43 years old and 2 months with braces!

[ThinkStraight]

Hello everyone!

I am 43 and have ceramic braces on top and bottom. When I was way too young, I had two molars pulled. One on each side of my mouth. With these braces, I have a wire going across the missing tooth area. (By the way, I will have implants or bridges when the braces are off).

Does anyone else have this situation? You can only imagine how hard it is to chew. The wire already broke once.

Thank you for any help. I feel discouraged.

[isthistaken]

a wire from the left to the right side of your mouth?

[MilkTeaholic]

Have you tried chewing on the opposite side than the one that the wire broke? I know you have the wire running on both sides but depending on how you are biting down there may be less force you're exerting and less likely to break a wire. Other than, I would recommend asking your dentist/ortho about it. Good luck and sorry to hear about this.

[Ciara]

I will have a wire running across and extraction space too (probably get it on the 26th of this month - btw, I am also 43). I had a premolar with a vertical fracture pulled in spring. My ortho and dentist believe that they will be able to close the space and use a little bonding to fill in any minor gaps. I will be interested to hear how other people managed to no break the wire!

[Tobilei]

I have a wire running across an extraction gap on my left side (I think it was my first molar). I find it digs in much more than the wire does anywhere else so I get some clear tubing placed around it and it's much more comfortable.

Don't worry too much about breaking the wire. I've eaten all kinds of things and never had it break. The first wire was a really fine one and I kept feeling like it would slice my tongue open (I don't know if that's possible or I was just anxious about it) which is when they first put the tubing on. Now I ask for it all the time.

I'm also due to have either a bridge or implant done in the gap at the end of my treatment (and I'm pretty nervous at the thought of an implant).

[ThinkStraight]

You guys are so awesome! I'm so glad I found this site. When I get my adjustment, I will ask for the clear tubing for sure.

I am also very nervous about the implant or bridge. But, I don't want my teeth to shift after this metal comes off! haha

[Zaera]

I have an ankylosed baby tooth that my bottom wire runs across. The tooth is serving as a placeholder for a future implant. It was better to leave it in place during treatment since it cannot move and makes a nice placeholder.

I used to have difficulty with that bit of wire when I had thinner archwires. Many times, as I was eating, a bit of food would get mashed down on top of it and pull it out of the molar bracket. I became an expert at putting the wire back in. Over time, as I've moved up to thicker wires, it isn't so much of a problem. I also used to have a bad habit of sticking my tongue under the wire, just because I could.