Getting braces in August

[jbnorah]

Hi,

I'm 41 years old and will get my spacers put in on Aug. 9th and then braced on August 12th. I have a class 2 bite (whatever that means) overbite, crowding, and that's about it. My parents could never afford braces when I was younger, so I'm very grateful for the "pay as you go" method as an adult.

I was told that I would have to wear braces for 24 months with the option of wearing clear on top and metal on the bottom. I'm thinking I'm going to go with metal on top and bottom.

One question I'd like to ask is how I will be able to eat with the braces on with the overbite. My teeth don't meet in the back unless my front teeth are in front of my bottom teeth, so with the braces on, I can't envision being able to bite down without my front teeth hitting my bottom braces. Has anyone else had trouble with this? If so, what did they do in order to help you chew your food?

It's okay if I get the "you'll have to ask your ortho" type answer, it's just that the appointment is a couple of weeks away and I'd like to hear from others who may have been in the same situation.

Thanks for listening!

[jbnorah]

Thank you, so much, rage31 for responding.

After I posted the question, I got brave enough to ask a co-worker, who also wore braces, the same question and she pretty much said the same thing.

Well, here's to losing a lot of weight! I think protein shakes and mashed potatos will soon become my best friend.

On the bright side, I'll be killing two birds with one stone.

Thank you, again, for responding.

[eaglesoaring]

jbnorah-

Hello! And welcome to a very supportive site! I would like to tell you that I, too, have an overbite. One Ortho told me that he'd put uppers on first, then lowers some months later. (I don't KNOW how many months later that would have been.) So, that's ONE option.

My current Ortho put BOTH uppers and lowers on the same day...and added bite turbo's/buildups on my back, lower tooth, on both sides. These bite turbo's won't allow my bite to come all of the way 'closed', and it won't allow my top teeth to go in front of my bottom teeth at all, hence making it impossible to knock my lower brackets off (with my top teeth). I'm not sure how long I'll have these bite turbo's. They were a bit of a pain in the beginning, but now, I do alright with them. I just chew on my back teeth. I was glad to be braced both upper and lower on the same day, as I wanted to get "on with it". So, that's another option. But only YOUR Ortho knows what's best for YOU.

Bite turbo's are a tooth-colored, hard material. When they're put on, there's no pain. It's like a blob of glue that's soft...then it dries on the selected tooth/teeth, and becomes a hard material.

It was really interesting...because I've never seen my lower teeth when I smile before those bite turbo's!! My front, top teeth always covered them up! Now, when I smile, I can see all of these TEETH!! Ha! Ha!

Oh...I'm 36 years old, and I'm almost 8 weeks in! And, remember...you really are doing this for YOU...just as Rage31 said!
I hope I helped!
Have a great day...and good luck!

[jbnorah]

Hi eaglesoaring, and KK!

Thanks for the welcome! From what I remember from the consult, the ortho said both would be going on at the same time. Thanks for the info about the turbo bite. I will definitely ask my doctor about it.

I really don't want to entertain having the braces put on separately as I want to get this over as soon as possible.

I really want to thank the owner/administrator of this site. I started lurking around ever since I seriously thought about getting braces. I have learned soooo much. It is so comforting to know that there are so many adults taking the plunge by getting braces. I love taking care of my teeth and can't wait until I can floss my teeth without shredding the string because my teeth are so tight.

Have a wonderful, blessed evening!

jbn

[dimeech]

Hmmm, same problem here... at my most recent ortho consult (last week): he said he would put uppers & lowers on at the same time (Damons) and add a bracket to the lingual side of each of my two front teeth to keep from biting lowers off. Maybe he meant a turbo?? I need to ask him about that in more detail. Most of the other orthos I saw said they would do the top & wait like 4 months before they would put lowers on. I guess I'd rather have both sets on from the get-go, but I haven't decided yet!

[jbnorah]

Just an update:

I got my spacers on last night. They put in 6 metal spacers and 1 rubber spacer. I'm not in any pain or anything, I just can't chew because on one of the spacers (they called it a 'safety pin' spacer because it looks like a small safety pin) sticks up and hits the bottom of my top teeth.

I get my brackets put on this Saturday and am very excited. I asked my orthodontist about my overbite and being able to eat with my back teeth not meeting and she said that for the first appointment, they would bracket my top teeth and the sides of my bottom teeth but would hold off on putting brackets on my bottom front teeth.

Well, that's it in a nutshell. KK, I think your suggestion of swishing with salt water has really helped because I've been reading how awful spacers are in terms of pain. I really haven't experienced any pain, so I want to thank you for taking the time to give such helpful advice.

I'll write back when I get the brackets on. Hopefully, they won't be any different than what I'm feeling now.

-Norah

[jbnorah]

Thanks for your encouragement, KK! I spent a couple of years down under (Exmouth) and absolutely loved living in Australia for 1 1/2 years. (U.S. Navy).

I'm really impressed with my ortho so far. She is so accessable and kind. I'm so glad I made the decision to move forward on this. I was just thinking though, how crazy is it that I would intentionally let someone put stuff my mouth. It made me giggle for a moment because I usually do everything I can to get stuff out of my mouth (brush teeth at work and all that).

Again, thank you for all that you do to encourage others on this site.

-Norah