Not sure anymore...

[EdgeofFreedom]

I had decided last autumn that it might be a good idea to consult for orthodontic treatment. After Christmas I had my first appointment and decided to go with it. Two weeks ago I had my molds done, and Monday I have an appointment where we are going to look at the molds and decided treatment. I have already spent 460$ on this.

But I'm not sure anymore...

Some friends have told me to go with it, other said I was wasting money. My best friend said I should do it if I want to but that I'd loose my special smile. What should I do? I'm also not sure I could stand spending two years in braces. I'm already not a particularly good looking person, I've been single for a year and I am not sure this will help me any. I'm afraid of people's judgement, of my student's judgement, I'm afraid this will only kill off more of my self-esteem. I'm sure I'm not the only person here with these issues, and I need help putting light in the dark so to speak. I fell like I'm in a shame if I do shame if I don't situation. If I go ahead I'll be stuck for two years with rails on my teeth, if I don't I'll have to live with my imperfect teeth.

I'm going to let you see my problem..

This is my upper bite:



My top teeth from each side:





As you can see, I have a very square bite, my right canine sticks out quite a bit (goes over my lip when I smile) and my front teeth are tilting backwards at the tips quite a bit. I was also told I have an overbite...

I'm really confused.... What should I do?

[fozzy]

Personally, I would get the braces. You have a wonderful smile, but just think of how gorgeous it will be once your teeth are even and straight!
2 years isn't that long, compared to the rest of your life.
I've had a lot of people ask me why I got braces, because my "teeth aren't that bad". I don't want to have teeth that "aren't that bad". I want to have teeth that are great!
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[naomi]

This may be hard to believe because your treatment hasn't started yet..but two years with braces is not as bad as it sounds. I'm almost 23, I've had my braces for 19 months and the time has gone by really fast. To be honest, you'll probably be self conscious of your braces at first but once you're used to having them and everyone around you has seen you with them ..well, they somehow become "normal". It's funny because to me, it seems that braces would be really obvious but I've had people who I see on a regular basis who don't even realise I have them. I've had people come up to me pretty recently and say "hey you have braces! When did you get those??". Of course you have days where you wish they were gone. Taking a good long look at my "before" pics usually makes me feel better though . Those first few weeks/months after getting braces you'll see SO much progress that you'll realise the pain of having them is worth the gain of a much nicer smile.

A guy I used to work with was having the same problem as you, trying to decide if he really wanted to go ahead with braces or not. He'd already went for his initial consult and stuff but then he wasn't sure if he really wanted to go ahead with treatment. I tried to convince him to go ahead with it. I just saw him a few days ago and this time he was braced! He told me how shocked he was that his teeth had improved so drastically in just a short period of time. I wanted to say "I told you so!" but I refrained from doing so lol.

Anyways I REALLY think you should go for it!! Don't be hindered by your fear of what other people will think because quite honestly MOST people aren't going to care what's in your mouth. You will always be your biggest critic. Ok enough said..good luck with your decision!!

[Dogbiskit]

My eyeteeth flare out just like yours and it has always bothered me even though all my friends loved my teeth. I got braced a couple weeks ago at age 39 and all i can say is that i wish i had done it sooner. yes it's uncomfortable at first but i have no doubt whatsoever that i've done the right thing. my friends don't even notice the braces anymore and i think they actually look kinda cute! so i say GO FOR IT!

[braceface69]

I was in a similar situation as you. I hated my teeth but I didn't want to fork out the money or time to get them fixed. But finally I decided to do it. Two years is NOTHING compared to the rest of your life. Do it while you can. I was told initially I'd have my braces on for 2yrs, but it's only been 7mths and they're coming off in March. That's a month away! You will have a beautiful smile in the end and it'll be worth it!

Good luck with you decision making!!

[dena]

the braces experience has been nothing but good for me so far. i've cried multple times in the past month because i was so happy--i couldnt believe how fast my smile had improved. at first, having braces was really shocking, but i don't notice them so much now. two years still seems long to me, too. but what really got me was that i knew if i didn't that i'd be kicking myself in two years thnking 'that time went so fast and if i'd done it, i'd have perfect teeth now.'

you mentioned students...are you a teacher? i dont know what you teach but many of this board have students--the little ones are especially intrigued in a good way. i'm in grad school and i'm a TA, so i have tons of judgemental little frat kids (i'm kidding--i love 'em and that's why i'm here) and i dont feel like i get any weird vibes off of them. they really just want their grades

good luck--i hope you do it. you've already gone so far...i say you stop thinking, just do it and think about it after it's done. you'll have a whole new perspective from that end.

[EdgeofFreedom]

Thank you all for your input, I really need to think about this before I make a decision one way or the other, and reading all of your stories does help.

