Braces

Keeping_Motivated

I'll have a look for your diary now. Sounds like you are having alot of work done. I so envy you I wish I had a dentist who recommended BEFORE he suggested I needed crowns because I still am not happy hence now having the braces but I envy you as you will have a complete set of natural perfect teeth. Good for you for doing it, I know how I feel so I know you will love your new smile.

KM x

OrthognathicSurvivor

Either metal or ceramic will get the job done. Be aware though that some orthodontists are reluctant to place ceramics on the lower arch (you have two arches - one in each jaw, upper and lower) because they are so much harder than the metal brackets - and harder than tooth enamel - so placing them on the lower teeth can put your upper front teeth at an increased risk of being chipped.

Be aware too that if you get "traditional" ceramic brackets (rather than one of the small selection of self-ligating ceramic brackets) then you will have little ties to hold the archwires in place; unless your orthodontist is willing to use wire ties (and some doctors prefer to reserve those for where there is a clinical need) these will be made of a rubber material, and if clear, or very light coloured, will tend easily to get stained by many foods (the brackets, however, do not stain), especially a good curry! Some patients find this troublesome.

Moving crowned and even root canalled teeth with braces is fine. It can sometimes be harder to get the brackets to adhere properly to reconstructions like this, so if they are back teeth your ortho might choose instead to use molar bands. But don't worry - it's perfectly doable even on the teeth near or at the front of the mouth - your doctor can choose an appropriate bonding material.

Edited to add: Don't worry about being seen in fixed braces. An increasing number of adults are opting for orthodontic treatment these days - yes, even in the UK - my mother tried to convince me that they're still a rarity for adults over there, but fact is she is just another of those folks who is "guilty" of not noticing them! Be proud you're doing this for yourself. And, at the same time, please believe that even with full metal brackets, many people won't even notice, and most who notice will not really be interested anyway.

choccyface2006

More sound advice there from OrthognathisSurvivor, the last thing you want are stained ligs on ceramic brackets, my clear powerchains didn't stay clear for long, a mango smoothie or a curry later and they were a foul shade of off green/yellow. I now have bright torquoise powerchains which are obvious but don't really stain and I can eat whatever without worrying!


Sarah x

choccyface2006

Keeping_Motivated wrote: »

I'll have a look for your diary now. Sounds like you are having alot of work done. I so envy you I wish I had a dentist who recommended BEFORE he suggested I needed crowns because I still am not happy hence now having the braces but I envy you as you will have a complete set of natural perfect teeth. Good for you for doing it, I know how I feel so I know you will love your new smile.

KM x

Yes I am but this was only intended to correct ONE TOOTH, but your mouth is treated as a whole, everything has to be symetrical, perfect and alinged so my slightly crooked teeth and being rectified and that has meant extractions to even things up and to allow for the teeth to straigten out.

I'm very happy with how its going and very excited about having some slenderising of my central incisors (front teeth) and they are abit big, something I have always been concious of

Sarah x

Peartree

Keeping_Motivated wrote: »

Hi I was wondering if people could give me their opinions on the difference between ordinary metal fixed braces and ceramic please?

I am in my 30s and I am going to have a fixed brace for approx 9 mths to have the ordinary brace the cost will be approx £1100 plus the cost of retainers etc at the end. If I have the ceramic it will cost £150 per arch extra (no idea how many arches I need I've not had chance to ask yet?) So my question is, is the difference in appearance actually worth the extra cost? I mean surely you can tell you are wearing braces even with the ceramic ones, infact would people think 'what is that on her teeth' more with a ceramic one, as opposed to the metal one which will be obvious? Does that make sense?

I must admit I am mortified at the thought of being seen with a fixed brace. However I do not like my smile at all so I am willing to do it. The brace is to make my gum line more pleasing and to build out the back teeth. I have crowns on some of my teeth so I thought I would not be able to have braces but I can so I am really pleased. I so wish I had known I could have braces before my last dentist recommended I had these crown for cosmetic reasons :mad: Anyway its done now and thankfully I can still have braces.

So back to my initial question is it worth me paying extra for the ceramic do you think?

Thanks

KM x

I'm an adult brace wearer, a year in, and no problems at all. Apparently I'm making the progress of a 12 year old which I THINK is good!

I have ceramic uppers and metal lowers. On reflection, I'm not that sure I'd be that fussed about ceramics. You can still see the wire anyway. As others have said, the chains stain very easily and wire ties aren't always suitable at different stages of your treatment.

Having said that, it is amazing how many people don't notice the brace for some time! Once you get it, you'll start noticing a lot of other adults with braces too. On my first day, I went into Tesco, very self-conscious and the cashier told me she'd just finished here treatment so we had a bit of a chat! It is a bit like joining a club. I recently did some interviews with someone from our HR department who I hadn't met before and she had a brace. I wonder whether the interviewees thought that a brace was essential to work at our place!

The other thing is that people start confiding in you about their hang ups about their own teeth!

Anyway, I'm hoping to be finished by Christmas - when my treat to myself will be a whitening treatment at my dentists. After that, I will be beaming unselfconsciously for the first time in my fortysomething life and may even allow photographs taken in profile!

choccyface2006

Having just come home from a holiday in Majorca, I was suprised by how many adults I saw wearing braces over there, also recently I saw a doctor who had braces on and I'd guess she was late 50's so its never to late to go for it.

Sarah x

helend

Hi
I wore a brace for 2yrs (age 16-18) and wore a retainer for over 12mths after but, 11yrs on my teeth are all back in their original positions. Can anyone tell me if it's possiblt to get another brace?
Helen

Toothsmith

Should be - but you'd have to pay for it all.

Have a word with your dentist about getting a referral to an orthodontist

blondierm

Just wanted to add my two-penneth onto this

I had braces when I was in my teens (paid for by the NHS), but then as my wisdom teeth came through and I grew, my teeth re-wonked again and I had to take the decision to have braces at the age of 25.
I paid £3000 for the orthodontic treatment, however I did pay extra to have porcelain brackets for the fixed braces. This meant that the brackets were tooth coloured and only the wire was visible.
My orthodontist operated a scheme where I paid off £100 per month via direct debit, and I also paid him lump sums if I got a sales bonus at work. He didn't charge any interest on this scheme.
It's the best decision I ever made. The porcelain brackets made me less self concious of being a grown up with braces, and my teeth look beuatiful now. I still wear the retainers evevry other night just to keep them where they are as they can move back to wonkyness if you don't perservere with the retainers (and lets face it why would you spend all that money just to have them move back? I'm not taking the chance!).
It was a long process, it took 2 years of the fixed braces to get them right - and the wires needed to be changed and tightened every six weeks or so (I'm being honest here - when a new wire goes on it can be really sore - but was the best diet ever lol!). However, I am glad I did it and didn't go for the quick-fix option of veneers (which in my opinion look a little too perfect, plus I have no fillings so didn't want to grind my teeth down to stumps, and the fact that veneers need re-doing and costing £2500 every 10 years put me off!)
The only advice I can offer is to shop around and speak to different orthodontists, mine had many adult patients and I felt very comfortable in the clinic and with the staff. They also took the time to explain the different orthodontic braces choices that were avaliable.
I don't know where you are located but I live in Staffordshire and went to Stoke Orthodntic Services in Hanley, Stoke on Trent

choccyface2006

I had an adjustment on Monday and it looks like my treatment will be over by the summer! (apart from a night time retainer for a year which is no big deal)

I'm so excited, so happy that I've done this.

Sarah x