Journey Begins

[Aler58]

I got my braces on three weeks ago. I'm in my 50's and it was a hard decision to make but made easier because surprisingly my insurance paid quite a bit of the cost. I have ceramic on the top and metal on the bottom. Looks like it is going to be an 18 month journey but the technician told me yesterday that once I start wearing rubber bands I can speed up the process a bit if I wear them like prescribed and don't be a slacker with them.
I am a coffee drinker and had to have the ligatures changed out yesterday because they were already discolored. They changed the ligatures to white coated wire type ones that are supposed to be more stain resistant. My teeth are a little sore this morning because the new ligatures are twisted onto the brackets. My ortho warned me they might be sore for a few days.
The staff and doctor are great to work with. My silly tech wanted to put colored ligatures on when I got my braces but I told her no thanks. She told me she was going to sneak some colored ones on someday, lol. She also said she does a great candy stripe for the holidays. Nope, not happening!

[EmilyTravels]

Welcome to the over-50 in braces club. We may be the only two members!

I have self-ligating brackets so no ligatures, but I would totally go for color if I did have that type. I wish I did. I love color in my clothes so would enjoy it in my braces as well, just for fun. I'm kinda crazy that way.

Best of luck to you in your journey. At least for me, it has gone by faster than I expected. I am supposed to have a 12 month or less sentence so hope to get my braces off sometime this summer. Can't wait!

[Aler58]

I just looked up self-ligating, pretty nice concept! A 12 month sentence sounds wonderful.

[geauxpreaux]

congrats on your decision to get braces!! 50 is definitely not too old to get braces. my ortho’s oldest patient is 83!! good luck on your journey! look forward to hearing about your progress!

[Aler58]

I will get my first adjustment next Monday. There is one two bottom tooth that was way out of line with the rest of my teeth. The adjacent one was not quite as bad but both had suffered chipping over the years because my bite was so off. When the wire was attached, you could really see a "zig zag' on those two teeth. They have been tender for the last 5 1/2 weeks. I noticed two days ago just how much they have moved back towards being in line. I have kept an eye on them and then bam, all of the sudden I see a huge difference in their position, yay!