Getting Braces At The Age of 54!

[Dee17]

Hi,
Thanks for your message. I seem to read so many conflicting reports on what it's like to wear powerchains that I'm really at a loss to know what to expect. So, I guess I'll just have to wait and see. But I might be able to convince him not to use them at all. At least, that's what I'm hoping. He's reluctant but I had the feeling that he might at least be willing to try to see if he could close the space with just the wire and elastics. So, here's hoping!

[plugnickel69]

What are you afraid of with the powerchains?

[Dee17]

I've read so much, mostly on this forum, about how painful they are. It really just feeds into all the rest of my anxiety with getting braces... my concerns about the way my appearance will change and how people will react to me because of my age, how my diet will have to change, how much pain and/or discomfort I will have to endure.... things like that. Basically,I am getting braces kind of kicking and screaming. Haven't felt like I've had a lot of choice even I know that we always have a choice. I have developed a large gap between my two front teeth relatively recently. But, after seeing my orthodontist, I now know that there are multiple other problems with my teeth that having braces will hopefully correct. The whole thing is just a little overwhelming for me, that's all.

[plugnickel69]

Dee, we all go through a period of anxiety while deciding to embark on this journey. I think that's the worst part. I'm 65, and the social part and the professional part are totally non-issues. The biggest issue I have is eating, at first some chewing issues, and of course there's always the cleaning up afterward--and that gets better too.

I have no pain at all. Sometimes a little chewing discomfort, but I eat steak and bagels on a regular basis. Powerchains are also a non-issue, as I stated before. I actually look forward to adjustments as I know it puts me closer to a better bite.

We often tend to make a big deal about small things and misplace our worry because of our uncertainty of what lies ahead. A few people here, for instance, have concerns about powerchains. But in actuality it's only a minute percentage.

You will look back on these days wondering why you were so worried. I think that's the experience of the vast majority of us.

Best of luck to you. I hope this helps.

[EbonyQ]

I close my gaps my using absolutely nothing, not even elastics. I have 2 mm left with one of them, which is nothing compare to how big it was (but if I had used power chain it would have been closed by now I guess) when I started with braces (8 months). Our bone start to harden when your about 23 (-+) years old and I’m 23 years old, so I might be lucky since it went “that fast”, slow compare to power chain tho. Don’t know how it is with older people, your ortho might be right.

You can suggest using steel thread (steal ligature) to close it too. That is another possibility. One ortho I know use that all the time to close gaps. It works slower than power chains but don’t know compare to elastics. This might be an idea.

You know that you can try a power chain and if it’s too painful just clip it. I did that (of course, you know me, I’m hopeless ). It will give you some feeling of controlif you know that you can cut it

Why not try it (even I have tried it) and cut it if it's too painful? Some people don't have much pain with them, you might be one of them

[Dee17]

Hi EbonyQ,
Thanks for your message. I've never heard of steel ligatures. I'm getting Damon brackets, though and as far as I know, they don't use ligatures with those kind of braces.
As for cutting the powerchain, what exactly do you mean? How would you do that? That might be worth consideration. It's not anything I even knew was possible. Can you give me some more information on how to do that? If I know, then maybe I can try it. Thanks ever so much!

[EbonyQ]

You can use them on Damon too (I have Damon), I have had them and might get them again soon if I want to be kind to my ortho and let him close my gaps a little faster

here is an old picture of my teeth. You see the steel wire binding my two back teeth "above" the arch wire?


It is not difficult to cut it with a scissor. It is easy but difficult to write how to so I would ask your ortho to show you how to remove it if you get panic or too much pain. When I did it I did not know anything about power chains and it went fine (I just cut it close to the bracket) but the best thing would be to ask someone to show you

[plugnickel69]

If you know what an regular looks like, which are often called "O" rings, then a powerchain is "O" rings connected by small pieces of elastic. If "O" rings on your teeth look like this ( o o o o o o), then a powerchain looks like this ( o-o-o-o-o-o-o). As Ebony wisely suggests, to stop the force of the chain all you have to do is cut the chain where it connects to the "O" rings (oxoxoxoxoxo), the "x" is where you'd make the cut. Assuming your Damon's are self-ligating, all you have to do is pull the powerchain totally off using a pair of pointed tweezers.

A steel ligature is a piece of stainless steel wire. Your ortho would weave the wire around the brackets on adjoining teeth and twist the ends together. I have had steel ligature wire used to keep my teeth together once gaps have closed. Not much pressure that way, but using them to close gaps is a different story. The twisted wire would put an initial strong force on the teeth which could be painful. With a powerchain, the force is much more gradual. They can also control the force of a powerchain by connecting every other opening to a bracket rather than consecutive ones.

Again, as Ebony suggests, you could easily convince your ortho to try a powerchain and immediately remove if it made you tremendously uncomfortable, or give it a few days or a week, and then remove it if necessary. It really is not scary.

