Almost 50, hopefully almost out of braces

[FlossWrangler]

I'm a late 40s male and have been in braces for about 20 months. My wife was born with perfect teeth and our twin children were both in braces when I realized I would look like a hillbilly next to my family and decided to do something about it.
I went to the same ortho who was treating my kids (son in second set of braces and daughter was also in braces) in hopes of doing Invisalign. He examined me and talked about my expectations. I was mostly bothered by my crowded lower teeth and small upper teeth. I was hoping to quickly straighten the bottom teeth and slap some veneers on my worn upper teeth. Of course, he told me that I had multiple issues that needed correction:
1. Moderately severe overbite
2. Spaces in the upper arch
3. Moderately severe crowding in the lower arch
4. Several tipped or rotated teeth

He told me that I would be a candidate for either Invisalign or regular braces, but that he thought he could only fix about 75% of my issues with Invisalign versus 99% with traditional braces. Knowing my own OCD tendencies, I opted for braces. I opted for ceramic brackets to make them a little less obvious to the tune of an extra $500. At the end of the consult, he asked when I wanted to get them put on. I said "What are we waiting for? Put them on now!". I spent the next two hours getting photos taken and then getting the brackets put on and some really flimsy Cu-Ni-Ti wires slipped in.

[FlossWrangler]

I went pretty quickly in the lower arch from one flimsy wire to the next thicker one, and within about 3 months I was in stainless wires top and bottom. It was amazing to see my bottom teeth move on nearly a daily basis. The only real hassle was the fact that my upper incisors were hitting the brackets on my lower teeth, so my molars didn't touch for an entire year! It was during this time that I learned I am a clencher - I managed to put a pretty big chip in #8 from the bracket it was hitting. My ortho put rubber bumpers on the brackets of 24 and 25, but it didn't really help.

[LisainTX]

Hi FW,
I was just wondering how it was going. I am IN my 50s and I'm just about hitting 11 months into my adventure. Like you, I noticed changes almost immediately and on a daily basis. Now it seems as if its not going as quickly but I know that's just me seeing the finish line. They told me 12-18 months but I am thinking now its going to be more like 18 or more.
The first year has gone quickly. I had that bout of back teeth not touching for awhile and thought oh great! -An automatic DIET! I'll lose weight!
LOL.....many soft items are NOT nutritious! Cake...pudding....etc.
I do better now that I can eat salad again. I just have to keep my brushes close!

[FlossWrangler]

Basically, I had really crooked lower incisors from severe crowding that really bothered me. Getting them to align is what has really taken so long. I had a few rotated teeth and spaces in the upper arch that were basically gone at 14 months or so. The overbite was fixed by that time, too. I've got a lateral incisor and canine on the bottom left that are still a little tipped, but I think we are going to "wave the white flag" very soon and stop trying to fix them. The last bit of rotation is just about done on my upper lateral incisor, so I'm hoping to be done in the next month or two. Initial estimate was 18 months, but when I peeked in my chart I saw he documented 16 months! I'm at almost 21 months now and pretty tired of the whole process.
I have an appointment next week with a periodontist for a possible gingivectomy procedure, because I think I have small appearing teeth and a gummy smile. Hoping he can laser back some of the gum tissue and fix both problems. I'll probably get ceramic crowns on my front four teeth anyway, because my lateral incisors are pretty small.
I haven't been in elastics for the past two months, so my molars don't really come together right now. I totally agree with your comment about soft foods!

[FlossWrangler]

Update: I'm going in on February 22nd to get my back wires cut off and put on finishing elastics/zig-zag rubberbands to bring my molars together, then back in on March 6th to.....

GET. THEM. OFF!



That would be 679 days in total, about 4 months longer than my initial estimated treatment time of 18 months.

[BlondeCam]

Congratulations!!! It won't be long now.

[FlossWrangler]

Wow, finishing elastics are fun! I have to hook the rubber band on the lower 1st molar, then up around the upper 1st molar, then down around the bottom pre-molar....
all the way to the canines. When the ortho tech put them in for me the first time in the office, I couldn't open my mouth enough to lick my lips! I realized she had the last segment in front pulled completely tight, so when I re-did them myself I was able to open my mouth a lot better and could actually talk.
This has definitely been the most painful part of my treatment, especially since the cut ends of my archwires (they now stop at the canines) are constantly digging into my cheeks. I had to dig out the package of wax they gave me at my first appointment, since I've never needed it before!
Every morning when I wake up, the first thought in my mind is "only x days until I get them off!" Today, that number is 8.

[atrixa]

I'm so excited for you, FlossWrangler! It's a shame that the treatment has taken so much longer than you expected, but I'm sure it's worth it! Are you having fixed retainers or just removable?

[FlossWrangler]

Thanks! Ortho said a fixed retainer wasn't an option, because my arch was widened in treatment. At least I think that's what he said. He tends to want to make small talk about the weather or some other B.S. Rather than talk about my teeth.

[Bondja57]

I am your senior by a few years and just had my braces removed yesterday. A little over 14 months. I was a bad boy in college, sports etc. Should have did this years ago. Good Luck!