It's still a though decision. I guess I'll just go see the ortho Monday and when I know exactly what the treatment entails, I'll be able to make a better choice.

I'll come back and let you know what he says...

[Echo]

I think you should definitely go for it. It's hard for me to understand why people don't want to straighten their teeth. I will admit, I could have gone my whole life without braces. My teeth were straight. There were just a few little things I wanted to "tweak" to make me happy. The way your teeth feel in your mouth and the way they appear to others are two different things. I wanted my teeth to feel perfect to me, so I got braces. No one could understand why I got them, but I got them for me so I don't care. Plus, I would wear them forever, just for all the comments I get on them! No one can believe I am as old as I am! If I were you, I would definitely do it.

[samantha_lou]

I definitely think you should go for the braces, it looks as though you have really nice teeth (in terms of actual shape and color), and having the braces would just finish off a really nice smile by getting those canines where they should be and having everything line up just right.

As for worrying about what others will think, the people who really matter are the people who care about you, and they'll be the people who are happy to see you doing something for you, making that investment so that you can have a smile that you love.

Good luck, and hopefully once you talk with your ortho, the decision will be a little easier for you.

[nimo]

My 8th grade history teacher had braces, and mostly I was just jealous that she had them and I didn't. It was more important to me that she was a good teacher.
This is something you should be doing for yourself. If your friends don't like it, that's too bad. Friends should be supportive with something like this, regardless of whether they feel it's a wise choice. You're doing something to improve the health of your teeth, and the upside is that you'll get a great smile out of it. I haven't told many of my friends because this is something I want to do. And since it is a hard decision, and a very big committment, I don't feel like anyone's discouraging words getting in the way. They'll see me with braces soon enough, and by then it's too late for anyone to try to influence that decision for me.

[ssfw]

Hi EdgeofFreedom,

I agree with all of the posts.

Proceeding with orthodontic treatment was a difficult decision for me also. It took me several months to make the decision. As mentioned in one of the other posts, yes, you will get questions when you initially get your braces, but after a short while the braces will be a part of you and people will get use to you having braces. Adults getting braces is not uncommon. I think once you get over the initial period of having braces you will be fine and be so glad that you decided to get braces. I knew that if I didn't get orthodontic treatment now, I would not get it at a later time. Usually appointments after the braces are placed are about every 6-8 weeks, sometimes more often, sometimes longer - so other than the initial appointments before the braces are placed, you don't have appointments that often.

I truly think if you decide not to proceed with orthodontic treatment, you will wish you had - I think this is the reason you decided to go for an evaluation.

By the way, if you're happy with this orthodontist, great, but alot of people go to multiple ortho evaluations to see what they suggest for ortho treatment and what their cost is. I went to 4 ortho evaluations.

Good luck.

ssfw

[Leslie022]

Don't let anyone tell you you're wasting your money. They're your teeth and it's your money. If you want to do this then don't let anyone talk you out of it. Another thing you might want to think about is they health of your teeth. Orthodontia isn't just about making a pretty smile. It's about making and keeping your teeth healthy.

I hope you're able to figure things out...

[mackenzie]

You should do it! Teeth in the wrong positions can wear out weird and look worse when you get older, so it is good to get them where they belong! I don't know how old your students are, but I'm 16 and if my teacher had braces I would just think it's good that she's finally fixing her teeth. If your students are middle school/high school most of them had braces or have braces, and if they are younger than that they're probably too young to care.

Having braces shows you care about yourself. Would you rather have a prospective date see you without braces and think your teeth will always be how they are or see you with braces and know that you will have perfect teeth?

[Joanna20]

Hey! I personally I like your smile; It has personality!
but you are the only person who can judge that. Me, for instance, a lot of people tell me they like my smile but I just think it's horible and I want to correct it; It took me 5 years to decide to go to the orthod... I was also worried about my self esteem during braces. But I got to the conclusion that 2 years or so is nothing for a gorgeus smile forever. Plus you've already spent some money so why not go ahead? If you can afford the rest of the treatment of course.
Good luck with your decision!

[jennielee81]

I'm afraid of people's judgement, of my student's judgement, I'm afraid this will only kill off more of my self-esteem.
I'm really confused.... What should I do?

I can address this issue. I work in a middle school and ALL of the kids are supportive!!! They like to see my progress, asking me to bite down so they can see my bite changes and they've wanted to see my arches, too. The adults I work with aren't quite so curious (with the exception of two who had braces as adults). Don't think I'm weird, I don't approach them with this, they ask me!

I've always been insecure, but I am far more confident with braces on my STRAIGHT teeth than I ever was with my naked, crooked teeth.

As for the special smile, I've had people, even on this board, tell me that my smile was "cute" before braces (click below to see them). I think it's going to be STUNNING when I'm finished, I'll trade cute for stunning any day... You too will be stunning!!!