. I had an expander followed by YEARS of braces plus four teeth removed to make room for ones that had nowhere to go because I had no room.

Well, the problem here is that I was a rebellious teenager who didn't do as her orthodontist told her. I hated the rubber bands that were supposed to correct my overbite so I hardly ever wore them, I hate foods that broke my wires.....you name it, I did it. The only "retainer" I got after the braces was something that looked like a boxer's mouthpiece that I was supposed to bite down on to keep my teeth aligned, but of course, I refused to use it because I was supposed to sleep with it in and it felt cumbersome and uncomfortable.

Around the beginning of my junior year in college, my wisdom teeth began to try to come in, but there was no room for them and they squished my teeth back together and anyway, they were impacted and all four had to go, so I had surgery to remove them, but the damage was done, so my teeth are crowded again and my overbite was never quite corrected, so I've got that, too.

Fast forward: I'm now 54 and I would LOVE to have straight teeth again and be rid of my overbite once and for all, but.......am I too old to get braces? I'm considering asking my dentist to refer me to an orthodontist, but I need to look into how much, if any, my dental insurance would pay for braces. If it's too expensive, then forget it, I won't do it, but I long to have straight teeth and no ugly overbite.

Can an overbite be corrected in a 54 year old? Would I have to wear a night brace? (I'm willing to do this if necessary.) At this stage, I'm merely contemplating an orthodontic "do-over" to get it right this time. It really depends on insurance coverage. I don't make a lot of money and couldn't possibly plunk down a huge down payment on treatment unless I won the lottery or something.

Eager to hear from others here!

[hadbracesonce]

[quote="hadbracesonce"] I hate foods that broke my wires.....you name it, I did it. [/quote]

Oops, that should have read "I ATE foods that broke my wires....".Too new to edit my posts! <Sigh>

[noveldevice]

@twinks If it were me, I'd tell him he could bite me. A: it's still pain. B: it's self-inflicted the same way having a bone set is self-inflicted. What are you supposed to do? Grr.

[Twinks]

@noveldevice good point... I'm looking forward to having better teeth than him when I'm done!

@hadbraces once, I'd say you're never too old to have braces. My mom's in her 60s and I know she's so self conscious about her teeth, to the point that she doesn't like smiling. If it bugs you that much, then I'd say you'd definitely never regret getting them!

[mnmetalmouth]

Hi, I'm 33 as well and just put my braces on last week! My husband says I look like a teenager ( he didn't seem to excited about that) but other than him and my daughter no one else really noticed that I had gotten braced.

had braces one time: My grandmother in law also thinks that I am too old for braces. My husband responded by saying that I plan to live a long time and it is important to me to look and feel my best. I say if it makes you feel good about yourself why not. Your definetly not too old!