Start of my braces journey at 66

[Jano]

I am thinking canned fish could be a good choice for my work lunch ( provided I immediately clean my teeth to remove fish breath and spare my work colleagues )

[time4achange]

great decision!

[Dee17]

I can not tell you how reassuring it is for me to read these posts by people who are even older than me and who are wearing braces. I will be 54 at the end of August and will probably get my braces in a few months. I have been having SO much anxiety about the prospect but I have a HUGE gap between my two front teeth and really don't think I can live with it indefinitely. The more I read the more convinced I am that this change will be a big change only for me. Other people probably won't even notice and if they do, they probably won't care. I feel much more confident now about moving forward. Thank you.

[CJP]

I'm 54, and have had braces 1 month and 3 days.
One of the major advantages to being an adult versus a kid or teenager - wine is my friend. Espeically on days like yesterday when I had elastics put on.

[bannishg]

Marie, please continue to keep us posted!

I've also found an article regarding an increase in orthodontic activity for seniors. It's about 5 years old, but quite a read. What's more is that some of these people are in their mid 70's!

Unfortunately I am still 2 posts from being privileged to post a direct link, so google the following term to see the article:

"Open wide! More senior citizens opt for braces"

[Dee17]

Great articles. Thank you for posting the info. All the posts I'm reading from people who are significantly older than me who are wearing braces makes me think more and more that this journey might not be so bad after all once it gets going. Thanks again!

[plugnickel69]

Dee, the anxiety is very natural. If your teeth are moving as quickly as you say, and your afraid to let the world see your teeth as they are, then you really have no option but to get them fixed properly. Like many of us, you will find that having braces is not an issue for others. They really don't care. I'm 65 years young and approching 6 months into the process and have yet to hear a negative word from anybody. Actually, I hear practically nothing from anybody. Most people don't even notice. I have ceramics top and bottom.

Good luck to you!

[Dee17]

Hi, thanks for your message. As I've said, I am slowly coming around to the idea that this process will be inevitable for me. I really don't want to live the rest of my life as a hermit and so I'll need to get the teeth fixed. I will probably have to get metal braces because I don't think I 'll be able to afford ceramic and I probably won't be a candidate for invisalign.
As for people making comments, no I'm not surprised that you haven't heard many from people. I think that most people are not so rude as to comment about something like a person's braces. After all, we're all so used to seeing them on teenagers. I'm sure that most people might be a bit taken aback when they see an older person wearing braces on their teeth but as I've been reading, more and more older adults are opting for this kind of treatment to address lifelong issues they've had with their teeth that they weren't able to correct before. So, I'm just going to try to go into the whole thing as positively as I can and hope for the best. I know that when it is all finished I won't regret it because my beautiful smile will be restored to me. Thanks again!

[plugnickel69]

You'll need to discuss your options at your consults, and you should have at least two minimum with board certified orthodontists, not dentists. The problem you're having with your widening gap is obviously caused by other issues. To my way of thinking, you need to deal with the underlying causes of the problem in an attempt to alleviate future unwanted tooth movement, not just go for the quick cosmetic fix. I wish you luck in your endeavor.

[Dee17]

Tank you. The problem started after I had two extractions -- one on each side of my mouth. A molar and a bicuspid. It's a long story. My understanding is that tooth movement can occur if periodontal disease is present but, to the best of my knowledge, I do not have either gingivitis or periodontal disease. i have a consult with an orthodontist scheduled for the end of August. Based on what he says I'll get a second (and possibly a third) opinion.

[plugnickel69]

Interesting. My story has similar roots I had 4 first bicuspids pulled for my first orthodontic experience over 50 years ago. The result seemed good and stable until the last 4 or 5 years when I began noticing that my lower canines were contacting my upper laterals when chewing, thus wearing away tooth enamel. What actually happened, I believe, is that in those days while they were interested in aligning the teeth, they did not align the roots, and all 4 remaining bicuspids began to tilt and twist, not having nearby roots to help keep them in place. This also impacted all 4 canines, causing them to rotate as well. The orthos referred to this as a breakdown in all 4 corners of the mouth. Once the tooth movement started it seemed to continue methodically, possibly increasing in speed as the chewing forces contributed to the movement. The changes in my bite certainly became more evident to me on a month-to-month basis as we agreed to put treatment off for another year to to determine if treatment was in fact necessary. It was never a cosmetic issue for me and the ongoing changes were not visible to the naked eye, but were very irritating as far as my bite.

As I've said in other posts, I couldn't accept some of the proposed treatments. My dentists suggested shaving tooth surfaces so that the teeth didn't hit. Right, give them some more room to move out of place. One ortho said effective treatment wasn't even possible. One said braces were overkill and wanted to do invisalign while the others, also invisalign providers, flatly told me invisalign was not an option. Two told me they could do invisalign or braces on only my lower jaw as a partial fix. For me, treatment that was incomplete was not acceptable. But I was warned that retention is a concern and could not be guaranteed. However, my ortho seems to intent on doing what he can to prevent relapse.

Sorry about the dental puns; couldn't help myself.

[Dee17]

Wow, it sounds like you had a lot of conflicting advice. I don't know what I will do if I get told so many different options. I really don't know how to evaluate whatever the orthodontist tells me will be necessary. I am going to have a few consultations, possibly three. In the end, I guess I will just go with whatever seems to be the most reasonable. I don't think I would let anyone shave my teeth down, though. In some ways, that seems even worse than having an extraction. When I lost my two teeth, it almost killed me. Not pain wise or anything (and you can't see the spaces that were created) but just in terms of losing two teeth. One was had a crown on it which was lose and when my dentist was trying to remove the crown so he could recement, the tooth broke into three pieces so he had to extract what was left. The other tooth had a significant amount of decay from a cavity that had been filled which then later fell out and I never got it repaired. I developed an abscess on that tooth and when he was looking at the tooth, it also broke into two pieces. So, now I have these two huge spaces in my upper jaw along with this HUGE gap between my two front teeth. Ugh. The whole process has been so upsetting for me. That, on top of what I know will turn out to be a very expensive proposition to fix the gap between my teeth has made me VERY unhappy.

[plugnickel69]

Hope you can get started relatively soon. Once you get started you'll feel greatly relieved, and believe it or not, teeth often move unbelievably fast. It's amazing how fast they can close a gap in the front teeth. Of course fixing the surrounding problems takes quite a bit longer. Remember that the anxiety of making the decision and waiting for the start of treatment is far worse than the actual process. And the money you will pay now for orthodontic treatment will be far less than what you'll eventually pay if you don't do anything now to stop the movement. Of course, the other alternative is to get all your teeth pulled and get dentures. No cavities! No braces! Hope that puts a smile on your face.

[redwine]

"One of the major advantages to being an adult versus a kid or teenager - wine is my friend. "
That must have been written by my long-lost twin!
Hooray for all of us that have the, well, let's call it fortitude, to do this. As for me, I can't wait to actually get the braces on. Yeah, I'll probably moan and groan a bit from time to time, but I know it's going to be worth it.
Might have to change my name from redwine (red hair, & I do like my wine, especially the reds), to whitewhine. At least temporarily. But I'm keeping the red hair! And looking forward to skinny jeans!

[Dee17]

Yes, I think you're right. I'm not so much of a wine drinker myself but it does help medicate what ails ya. I hope you get into your skinny jeans! Glad that you're looking forward to your journey so much. Will probably make the whole ordeal much more pleasant for you. Can't say that I'm there yet but I'm sure I'll get there eventually!