27 and need braces again

[adult braces]

Hi new poster here! Glad I found this site!

I've had more dental work than anyone I know including braces for years in my teens, jaw surgery at 13. Braces came off at 17 or so and I wore my retainers for a bit....then stopped. Dumbest thing I ever did in my life.

Now my teeth have shifted so much. I'm grinding my teeth and my dentist is quite alarmed. I also hate how my teeth look--the front ones kind make a V shape and I have a "moderate" overjet whatever that means. I hate how I look from the side, and I have also had a ton of gum regression so now I'm also being referred to a periodontist before any ortho work can be done!

But the bad news is the othro I went to see said my overjet won't be corrected! He said it was probably never corrected really (I've had extractions, my mouth is very small so he can't correct any further seems like) but that news was terrible to me to hear because that's what I wanted changed. I swear when I got my braces off I had no overbite but I can barely remember that day and now looking at pics it looks like I still had one). He said that my teeth would obviously be straight and that would cause the appearance of improved overjet. When I pressed him he said yeah the overjet might change a bit (it won't get worse) but he didn't want me to get my hopes up and not have it change at all. I can't even imagine what that would look like--would I still hate my side profile? I sometimes breath out of my mouth--have to train myself to breath nose. All my life :/

I honestly can't believe what I heard! I can't imagine my retainer lack caused a jaw surgery relapse either...Now I just feel terrible about wasting my parents' $$. And now, my own. Huge financial mistake.

Anyway I just wanted some support! I have no idea where to go from here...even braces again feels like a pipe dream, I'm buried in student debt so I just think what's another 6k really? I just hate how I look now and I know having straighter teeth will make a substantial difference but I don't want to go thru with it and STILL have a massive overbite. I just can't imagine what having alinged teeth but an overbite/overjet will look like?! Also wearing braces as an adult stresses me out. I"m starting a career and no one will take me seriously.

[djspeece]

You're in the right place. Welcome to the club!
First thing young man: forgive yourself. No one's perfect and what's past is over. You have a plan now, and that's what is important in moving forward. I've made a mistake or gazillion along the way. Sorry to hear about your overjet issues, perhaps you should consider a second opinion, but be wary of anyone telling you just what you want to hear. Perhaps your current ortho is just being honest and managing expectations. I personally think that's the way to go.
I think there is some element of optical illusion involved with dentistry: maybe when you are done, your profile will look better because the teeth are straighter, better aligned, and so forth. Plus your emotional state, and perhaps self confidence will have improved along the way.
Best of luck.