The Professor's Story of Braces at 40 (with pics)

[cdnbracegirl]

I haven't been here for a while. Holy crap, what a transformation! Congratulations and enjoy!

[kirkyb2809]

amazing !!

[KayKay]

I am amazed at your transformation. It helps to see your photos! I keep fretting over my "horsey" teeth and my bite alignment on the front - I can feel my bottom teeth behind my top ones - they touch (I worry a bit too much) but seeing your photos of your side profile and your bite - mine looks like yours.

I go back on Tuesday for more shaping and polishing - and my retainer. I'm worried about it - since I've had the weekend to settle. Will my retainer be too tight and hurt? How did you adjust to your retainer?

[TheProfessor]

I am amazed at your transformation. It helps to see your photos! I keep fretting over my "horsey" teeth and my bite alignment on the front - I can feel my bottom teeth behind my top ones - they touch (I worry a bit too much) but seeing your photos of your side profile and your bite - mine looks like yours.

I go back on Tuesday for more shaping and polishing - and my retainer. I'm worried about it - since I've had the weekend to settle. Will my retainer be too tight and hurt? How did you adjust to your retainer?

Hi KayKay,
I can also feel my bottom teeth behind my top for the first time in my life--I think this is how it is supposed to be and I'm used to it now.

I got my top retainer a whole week after debracing and my teeth moved a lot. It was hard to get it on the first day and it was very tight and hurt when I took it out for about a week. After that, it was fine and pretty comfortable, but my front teeth feel wonky for a while when I remove it in the morning (this is slowly improving as my teeth settle into place). When I got the lower Essex that fits over my fixed retainer a couple of months after debracing it fit perfectly and was easy to put in and take off. I just wear them at night and I have no complaints-it will be easy to keep wearing them for a long time so my teeth don't get crazy again

Your teeth will probably move a little over the weekend--hopefully your retainers won't be as tight as my top one was! But, they will definitely be able to move your teeth back to their ideal position, so don't worry about that! Enjoy your new smile!

[BlondeCam]

What an amazing story!!! Like others I read the entire post.

[tillybrace]

reading your whole post has given me hope.

[TheProfessor]

Hi gang!
April 20 was my one year post-braces anniversary! Everything is going great--I wear my top Essex retainer every night and the bottom a couple of nights a week to make sure the fixed retainer is doing its job. I interviewed for my current job while I had full braces. Even though I was 21 months into treatment, I felt really self-conscious at the interview. When I started my new job (braces free) 6 months later, one of my colleagues complimented me on my straight teeth. I had to remind her that I had adult braces the first time she met me. Moral of the story: other people really don't care that you have braces!!! Just do it and you won't regret it!

My before and after pics (I can't believe I used to walk around like that!)

[bracinglp]

Wow! Your smile turned out so great! Thank you for sharing your story!

[VioletStubbs]

Thanks for posting this, it was a pleasure to read and see the whole process laid out. I hope you're loving your new job!