Hi Everyone,

I am a 32 year old mom and I am getting braces put on tomorrow. I thought I would be nervous but I am extremely excited. I have been embarrassed by my smile since I was little. My family could not afford to get me braces when I was young. I have a tendency to not smile for photos or to cover my mouth when I laugh. I finally got sick of it. I am getting married in 4 months and while I know that I will have braces on for my wedding it will be an improvement upon what I already have. I am tired of being embarrassed when its time to have photos taken.

I have had some issues with retained baby teeth. I had 2 until about 2 years ago and one broke. I had that extracted. I had one more right in the front and they said they didn't want to pull that one until I had braces but on because I had a near perfect bite. I had one tooth that was further back in my mouth because of a baby tooth in the way and that tooth has caused a slight crossbite. My ortho has said that my process will last about 2 and a half years and that it should be fairly uncomplicated. My bottom teeth are great except for a few spaces so we are going to start with top braces only for a few months. I am getting brackets only and didn't need any spacers put in.

I am so happy to find this forum and look forward to sharing our bracing stories together.

Reese

I will post some pics as soon as I am a regular member and can do so!

hi there

I am also 32 years old and just got braces 5 weeks ago! i am only wearing lowers at the moment. the uppers to be fitted next month.

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I can already tell that I have a slight difference in my bite. My mouth really isn't that sore. There are a few spots where there is rubbing. On one canine there is a hook for future elastics that hurts and on the back brackets there is a wire that pokes me. When I have all three waxed they don't feel too bad.

My meal choices have been interesting. Last night I had a hamburger patty with no roll, a cut up hot dog and scrambled eggs. lol I am so glad I have a supportive fiance who is willing to cook me such weird things for awhile. My ortho did say once things really move I won't be able to bite down on side for awhile. Can't wait for that.

Yay I can post pics now!

Here is before:


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Well its been a week already. I had one bracket come loose last Friday. Normally loose brackets arent a major emergency with my dentist but this was the back one. I don't have molar bands and a teeny tiny little wire was sticking out. It was fine with wax but when I would eat the wax would fall off and then the bracket would move up and down scraping my cheek. I couldn't get ahold of my ortho til monday but they got me right in and snipped off that bracket. I have to go back next week to have it replaced.

Other than that I am fairly used to them. The first few days I was having a few what the hell did I do moments but its been better. I am actually smiling more now than I ever did. I feel like the braces look better than my previous look. I have definitely have a bit of movement. Its hard to get floss in between some molars now and they feel like they have lots of pressure on them. I am starting to get really excited about this process and I can't wait to see more movement.

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hi again
you can be my brace twin! i am also 32 and recently braced (lowers fitted on 07th jan and uppers to be done on 17th march).
sorry to hear you had issues with a bracket already. luckily, it has been smooth sailing for me so far.

wishing you all the best with your journey

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I went in yesterday to get my missing bracket replaced. It was a snow day for my kids so I had told my daughter she could pick my elastic color. She decided on purple. Which was fine as I didn't think it was going to look too bad. The assistant started the process of putting the back bracket back on. The orthodontist came in to place the bracket and he decides that he wants to move one of my teeth faster so its a power chain for me. And before I know it I have a bright purple power chain on! I was kinda shocked at first with the whole purple mouth but now it looks neat and kinda fun! I wasn't sure when I started the whole braces process if I was ever going to want color but now that I have it I can't wait to try another one!

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how are you getting on?

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Pretty good. I am seeing small improvements and my bite is definitely different. I have my first real adjustment next week. I can't wait. I have a couple gaps I would like to see closed soon. I am getting married in June. I know I will have the braces in the photos, I just don't want the gaps anymore! I am going to talk to him to see if we can be a bit more agressive.

How is your progress coming along?

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I woke up this morning in so much pain. I have a wayward canine that is a single tooth crossbite. It grew in behind a baby tooth and the baby tooth never fell out. I got the baby tooth pulled a year ago after it finally broke. So part of my treatment is of course pulling that canine forward to join the rest of the crew. I have had my braces about 5 weeks now and I have slowly felt that canine moving. Well this morning when I woke up I have discovered that I can barely close my mouth because that tooth is in the way!!! Which is awesome but I have a habit of clenching my jaw at night so that area is a tad bit painful. Luckily I have my first adjustment tomorrow so he can take a look at it. I am sure he is going to give me something to stop me from biting so that is a bit sad as I have read all of those things are a pain the @$$. But at the same time I am so excited to see see such movement!

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whohoooo! great to know you are seeing some progress. hope to see some pics after your adjustment tomorrow. good luck

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Ok. I wanted some side by side pics for some comparison just so I can feel better. There isn't much difference to me from the front but my upper arch is definitely changing. My canine is moving nicely into place. Which happens to be the place where my lower canine rested so I can't close my bite all the way. My unbracketed little tooth is getting pulled at some time. It has yet to be announced. Its just an extra so all my other teeth on the other side will be pulled forward. I know my teeth are scary. My family couldn't afford a lot of dental care when I was younger. Fortunately they are extremely healthy. Just have some minds of their own on where they should be and how long they should stay.

I most recent pic is on the left and one from three weeks ago is on the right.




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I had my adjustment this morning at 11am. It was quick. I got new ligs and a new powerchain. Light blue. Although I have noticed that my powerchain is a slightly different blue than my ligs. I like it but not my lig color. Last time I got a powerchain the ortho had the assistance skip a loop over my gap to be easy on me. But this time we didn't! Yay Movement! I also got a wire tie on my wayward canine to try to move it a bit more. I can't bite down all the way on that side and its a tad painful if I smash my teeth by accident. Its making eating really hard.

He also requested I have my baby tooth pulled. If you look at some previous pics it's the little one in the front with no bracket. I am getting married in June and I have accepted braces as part of my wedding day but I asked him if the tooth pulling could wait. That would be a huge gap and I wasn't up for that. So he said as my wedding present I could! It wouldn't impact my time in treatment and that his main concern is moving my canine so I can bite and we can get my lower braces on.

I only have three more weeks til my next appointment. He wanted me to wait 4 weeks but he is going on vacation for two weeks so I get to see him sooner. Which is good because I am not sure I am liking my new lig color choice.

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This is my upper arch as of today (left side) compared to one month ago. I see a huge improvement. I can't wait to be able to fully bite down again. Yay Canine movement!

But here is my dilemma. My ortho wanted to pull my baby tooth last visit. I said I wanted to wait since I have wedding photos in a few months and didn't want the gap. Now I am not sure I want to wait. The tooth is old (obviously) and a lot darker than the rest. Basically it looks stupid. And a gap is going to look stupid. But my question is what would look worse? I didn't think I cared about the photos but now I do.

Also, are my two front teeth moving to the side? They were actually the only two teeth I had that were quite nice. Now they look off center. I know things get worse before they get better but this is silly.

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