[Angel269]

I was dreading powerchains too. The first couple of days with my first one were certainly tender. When I have had it changed it sometimes hurts for a while or more just a case my teeth become slightly more tender. I am pretty used to it now especially knowing that it does the hard work and gets me closer to my pretty smile

[Dee17]

Hello,
Thank you for the explanation, Plugnickel. Very informative. I am going to just have to wait and see what he says about the powerchains. He did say that he wouldn't be putting any on until after I'd had my braces for about three months (in order to give me some time to adjust to having them. I asked for that and he was agreeable).
I am sure that once I actually get it put on that I will be fine. I feel so bad because it feels like all I do is whine and b**ch and moan when I'm on this site. I think that I'm really just a big baby and I know I don't like to have to deal with pain. I had a repetitive stress injury about 12 years ago and had so much pain in my hands and forearms that I literally could not use my hands for about six months. It took about three years for the bulk of that pain to subside and since then I've just been paranoid about pain. As I'm sure you can understand, Angel, I have a big dental phobia and just about freak out whenever I have any kind of dental pain.
Despite the fact that another person on this forum told me about a month ago that with a large diastema, powerchains were almost certainly in my future, I've been fussing and fretting about it ever since. I think that my biggest problem is all the anxiety i have been having about the whole "braces thing". I am definitely hoping that when I get them put on next week that I will be able to calm down and relax a little bit.
On a positive note, tonight I was out to dinner with a group of women I see on a regular basis. None of them knew I was getting braces and so I told them that I would likely not see them until about mid-November because I am getting braces and I am not sure how long it will take me before I am ready to go out in public. They all reassured me that they will still love me even if I have metal on my teeth and that I will still look beautiful. So nice to hear that. It does reassure me. One of my biggest concerns is how self-conscious I know I'm going to feel.
Thank you guys for your continued help with this topic. I appreciate it very much.
Dee

[Realizingadream]

Dear Dee 17:
I have had braces on my bottom teeth since January 2012; and braces on the top teeth since June 2012. I cannot believe how crooked my teeth were, I must have been in some sort of avoidance because I didn't really completely realize it until I saw how CROOKED the wire was, and now, over time, have noticed the improvements.
Anyway, I am in my early 60s and this is the first time I have felt I could afford braces.
There are some hassles with braces, but I can tell you for a fact that NO ONE has given me any grief over it. People have been very happy for me, the ones who said anything; and the others have kindly not said anything. Some of them are probably jealous and would like to have braces themselves.
There have been a few times of pain but honestly, it isn't that bad nor for that long of a time. This last time he put new wires in, WOW did that feel ODD while they were wrassling them in there: and then I took 2 ibuprophen (just the over the counter ones, 200 mg) just in case; and meh, no big.
My bottom teeth have straightened up nicely. I just cannot believe how actively the teeth are able to move around. I never would have thought it possible.
The gap where I had to have a tooth pulled, is closing and constantly changing. It is very interesting. I didn't get a chance to agonize over having the dental extraction, a misunderstanding by my insurance carrier meant I went in and had it done THE NEXT DAY--thanks to my VERY kindly dentist for taking me as a "work-in" patient as I am sure he had a full schedule, but it was May 31 or nothing. And the extraction was, well, painless. I could not believe it. What a great dentist!
Anyway, get some sleep and stop worrying. You'll do fine. You NEED to do this. And you will be gorgeous AND get to keep your teeth.
Sincerely,
Realizing A Dream at 6 months lowers and 4 months uppers. Hooray!

[Dee17]

Hi there,
Thanks ever so much for your message. I must say that since I joined this forum I have received a great deal of support and encouragement from so many other members. I feel enormously grateful for all of that. But your message was really terrific. It has been extremely helpful for me to read the postings and communicate with other people who are close to my age. I think that has been the hardest thing for me to wrap my head around in this whole process. I remember the first time I asked my dentist how I could get the space between my two front teeth closed and he said braces and then added that it would probably take about two years, my reaction was, "What? Braces??? At MY age! You must be kidding!" Well, two consultations with two separate orthodontists who both said basically the same thing and I was still in shock. But reading all the postings from the "older" members of this forum was what allowed me to finally work up the courage to proceed. Now, I am just about a week away from getting them put on and I am still really struggling with a sense of panic whenever I think about it. So, I just try not to think about it too much.
I also had two extractions done over the summer and I was surprised by how painless they were. I have always had a phobia of dentists but my dentist is wonderful. I've been going to him for about 25 years and that's because he NEVER hurts me.
So, thanks again for that vote of confidence. I'll post again on my Closing A Large Diastema posting after I've had my braces put on. Not sure how long it will take me to get any pictures up (or if I ever will). Not sure how confident I will be about doing something like that. Right now I'm just worried about how long it will take me before I'm able to venture out of my house.
Take care!

[kellyb]

Oh my dear Dee, my apologies for taking so long to comment on your topic. I had totally missed it!

Thanks for sharing your story with us. You know you have my continued support on this journey and I am rather pleased that you have decided to start your treatment this month instead of waiting until next year, which is what I have been encouraging. As you know I started my treatment in January 2012 and my only regret is that I wished I had started it sooner.

Please don't worry about what other people will think about your braces. From my own experience, it was probably the talking point of my office for about 10 mins and then it was back to work as usual. No one at work realised I had braces until I told them. Everyone in my office has either had braces in the past or have thought about getting them so they were totally understanding. Trust me when I say this journey is only a big deal to you and your orthodontist. Embrace the journey and please keep us posted

I am looking forward to reading your post on Thursday after your bracing

[Dee17]

Hi Kellyb,
Many thanks again for your continued encouragement and support. Honestly, I think the best thing I ever did was join this forum. The support I have received from the members here has been unbelievably helpful.
You're absolutely right that most other people won't care. I think that it's because I've decided to opt for metal brackets that I am going to feel very self-conscious. I think the clear brackets are much harder for other people to detect. But I decided pretty early on that I didn't want those kind because everything I was reading talked about how bulky they felt in the mouth and I didn't think I'd be able to live with that. Anyway, I think I'm committed at this point so I'll be getting metal braces. I know that I'll get used to it and will adjust. It'll just take me some time.
So I'm expecting that I may pretty much fall off the face of the earth for some time after Thursday. But I'll still be here and will eventually get back to the forum and will update everyone on how I'm doing. Wish me luck and say a prayer!
xoxo
Dee

[marybee]

Powerchains aren't too bad and they come in colors, too! The down side...it takes just a little more brushing time but you will see the difference in how the gaps close!