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Zombiemambo
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, it occurs to me that my teeth? They ain't so pretty. I have a little crowding in the bottom-front and a little bit of an overbite. Without getting into too much detail, what are my best options? I'm avoiding braces at all costs here, because I have a social life and I'm not 12. I was looking into Invisalign, but that's pretty expensive? How much does it cost on insurance? And can retainers fix this or am I looking at something more drastic (I know that's really hard to answer when you can't see my mouth, but I don't know if they can affect overbite at all).
Any answers are appreciated.
Any answers are appreciated.
Zombiemambo on
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It's been about 10 years since my braces came off and my bottom teeth are back to being crowded, so results may vary I guess. They did save me the trouble of having my wisdom teeth pulled (by pulling 4 regular molars and moving everything foward -- not sure what the thinking was there).
Has a dentist talked to you about getting them? Did they offer you the option of getting them when you were a kid but you/your parents said no? Dentists are usually adamant about pushing this stuff on people, so if they haven't been hasseling you then it isn't a big deal.
Are you feeling insecure about your appearance? Let me tell you that crooked teeth don't mean a god damn thing to me when I'm looking for a mate. Does your breath smell okay/have no odor? That's way more important to me. Make sure you have good hygiene otherwise and chicks will look past your tiny physical faults (hell, most of us like to see some imperfections...it means we're dating a human!)
Maybe some pics would help? You might be overreacting about the state of your mouth, and the anonymous masses can tell you if it should be submitted to The Big Book of British Smiles.
Edit: Forgot to mention braces will: Get food stuck in them and rip up parts of your cheek if they forgot to smooth down any protruding wire (not sure how invisaline is different or if they've patched this)
A Retainer Will: Be fucking disgusting because you have to take it out every time you eat so saliva will be all over it, make you talk funny because it fills up 50% of your mouth, will have to be fitted which means stuffing your mouth full of some putty which WILL go half down your throat (they didn't warn me about this and I ended up vomiting all over the orderly). Also I don't know about anyone else, but I didn't sleep well with the retainer and would remove it (in my sleep. One time I sleep walked and threw it away! Fun times)
She gets no negative comments and works in events management so is people facing a lot. As someone said above, they are only a problem if your friends are 12 y/o.
A couple of words of advice is that they can be painful but that makes sense when you think about what they are doing. Also you need to cut out certain things as they can easily stain your braces, red wine, coffee, curry. Nice things that are a shame to live without but something to bear in mind.
As for the cutting your gums thing, if they haven't cut the wires correctly this can happen and it just means you walk back in and say that something is stabbing you in the mouth until they solve it for you.
Long story short and if her comments to me are anything to go by then most adults will respect and admire that you are making a personal choice to correct something about yourself in that way and it's likely that people will say that they wish they were brave enough to do so as an adult.
I want to know more PA people on Twitter.
But, whatever you gotta pay... having nice teeth is worth it. Aside from added confidence, they're easier to take care of when they're all straight and pretty. Braces aren't pretty, but if you put some wax where they come into contact with your cheek they won't shred your junk too much.
Many, many adults are wearing braces now, even for a second time. Your bottom teeth will eventually move again (if your retainer falls off--and it will), so many people opt to get braces once again.
I had pretty horrific teeth all through my childhood and early adulthood. It wasn't until the last year of uni that I decided to get braces, and it was one of the best decisions of my life.
I didn't have any insurance to speak of, and my single mother was unable to contribute anything to the cause. I was able to pay monthly without interest and only $400 down, for a total of just over $5000.
I wore the braces for 2 years, had an expander for 6 months of those, and then had retainers (and still do). I wear the top retainer only to bed now, and I almost never wear my bottom one (is supposed to be for bed only) because it hurts my lower gums. I have a permanent retainer anyway down there, so it's not like they're going to move much.
As a 23-24 year old with braces, I can say that I never once, not a single time, felt like people gave a shit that I was wearing braces. In fact, a few times I'd meet someone new, and maybe the third or fourth time I saw them they'd suddenly say, "Oh! You have braces? When did you get braces?"
Chances are you are going to need braces anyway to fix your teeth, so you might as well get over the stigmas. Unless your teeth are rather straight to begin with, a retainer isn't going to help. It's just a metal bar that holds them in place. It won't push them or pull them to fix anything. It retains your teeth in their current position.
As for the invisible braces, they are much, much, much, much more expensive, and from what I was told when I first got my metal braces, they take longer to do the job.
Really, braces aren't a big deal, and you'll improve your self-esteem one-hundred fold. They're worth every penny and every painful trip to the ortho. Do it.
Edit: Oh, and I also had* to have surgery after my braces came off. My upper teeth were so ridiculously fucked before braces that the ortho was afraid that the muscles would pull them back too strongly, and I'd be back where I started. I forget what the procedure is called, but you go to a dental surgeon who takes a scalpel and runs it up under your gums to severe the muscles that connect your teeth to your.. jaw? Then, when the muscles heal, they'll heal in the tooth's new position.
*There are conflicting reports on whether or not this surgery is necessary, but I felt that for the $300-$400 it was going to cost me, it wasn't worth it not to. It was very painful, and I had purple goopy glue shit all over my teeth for a couple of days, but the peace of mind was worth it.
Nope, never mentioned once. At least to my knowledge, anyway. My teeth aren't bad, really, but it would be nice to even them up a bit.
I just don't want to sugarcoat things for you. Braces are a pain in the mouth.
Not only will they straighten your teeth to the utmost perfection, they can often change the actual structure of your face, depending on how severe an overbite/underbite you have. They're worth every penny.
Really, your only option here is to get braced, unless you want to spend thousands more on a less noticable version of braces, which is basically a waste. It's like a comb-over when you're going bald.. everyone knows you're wearing braces, so why spend more to make them 30% less noticeable?