Considering Round 2? Open & Edge-to-Edge Bite

[js6js6]

Howdy all!

Been reading the forum for a few years, and finally decided to share my story! I’m 32M.

I had braces from age 12-15 - nothing super eventful - but sadly, I was a bit of a “late bloomer” and continued growing through the end of high school. After only a few months (even with relatively dedicated retainer wear) I started noticing that the only way to get my teeth to “mesh” together was by actively forcing my jaw backwards. Otherwise, my teeth would sort of “clash” against one another. I subconsciously knew at the time that this was an issue…but being an immature high schooler, I just wanted to be done with braces, so never brought it up.

Fast forward to my 20’s. I was still wearing my upper essix retainer at night religiously (sadly, all the other original sets had long since cracked and gone unreplaced, probably due to my propensity to grind/clench) but noticed that my front several teeth no longer touched, and that the only point of contact was my molars - an open bite. I don’t know what caused this - my guess is it might have something to do with my tendency to mouth breathe at night? But since that point, I’ve had to deal with this open bite - it’s annoying, but not something that I really felt compelled to do anything about. My teeth are still pretty straight - nothing that I would ever consider fixing if not for these bite issues.

In recent years, as I’ve moved around, I’ve had various dentists and dental hygienists mention my bite, and ask if I ever had braces (or an interest in getting them again). While not a major issue yet, the main concern seems to be the potential for wear/damage on my molars since all of my biting force is focused in a small area. I’ve sort of shrugged them all off so far, but the question is constantly gnawing at me. Should I take the plunge?

Honestly…nothing about orthodontic work itself scares me…but I’m terrified of how I’d be perceived by others. This is going to sound completely shallow, and I apologize in advance, but there’s something that just…doesn’t look…I don’t know, right? about an adult guy with braces (an issue, that, imo, doesn’t apply to women, at least in my eyes.)

So… that’s where we’re at! It’s been great reading all of the stories from members over the years (even though the forum seems to be less active these days). We’ll see where we end up, but excited to be on the journey!