Braces after 50 OMG!

[debinator]

Hi,I am 50 years old and I just had my top arch put on in April 2.
What a crazy experience this has been. From finding out that possibly I "might" have an orthodontic condition that may have caused gum recession on my bottom front teeth (after 7 years of treatment at the same dentist) to having braces recommended. in between I had to have osseous surgery to take care of some pocketing.

My braces are to correct a crossbite, a couple of rotated teeth, and lower crowding. to the casual observer there really wasn't much wrong with my smile- a lot of my friends asked why I was getting braces, that I had a great smile without them. My reason for them is to facilitate periodontal health and if a "movie star" smile is a by product you won't hear me complaining.

The day I got my top braces put on was pretty odd to say the least- the only people in the building that were over 16 were parents of the patients, the staff and me. (although I have to say the music that was playing was pretty good )

I almost feel guilty after reading some of the stories here about the first day with braces. I have had some minor discomfort, a few sore spots, that with the proper application of wax in the offending areas and a little bit of anbesol, and a generally easy time.

Yes, I have had my paranoia about eating and it is an adjustment for sure, but not the end of the world. I will however, miss Cheetos for the next 16-18 months.

I have noticed that I am extra anal about brushing, flossing and general maintenance (who knew it was going to take so much time?)- ie rinsing after drinking anything other than water, and that I snack a whole lot less- who knows maybe I will lose a couple of pounds in the bargain LOL

We'll see what happens at my first adjustment on May 8th

[futurefbi07]

Welcome to the forum debinator. Don't feel bad about being extra anal about brushing and flossing. I am so meticulous that I spend A LOT of time in the mirror cleaning my teeth. But, I am going to try to cut back because I don't want to damage my teeth and more importantly my gums from over doing it. Currently, I brush about 5 times a day. It's my desire to cut it down to 2 times a day.

I though that I would never eat again. I thought I would be stuck with applesauce, soup, ensure, etc, for 2 years. I'd already lost 10 pounds before getting braces and I was already at a very healthy weight. So, I got fed up and just started forcing myself to eat more semi-solid foods. I'm on day 13 and I ate shredded beef, yellow rice, black beans, and sweet plantains (yummy cuban food). So, it WILL get better. I ate chicken strips for the first time on day 6. But be patient. Everyone is different and I was willing to suffer a little bit.

Good luck on your journey

[klobird]

Hey Debinator!

I got my braces at 55yrs old and am getting them off soon at 57...I think it's a much better plan than getting dentures some day!

Oh and ya---cheetos were my first "sin"--and it was a long time in braces before I tried them...I have since moved on to just about everything, including popcorn (but it's a MAJOR pain to clean--I wouldn't suggest eating it at a theatre--it was just an icky situation). Oh ya, I also eat that nutty buddy ice cream...I always feel guilty about that one!

The one thing I want when I get my braces off is called something like Archers almond, caramel, toffee popcorn. Yummmm.....

[debinator]

Klobird- Yes braces are much better than dentures!

I have already done pizza- which ortho did not forbid, but alot of the kids I know with braces said that it was a no no. It took a long time to eat, but as long as I cut it up in small pieces it was fine.

I have decided that since I have to wear these things I might as well have fun with it. I got lime green o rings, and when I go back for my first adjustment I will get red and black alternating so that I match my karate uniform for a demonstration we are doing at one of the local arena football games.

Funny thing happend right after I got my braces- one of the little girls I teach karate to asked me why I had bracelets on my teeth. I laughed so hard! Kids are great!

[debinator]

I have attached photos of my 1st day

Before

Before.jpg

After

Braces day 1.jpg

[debinator]

I have been in braces for 1 week now, and I have to say that while there may be some pain ahead of me, it is nowhere near as bad as I imagined it to be.

I have been on a dental roller coaster ride for about 7 years now.

It all started with not going to the dentist for a very long time due to lack of insurance and low cash flow. I figured it would be okay since I brushed regularly and didn't open beer bottles with my teeth. How wrong I was! I developed a toothache and got frog marched to the dentist by my partner (we had only been dating about a month or so at the time). That is when the terror began, I was told that not only did I have a cavity, but that I needed to have a root canal as the tooth was that bad. I also had to have a wisdom tooth and the molar next to it removed (no way to save the molar). If that wasn't enough, I need to have deep scaling all quads, and osseous surgery near the area where the root canal was going to take place. I also had some gum recession on two bottom front teeth.

