Braces in the UK.

[Jessie2099]

Hi all

I'm Jess...32 and have been braced (for the second time!) for about 4 weeks. I live in the UK- England to be exact.

I've been browsing this site for a few months and have noticed that most of the stories / comments fom here are from the USA/ Australia. Adult orthontics seems to be much more common and accepted abroad than in England. Would others from the UK agree???

Is this due to cost or are us Brits just slow to catch up?!!I know the English have a reputation for having bad teeth !! Although I see plenty of teenagers with braces I have yet to come across another adult with a brace....or am I just not looking hard enough?

What do others think??

[samantha_lou]

Hey Jess,

Its great to see another UK person posting here! Yay!! I'm from Southampton originally, but I've been living out in the US for the last year. I had some ortho as a kid, but I definitely don't think its as popular for adults as it is over here in the US. I work in a dental office, we have so many adult ortho patients, and most of them are really proud of their braces and that they are fixing up their smiles.

Good luck with your treatment, I hope it goes really well for you - it'd be great to see some photos of your smile before ortho and your new braces!

[Jessie2099]

Lol...yes I know what you mean Lucy. I'm always looking at people's mouths now, taking a look at their teeth and thinking you really ought to get some ortho work !!! LOl Though still not popular here. Yes there was a girl on Emmerdale with braces on and didn't Lisa Scott-Lee from Steps have them on for a while? We need some more celebs to take the lead and make it more the norm in the UK to have good straight teeth!!! Though I know ther are cost implications and still hugely expensive.

[arnette]

Hey there!

My name's Brent, I'm 28, and I'm doing a PhD in Glasgow (originally from the States). I'm about to take the plunge for braces as soon as I can save up for the deposit. You're right, I haven't noticed too many adults with braces around town but I think this is normal because the same is true in the States. I'm opting for ceramic brackets if I have the choice.

I'm actually looking forward to getting braced up. I had metal braces when I was 15 until 17 yo but like just about everyone else who goes through a second session, I only wore my retainer for about a year. No one ever told me it was forever (though I should have figured it out on my own)! So WEAR YOUR RETAINER. That being said, I hope my treatment is under 2 years but I'm willing to accept longer if it means a 'Hollywood Smile' later on. Good luck to you!

[annie82]

hey i'm anne, i'm 23 and i'm in uk too!! i have to say that i see lots of adults or people my age at the ortho so we're not the only ones to be wired up!! i shall add that almost none seems to have traditional braces, i see mostly invisalign and just a few who chose linguals as i did . that's all folks!!

[Svensk Tiger]

Hey there!

My name's Brent, I'm 28, and I'm doing a PhD in Glasgow (originally from the States). I'm about to take the plunge for braces as soon as I can save up for the deposit. You're right, I haven't noticed too many adults with braces around town but I think this is normal because the same is true in the States. I'm opting for ceramic brackets if I have the choice.

I'm actually looking forward to getting braced up. I had metal braces when I was 15 until 17 yo but like just about everyone else who goes through a second session, I only wore my retainer for about a year. No one ever told me it was forever (though I should have figured it out on my own)! So WEAR YOUR RETAINER. That being said, I hope my treatment is under 2 years but I'm willing to accept longer if it means a 'Hollywood Smile' later on. Good luck to you!

Hi there,

I'm also doing a PhD in Glasgow, although I live in Edinburgh.

To answer the original post it's also my experience that I rarely see another adult with braces here in the UK but when I spent a week in Boston I several each day! I haven't come to a satisfactory conclusion yet as to why though.

[kel]

Hi everyone,

I am from England and getting braces as an adult too. Must admit that I haven't seen any other adults with braces yet either.

I am excited thinking that I am getting mine too and am really glad that I can get so much infomation beforehand from this site, not so nervous now, although I am sure I will be soon!

[Tanis Draven]

Hey Jess.

I'm 32 and have just started down the path of getting my teeth sorted. I've known for ages that i needed to get them corrected but once i got past 20 i thought that braces were out of the question.

Its great to see other adults are taking the plunge and that there are other people out there I can relate too.

I just wish i could get my braces on now! Quicker i start the quicker it finishes right?

I've been given an Upper Removable Appliance (URA) to wear for 6 months before I get the braces. I seem to be the only one!

Has anyone else had a URA? I've had mine for 4 weeks now - i dont really see any improvement but hey guess its too early yet!

[Princess Braceface]

Well, I'm 42 and althought not braced I will be soon.
I live in a village and our ex pub landlady had a full metal mouth with lots of elastics so she was a bit of an inspiration to me! She had hers off last year and I thought, that could be me!
I also came across a lady in her 50's at a funeral before Christmas who was from Holland so maybe it's becoming more accepted in Europe. Although far from the norm like the States. But why should we put up with ugly teeth for fear of what everyone else will think of us/our appearance? We're doing it to improve our appearance, after all.
Personally, I don't give a stuff about what everyone else thinks. It's MY TEETH!