My sibling had much, much worse teeth and our family scrimped for braces for her because she could not even chew. She emerged four years later a beautiful swan.
I always longed for the transformation that happened with my sister. I had enough money in my bank account as a teenager to pay for my own braces, but my parents would not let me. They thought I just wanted them for the novelty factor.
When I was an adult, I paid for my own treatment. I had four pre-molars pulled to correct my maxillofacial protrusion. In addition, they corrected a deep bite. I wore the braces for 4 years and was fitted with upper and lower hawley retainers. I did not have quite the dramatic duckling to swan transofrmation that occurred with my sister, but everyone commented on how much prettier I was. The day after I got them off, a stranger commented on how beautiful my teeth were. That was the one and only time.
I wore the retainer, but it could not prevent the deep bite from returning. As the deep bite returned, my lowers began hitting the back of the uppers, and began tipping the roots out. while the retainer held the lower part of the teeth in place.My teeth took on a tipped toward the palate look that I didn't really care for. I ignored it for the most part, until I was engaged in a conversation with co-workers about braces, and I mentioned that I had them. One of the co-workers looked at me in disbelief and said, "You'd never know." I began to study pictures, and began to realize how bad they looked.
I had some bonding done on them to improve the appearance two years ago, but they continue to shift. My dentist cannot bond them any more, and I cannot afford another round of braces, so, I am in the process of creating my own homemade orthodontic device as well as manipulating my upper hawley in an attempt to return my teeth to a more pleasing position. I will post my homemade appliance journey if any one cares to follow.
