Braces

positivelymummy

thanks toothsmith, i've used these before and i love them cos they are soooo easy to use, and even at the back cos i bend them, i will get some more next monday, these are what i've just started using

http://www.boots.com/shop/product_details.jsp?productid=1080460&classificationid=1011596&slmRefer=000

cos i want to get all around the gunline and they're a bit easier to use at the back (i have a small mouth for a mouthy woman:D )! i just want to do the best i can really.

sarah84

Toothsmith wrote: »

Think long and hard about veneers - especially if your teeth are otherwise OK.

Your own natural teeth will last you a lifetime if properly looked after. If you have bits of porcelain stuck to them, yes they will look better to start with, but they will need replacing every few years (Between 8 & 15 I would guess, depending on the factors that are going on in your mouth). Each time they are replaced, a little bit more damage will be done to your teeth, and so they will be weakened that little bit more.

Plus - it will be more money each time it's done as well.

Is it really that important to you?

Having them replaced, and the cost of it, does worry me. I have four teeth that are crooked (two either side of my middle two front teeth) and although people don't notice until I smile, its made me feel awful for years and I'd give a lot to make them straight as it would improve my confidence.
Veneers seem a quick fix, but I'm considering asking about clear braces when I go to the dentists.

Toothsmith

sarah84 wrote: »

Having them replaced, and the cost of it, does worry me. I have four teeth that are crooked (two either side of my middle two front teeth) and although people don't notice until I smile, its made me feel awful for years and I'd give a lot to make them straight as it would improve my confidence.
Veneers seem a quick fix, but I'm considering asking about clear braces when I go to the dentists.

With braces, it's slow and it can be ugly for a couple of years.

But it's only a couple of years.

You then have the rest of your life with straighter healthy teeth that will still be very low maintenance provided you clean them well and don't go mad on the sugar & pop.

Veneers are indeed a quick fix, but you will pay for it over and over again with money and tooth substance lost.

It all looks so marvelous on extreme makeover programs - but when the cameras go home, and real life kicks back in the long-term is not as glamorous

positivelymummy

so many celebs have veneers and some are just hideous (like jodie marsh's) they all do it for a quick fix, they can afford it and the cost of maintenance too. its each to their own i suppose, but with braces i know they're all my own teeth:D and i give credit to tom cruise, cos he wore braces rather than get veneers! oh and ugly betty too!:T

choccyface2006

Sarah84, I am not sure if veneers look right, when you can see the black outline round the tops I think they look very odd.

I had a few differant options available to me and I nearly went for a quick fix - a bridge but I knew that although it would look better quicker I would damage the teeth either side of the bridge and it would not last forever. My dad had one and because it keeps coming off which is embarrassing being at the front, he has a denture instead and is considering an implant.

I say, have a brace and make the most of your own teeth. 2-3 years really isn't a hug chunk out of your life if you live to a ripe old age and if you look after them you may avoid costly restoration work in the future

Sarah x

Peartree

I'm in my forties and have had upper and lower braces for nearly six months now and no trouble whatsoever. I'm baffled by the whole 'smoking' thing. I'm a smoker and it just never came up during the process. I simply asked my dentist to refer me to an orthodontist and he did - although to be fair, he tried to direct me down his own practice's 'cosmetic' route first and I had to be a bit 'firm' about wanting the orthodontist referral first. I'm glad I did - I have very strong healthy teeth and good gums (very, for my age, apparently!) and certainly did not want anyone hacking away at them and putting on veneers, etc, that don't last for a lifetime. Everyone I know who has had caps, bridges, veneers, etc, has had (expensive) problems with them. I figured if I was prepared to pay for it, the dentist should refer me since I clearly had misaligned teeth - and when I go there the orthodontist was more than happy to see me and seemed a bit surprised that the dentist had done the 'gatekeeper' thing.

The orthodontist will do all the tests again in an initial consultation to see if you a suitable patient - I don't think he had any information from my dentist beyond a letter. That cost me c£150. My treatment, upper and lower braces, for about 18 months, plus a retainer afterwards is costing c£3500 all in which I pay by monthly direct debit. That is for a monthly appointment, being seen within 24 hours if something comes adrift in between, plus all the bits and pieces I need including wax, etc. 25% of my orthodontist's patients are adults, including his nurse, which is very reassuring, and I'm certainly not the oldest. And he is also utterly delightful, reassuring, non-judgemental and patient which possibly is to do with the non-adult 75% of his practice!

I have ceramic 'uppers' and metal 'lowers'. They aren't nearly as noticeable as you would think. The do take a little getting used to at first and it can be a bit painful for a day after an adjustment but you just take a painkiller - it is a bit like a sinus headache. You need to adjust your eating a bit and I never, never go anywhere without a pocket mirror and interdental sticks! (When my braces come off I'm going straight for a big pile of chinese spare ribs!) Having said that, my job involves a lot of lunches and it hasn't been nearly as difficult as I thought - although afterwards I won't smile until I've had a chance to take a quick look! I'm lucky that I haven't had too much of a problem with 'rubbing' and rarely need to use dental wax.