So I get all this work done- as well as a tissue graft for the gum recession (lots of$$$$$$) and enter into extreme maintenance (cleanings every 3 months) for the next 6 years.

after a fairly uneventful 6 years one of my fillings started to deteriorate and had to be replaced. I thought fine, no big deal... wrong, a dentist in her periodontal internship got ahold of me and replaced my filling- the tooth cracked a bit and I was told at my next appointment 3 months later that I would need a crown, and also should consider getting a bridge on the bottom where the gum recession was. I have at this point almost had a meltdown because the last thing I want is to have more teeth pulled, I put on my big girl panties and schedule for the crown and the bridge. I show up for my crown appointment and what do you know, I need a root canal because the new filling was too deep and now have to schedule with an endodontist because the dentist that was going to do the crown couldn't do a root canal.
At this point I am totally fed up and freaked out. I call up a friend of mine who is a dentist and ask her for a second opinion (she doesn't take my current insurance otherwise I would have been using her). she said I should really get checked out by ortho before I did to much else. As it turns out she was absolutely right!
Ortho said that bridge may be in the future but with braces and a few tissue grafts we should be able to save the teeth- the cause of the gum recession on said teeth is due to a crossbite, and a lot of my perio issues are due to crowding. I did indeed need the root canal (and flap proceedure and more osseous to clean everything up) and have switched over to my friend the dentist regardless of her not taking my insurance- I would much rather pay more and trust my dentist than get a bargain and worry constantly that I am getting ripped off with unnecessary, or substandard treatment.

So after all I have been through- I think the braces will be a breeze!

[debinator]

Lessons I have learned in the first 20 days of having braces:

1. I had no idea how many different ways I used my teeth as a tool that are not very good for my teeth (Nail biting, opening packages, cutting a string in half... the list is quite long)

2. EVERYTHING sticks to braces EXCEPT wax.

3. I no longer have time to snack because I am too busy brushing my teeth.

4. If I have time to snack I don't want to snack because I just finished brushing my teeth and it would taste icky.

5. I have resigned myself to 16 -18 months of oral discomfort- I am not even hoping for pain free days.

6. Almost all of the things that are easy to eat are extremely fattening. (Good thing I don't have much time to eat due to brushing teeth endlessly, see number 3)

and I only have my top brackets on- I am sure it will be even more exciting when I get my bottom brackets

[Tobilei]

2. EVERYTHING sticks to braces EXCEPT wax.



Also I have found #wax sticks to EVERYTHING except braces (or anything else in your mouth....).

With the tooth pain, it does settle down! I promise! I still get sore teeth from time to time but it's only 1 or 2 at a time and it only lasts a day or 2. And it's a bearable pain, not like at the start where you want to tear your hair out.

[debinator]

Thanks Tobilei. I guess the "pain" i am resigned to is less like pain and more like constant pressure. It doesn't really hurt, not like the first couple of days, and certainly not like getting hit in the mouth, just weird, more like a strange not quite numbnesss and pressure definitely not the carefree pre-brace days

[SunshineRay]

Good for you on getting colored ligs and having fun with it.
I know what you mean about the waiting room. I just posted about that earlier today.
Hope your pain resides soon.

[debinator]

I figure if I am going to have to endure discomfort and all the inconvenience I might as well have fun with the parts I can have fun with

At my next appointment I am going for Black and Red alternating ligs (it will match my karate demonstration gi for a demo we are doing at an arena football game in June) then after that I might go for Bright pink and purple- who knows

[debinator]

Teeth have moved yet again My left top incisor is now even with my bottom incisor (it has spent the last 45 years or so tucked behind it and it has flared forward a bit to accomodate the upper)

I am thinking that I might actually get my bottom brackets on when I go for my adjustment on the 8th of May- I sure hope so as the sooner i get them on the sooner i can get them off.

Looking forward to my appointment- will post some pics later

[Dee17]

Hi Debinator,
Just wanted to tell you that I got a real kick out of reading your posting. I just got my braces at the end of October when I was 54. Ugh. It was such a traumatic thing for me to go through. Now, after about six months, I feel like I've finally adjusted. I think you have a great attitude and you'll probably see the time just whiz by. Keep us posted here. I'll look forward to reading more posts from you!

[debinator]

I found out one way to stop thinking about the pressure in my mouth from braces...I cleaned out the garden/tool shed! My partner asked me if I could help her just for an hour- well 3 hours later the shed is glistening and I din't htink about my braces 1 time!

I am think my partner will come up with all kinds of things to help take my mind off my braces LOL

[Dee17]

Well, that's one way to deal with it. Good that the two of you found a solution!