starting braces @ 33 yrs old - overbite, crowding, etc..!

[crocodile]

I've finally taken the plunge to get my teeth fixed! I have an appointment on 1/27/2014 to get the braces on top and bottom arches! I'm plan to go with ceramic braces on both arches, but may be talked into SS brackets on the bottom.

Sorry for the scary pics below, but this is what my ortho is getting paid the big bucks to fix! My two front upper teeth almost cover my bottom teeth completely, and they are also angled back/in pushing the lower teeth in as well. A few teeth will also need to be rotated, and probably all of them moved to a new home. I've already had all 4 wisdom teeth removed as a teenager, and the ortho has never mentioned additional extractions. They expect me to be in braces for about 2 years.

After having spacers on my upper molars for a few weeks, my ortho has already attached an appliance on my upper molars. I'm not really sure what this is doing...I think the ortho mentioned that it was rotating the teeth out ??? Can anybody tell by the picture what this will do? I don't feel any pain/pressure from it (it's been in over a week). She also said I would wear it for about 4-6 months.

I'm excited to start treatment, and already feel more confident knowing that my teeth will soon be straight! After it's all done, I imagine this will be one of those times where I say "I should have done this years ago!"

[crocodile]

one more pic..

[Matilda]

Best of luck on your journey!

[Fionisimma]

Welcome to a great group!!!

[SunshineRay]

Hi and welcome, congrats on taking the first step!

[rhibee83]

hi there and welcome to your journey to straight teeth!

I have an appliance on the roof of my mouth kinda like that, but I have a bit of plastic gel in the middle of it that sits on the roof of my mouth. Mine is there to keep the molars in place, while they move the front teeth backward into my extraction gaps (I had crowding up the top and bottom and dead baby teeth that needed removing). you can kinda see a pic of the appliance on my resent blog entry on the link below

but if you are not having extractions, then I am not sure what it is there for? maybe it is there to keep your molars in place while they move and straighten the front teeth? I am not sure.

but good luck and I hope all goes well for you on brace day!

[crocodile]

Thanks everyone. I'm excited to start!

One question....are my pics appearing correctly or are they flipped on their sides? The pics look normal to me on my computer but are flipped when I view the post from my iPad. Weird

[rhibee83]

They are appearing correctly!

[crocodile]

Under a week to go...I'm getting excited to start this process. Hopefully I will see some of the crazy fast movement some of the other members are seeing. It's amazing how well these braces can work!

[Colbrit7]

Thanks for posting your case, I totally agree in that I kick myself about not doing it earlier. I'm 22 months into my brace treatment (and will have surgery) and I sooo wish I had started before instead of at 32. But anyhow the time does fly and good luck I hope you get what you want out of it. My upper front teeth also flared inwards and they were straightened really fast.

[crocodile]

Thanks for posting your case, I totally agree in that I kick myself about not doing it earlier. I'm 22 months into my brace treatment (and will have surgery) and I sooo wish I had started before instead of at 32. But anyhow the time does fly and good luck I hope you get what you want out of it. My upper front teeth also flared inwards and they were straightened really fast.

I just looked at your posts/pictures, you had very quick and nice movement. I hope to have the same! My ortho plans to put top and bottom braces on next Monday. I thought they would have to wait to put lowers on, like they did in your case.

[crocodile]

Braces are on! Day 1 - 1/27/14.

The process of getting the braces on really wasn't that bad. Unfortunately the ortho wanted to put bands around my molars, so they shoved spacers in - 6 in total. One of them was a real pain and took about 40 minutes and 3 different technicians to get in!

I feel great knowing that I am finally straightening my teeth. If you are on the fence, just do it. I've had them just a couple of days now, but I am already so excited to see the final result.

[crocodile]

more pics

[DaisySmith]

Great photos, welcome to Bracesville, hope you enjoy your stay!

[crocodile]

I went back to the ortho on week 2 so that they could take out those blue spacers and put bands on my molars. They put new wires/ligs in, but kept me on the 0.014 wires top and bottom. I will go back in 8 weeks for an adjustment/check.

Things are already moving. My front four bottom teeth are pretty much lined up with eachother already, but are still behind my other bottom teeth. The top two front teeth are starting to flare out from their flared-in position, and the teeth next to them are pulling down ever so much. It is exciting to see some changes already! I'm surprised that flimsy little wire can do so much.

The pain with chewing has dropped considerably, really just the front teeth that are tender as they have the most movement to do.

Reactions from people have been mostly positive. Some have said I'm too old for braces, but they are older than me and could use braces themselves. I'm happy I have started this treatment, if only eating and flossing were easier to do!