Pearlies last stand

[pearlies]

I didn't have braces as a kid. From what I remember, my dentist did advise my parents to get me evaluated by an orthodontist but it wasn't done emphatically enough or my parents didn't really care all that much...my teeth weren't horribly out of whack visually, and so...here I am today in my thirties having to have braces. Came at me from left field as I really didn't notice anything severely off until my thirties.

Unfortunately, it turns out I'm a complex case. What they can do for me now is not going to lead to an ideal result. I had some orthos tell me I am a borderline surgical case. A lot of tricky things to contend with. I wouldn't have even ventured into this had it not been for a front tooth wearing down (along with other less visible teeth). My smile was slightly janky, sure, but not outrageously so. I actually got compliments on my smile, believe it or not - they were mostly straight with few gaps, and I must have projected happiness past my less than perfect teeth.

Anyway, last year, I was in InvisAlign. That was a huuuuuge mistake. Yes, my teeth are now straight and the front tooth is out of danger, but....it ruined my bite. My side and back teeth were Class I before treatment and came out of alignment. The ortho I was with was apparently stymied and released the teeth from the InvisAlign trays in the back to try to get them to settle back on their own. His plan failed and I just wasted half a year in distress and pain as I couldn't chew properly.

Time to find a new ortho, hopefully more competent, to do traditional braces on me. And this is where I am in the journey. To say I'm "once burned, twice shy" is an understatement. I actually miss the original configuration of my teeth, and I'm really scared about what will happen during this next round of braces. I wouldn't have even seriously contemplated doing traditional braces last year, but now I am in an unstable, uncomfortable teeth limbo with no choice.

Besides the usual concerns about lifestyle in traditional braces, I just don't know if I'm going to wind up with better functional and aesthetics than I began with. That's a tough one to deal with. I know many people draw strength from the knowledge that all the discomfort and inconvenience will all be worth it in the end. Me? I'm not so sure. I've already been told I won't be getting near to a Hollywood smile.

I'm feeling really melancholic. By the initial estimate, I should have been done with orthodontics by now, but instead my orthodontic time has stretched out to be double of what was initially expected. I'm also really disappointed with my parents. They actually had the money to bring me to an orthodontist when I was young, but they neglected to do so...they weren't the most diligent parents when it came to matters of taking care of my health. Now I pay the price.

Krikey, I've really gone stream of conscious here. I think I'm in need of some perspective. It's been a tough year+.

[SunshineRay]

Oh wow, you poor thing! Did you get your money back from the Invisalign dr? Thats terrible that he made things worse.

I understand being mad at your parents. I was too for a little while because my parents took my word for me not wanting braces....I was 11 and shouldnt have been making those decisions.

[Angel269]

I developed a dental phobia about 11 and refused to get braces, would've been NHS for me then.

Paid at 24 for ceramics and glad it's over-hope to never go through it again.

[Ellabelle]

Hey pearly girly-

I know it sucks thinking about what our parents could have done. I remember when my dentist recommended an ortho consult back in the 5th grade, but my pops elected to put it off til
I was older. So now I am 25 in braces for the first time. So yes, it sucks. But we need to embrace the place that we're at now. Thankfully we can find a way to afford this crazy-expensive treatment, thankfully we're ballsy enough to go through with it, thankfully we have straight teeth and a good bite to look forward to.

That is so disappointing about your failed Invisalign treatment. What a waste of time and money!! But moving forward, welcome to the world of traditional braces and know that you have a supportive community of fellow metal mouths to support you!!!

[pearlies]

Thanks everyone!

Ellabelle & SunshineRay - it's good to hear from a fellow braces wearers whose parents, how do I say this, could have done more. I'm just thinking out loud here, but is it fair to say that maybe our parents didn't appreciate how important smiles would become in America in the 21st century? I know that over the last decade or so that society has put more and more emphasis on the superficial and how attractive another person appears instead of who they really are inside.

I know when I expressed by disappointment to my parents that they didn't grasp it. They did fine without perfect teeth in their lives, and they don't get why I can't just focus on projecting what's on the inside - it's like a generational perspective rift Square that away with all the uber-concerned parents I've witnessed in the orthodontists' offices with rather young kids going into their Phase I of braces. I'm pretty sure these very involved parents realize just how competitive it's gotten and are dedicated to giving their kids the best leg up that they possibly can in the health & looks department.