UK people - do braces exist past 26?

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#1 Post by **Super Soo** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:57 pm

For all those people in the UK.....
I've always been paranoid about my crooked teeth and finally got braces 11 days ago....my message really relates to that fact that I have never ever seen anyone in the UK older than, say, 18 wearing braces. America is renowned for perfect teeth and 'older' people (for want of a better word) getting their teeth straightened but I've never come across anyone in my region of the 'older generation' getting their teeth straightened. I'm 26 and feel like I'm the only one in the north west of england with a brace at my age! just interested to know other people's comments!

Sue

x x

#2 Post by **somethingvague** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 2:18 pm

I'm in the UK, and the orthodontist's nurse has braces and she looks about 30

Maybe it's just not as common over here.

#3 Post by **weird_wired** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 5:15 pm

A friend of my mother's did and she was in her fifties.

I think you are right in that there is less emphasis on perfect teeth in the UK, which is both a good thing (less vanity/paranoia) and a bad thing (crooked/crowded can lead to oral health problems).

But what seems certain is that as cosmetic treatments (collagen, liposuction, botox etc) increase massively world wide, which they are, so will cosmetic dentistry. The good thing about braces is that unlike just having veneers, you get prettier AND healthier teeth. And they're way cheaper than veneers.

#4 Post by **jay** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 7:11 pm

If it helps im 28 and had my braces coming on 1 year now

I know what you mean though i cant say i see many adults with braces here in notts

#5 Post by **Evelyn** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 8:55 pm

I do notice quite a big difference when I go back to Wales over the holidays to see my grandparents. Over here in the US it's not uncommon for adults to have braces, but in Britain I just didn't see any. I also noticed it with teenagers...although I did see some that had braces, they were few and far between and looked to have quite signifigant problems.

It's interesting that it's like that though...

#6 Post by **MarkupNorth** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 12:22 pm

no no no, you are wrong, I'm in the North, 26 and also have braces, so you are not the only one

#7 Post by **Aurelia** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 7:36 am

I found its not until you get braces yourself that you notice other people with them. I'm 33 and got my top brace in January, since then I have met lots of people with them - popped into T mobile to get a new phone and the guy who served me had metals top and bottom and he looked in his thirites, the lady at Waitrose on the deli counter who looked in her forties...etc..weird huh. Admittedley I have seen far more youngsters than older people with braces but they are out there. I spoke to my Ortho about this when he first mentioned me having a brace and he told me about several of his patients who were having treatment in the fifties!!

#8 Post by **LizzyG** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 9:23 am

I am 28 (nearly 29!), live in the UK and have braces. At my ortho's, at least two of his assistants have braces on their teeth and they must be at least 30. Also, I was buying a pair of jeans the other day and the woman serving me said that she was getting braces soon and asked me a few questions about them. Oh and I stayed in a hotel a few weeks ago and the guy on reception was about my age and he had braces! (Funky metal ones with bright coloured ligs too)

I think that more and more people in the UK are undergoing orthodontics as adults.

#9 Post by **ukcolin** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 1:03 pm

hello

Im 31 male and living in the uk and ive had my braces for 5 weeks now. About a month b4 i had mine a girl at work who is around the same age had braces too. So i think its becomming more common in the Uk as we all strive for the purrrfect smile.

We will all be writing stuff in the 'Teeth Whitening' forum when our braces come off.

#10 Post by **Svensk Tiger** » Sun Mar 12, 2006 1:30 pm

I'm 25 with braces so not far off!

#11 Post by **cookie** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 4:08 am

I'm 26 (27 in May) and have been braced since Dec 2004 - I'm hoping to be debanded shortly after my 27th birthday!

#12 Post by **Crowded Mouth** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:13 am

Hi, I am from Bradford, but I live in Jersey in the Channel Islands and I am 35 with ceramic braces. I chose to have braces myself because of some crowding.

There is another lady at my work with braces, she is around 40.

I was at the coffee shop today and I saw a lady of about 30 with a full set of ceramics, happily chatting away with a man.. she was laughing so much I could see her uppers and lowers.. haha. I was meeting my man for a coffee..

So there are a few of us out there and not all of us are teenagers..

#13 Post by **tractorgirl** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:43 am

Hiya...
I know what you mean. I'm 22 this year in a few months, and I have my spacers in and brackets, just need to be wired up on Thursday this week. I agree with you, there arent many people in the UK in their twenties with braces. Maybe we will start a new trend!!

I am really self conscious about it already, so I'm dreading what I will be like on Thursday. I guess we just have to think how lovely our teeth will be when we get them out!

Good luck with it all
Hannah

#14 Post by **mrc** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:28 pm

ive just turned 26 and i got my braces when i was 24, i got them off a few months ago and then got them back on last week( long story) full metals this time, there is a few people at my work with braces all about my age, ther eis also a stunning girl who works in one of the designer clothes shops in glasgow who go t hers on very recently , i bumped into her at the ortho last week and we were talking about this for ages, she hasnt noticed that many adults with braces but it is growing

#15 Post by **Super Soo** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 3:26 pm

Well so far that's 15 of us, plus..... the stunning girl in the designer clothes shop, a few people in mrc's office, a lady at crowded mouth's work, a lady in the coffee shop, a girl who works with ukcolin, lucy loop's sister, lizzyg's ortho assistants (x 2), the women in the jeans shop, the reception guy, a guy in the mobile phone shop, the lady in waitrose, a friend of weird_wired's mother, somethingvague's ortho's nurse...and someone I've now spotted down the pub......so i guess it's more common that I first thought!!!!!!!