It isn't nearly as embarrassing as you might think. What you will find is that rather than looking at your mouth, people will open up to you and tell you how self-conscious they are about their own teeth. You'll end up as a dental agony aunt.

Honesty, you get used to it very quickly and most of the time it isn't sore at all - I think you'd adjust on the sax front - and much of the time you can almost forget they are there. The only thing you can't do is bite with your front teeth which means you have to get out the scissors for those stubborn plastic packets, etc - I had a bit of trouble with masking tape when decorating last weekend, when I automatically went to tear it with my teeth and couldn't, although I'm sure dentists would be horrified that we ever do that sort of thing with our teeth in any case. If you can imagine it, it is a bit like all your teeth are on springs!

It is helpful if you keep hydrated - the only time I get a bit of rubbing is if I get dehydrated but then I'm one of those people who carries a bottle of water around most of the time (also useful for swilling around after a sandwich if you aren't near a toothbrush). Yes, it is a v good recommendation to go for loads of lip balm before an appointment! I also looked at the archwire site at first and found it very reassuring although you need to remember that many of the more drastic treatments described are what you can get in America and you're not likely to experience here!

In summary, if you have healthy teeth and gums go for it - and let the orthodontist be the judge of that. As well as the cosmetic driver, if you have a misaligned bite, it is likely to get worse as you get older.

If you do go for it and need some moral support, you are very, very welcome to PM me.

All the best with it.

Peartree

choccyface2006

An excellent post Peartree - I can relate to everything you have said there.

Sarah x

Toothsmith

I would agree with the vast majority of Peartree's post as well.

But beware Peartree - smoking will ruin your gums. In the end.

It always does. You're very very lucky it hasn't had any effect so far (And I hope your dentist has been monitoring this very closely, as it's not always obvious. One of the problems is that nicotine inhibits the usual 'warning' sign of bleeding around the gums).

I would go as far as to say that I personally wouldn't have referred you for treatment, (Or offered to do anything 'cosmetic') until you'd quit for at least a few months.

Peartree

I take it, therefore, that you are also not prepared to do a filling unless the patient has abstained from sugar products for 'at least a few months'?

Anyway, to get to the point, this makes me really cross. Most dentists are now in the private sector and, as far as I can see, you simply don't have the right to make those judgements - and I feel so sorry for the OP that she has been subjected to this unneccesary jumping through hoops by her dentist. If I were choosing private medical care, I could see any consultant about anything I wished if I were prepared to pay for it. I find it amazing that you suggest that the situation differs in a private dental care system. If I wanted to book a Harley St appointment, and had the money, I could, without some sort of ridicuous self-appointed gatekeeper.

My dentist was prepared to go for cosmetic treatment in favour of referring me to an orthodontist, ie, he was prepared to hack away perfectly heathy teeth for what is ultimately a temporary treatment - but of course one which woud financially benefit his business. So much for the moral high ground and the public health agenda then!

If you are a 100% NHS dentist referring to a 100% NHS orthodontic treatment you get the right to make 'moral' judgements on the referral. If I am prepared to pay £3500 and the orthodontist is prepared to take me, frankly, where do you fit in? You dentists seem to want it all ways - either you are in the pubic health system or you aren't.

And I don't want to be rude, but unless you have personally done 6 months in double braces, Mr Dentist, you simply do not have the experience or understanding to agree or otherwise with my post. If I recall, this post is about real experiences with orthodontic treatment.....

Toothsmith

It's not a moral judgement at all.

It's purely clinical.

Whilst having orthodontic treatment, more plaque will inevitably build up around your teeth.

Plaque absorbs nicotine, nicotine is harmful to the health of your gums. It doesn't debate the ethics of it all, it just harms them.

Exactly the same with any cosmetic work. Stick something false to a tooth, and more plaque builds up.

It's possible that scrupulous oral hygine has kept you relatively trouble free so far, but with a greater plaque build up, it is fair to asume that orthodontic work will have a detremental effect on your oral health.

If someone agrees to provide orthodontic treatment for you, then they are at very high risk of being sued by you if things do take a turn for the worst.

You cannot waive your right to be treated in accordance with best practice, so even if you say to the orthodontist 'I accept that there is a risk things may go wrong, and I might trigger an irreversible gum disease' and are prepared to sign something saying that, it will mean nothing in court, as the orthodontist should have known better.

Also at risk, but to a slightly lesser extent, is the dentist who referred you.

I'm sorry that you don't seem to have accepted yet that smoking isn't much good for you. Just because you have money, it won't make what is and isn't clinically right for you any different.

I have said in posts prior to yours that orthodontics is far better than 'quick fix' cosmetic dentistry - we don't disagree there.

I suppose you are just lucky that you've found a nice dentist who's happy to take the money and not bring up any unpleasantness about the dangers to teeth from smoking. After all, you're not paying to have your bubble pricked are you?