Braces (Teeth)

Hedge

Hedge

Hedge

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Anyone here ever had braces or any kind of teeth straightening gadgets fitted?

I was meant to get one when I was young and I foolishly refused.

Now Im nearly 30 and I want my teeth straightened out. They arent too bad but its something I have considered for a while now. I hear there are new things that can improve your look within 6 months. That would be ideal. (They only move visible teeth, no work on bitey teeth :))

Any experiences would be appreciated. Especially if anyone has had dental work done in their adult life.
 
Depends on how bad they are, if i was your age i would skip braces as they wouldn't work.

I plan to have a full front set of implants done when and if i can afford it, They look great and wont ever need filling...

problem is a full set can set you back £20k
 
I had them when I was around 15 as I had too many teeth and was also hit in the mouth with a hockey stick.

I had two different dentists, the first was some youngish guy (in his 30s) who used to spend most appointments speaking to the nurse whilst working. I used to get headaches and sore gums/cut cheeks from the braces - thought this was the norm until I changed dentist to an older chap who was amazing, I never once had pain or cut cheeks. Turns out the other guy was over-tightening and leaving sharp edges! ****.
 
The wife had hers done a Few years ago when she was in her mid thirties. She had to have a couple of teeth out also, she found it strange at first, but after a month she forgot all about them. They were on for 18mths in total. She has to wear a platic gum shield type thing for a few nights a month for a few years now. Total costs was in the region of 4k.
 
Minstadave said:
I spent 3.5k on Invisalign, just over half way through, seems to be doing the job so far!
Click to expand...

Expensive but if its working they look a good option. Do you have to pay the full 3.5k at once or is it a monthly thing?

There is also one called Six month Smiles I think.
 
I paid monthly for no extra cost. It sounds like a lot but actually the amount of work the dentist puts in is substantial.

My teeth were terrible, so there's been a lot of filing and shaping to get them to come together, it's hasn't been without pain.

He did suggest putting some screws into my jawbone to reduce my overbite but I told him to jog on.
 
I had close to a full double bottom row of teeth at one point and a few extra at the top too boot. Dentist reckoned I would need braces at the next checkup, but everything sorted itself out :)
 
If you go the Invisalign route you should know they glue little buttons on your teeth, these are quite visible and I had terrible ulcers for a few weeks as they're quite sharp.
 
Minstadave said:
I paid monthly for no extra cost. It sounds like a lot but actually the amount of work the dentist puts in is substantial.

My teeth were terrible, so there's been a lot of filing and shaping to get them to come together, it's hasn't been without pain.

He did suggest putting some screws into my jawbone to reduce my overbite but I told him to jog on.
Click to expand...

This is good news. Im happy to pay monthly if I get them right.

They arent terrible but I have pronounced "Fangs" and my front two teeth on the top are very slightly overlapping. all very bunched up. The fangs sit proud of the rest Vampire style.
 
I had braces a few more years because teeth was sticking out too much, had them for nearly a year. and teeth has been straight since.
 
Hedge said:
This is good news. Im happy to pay monthly if I get them right.

They arent terrible but I have pronounced "Fangs" and my front two teeth on the top are very slightly overlapping. all very bunched up. The fangs sit proud of the rest Vampire style.
Click to expand...

Invisalign is meant to be pretty good for tipping teeth forwards and backwards. You'll probably need some tooth filing to make some space for the teeth to move.
 
I'm 20 and couldn't get anything done with my teeth until about year ago as my teeth were still growing or something...
Anyway, I had a fixed proper brace on my bottom set which i was a bit apprehensive about at first but nobody saw it surprisingly which I suppose is just lucky with how my face works :P
Now I've had this annoying plastic retainer in for a few months while the dentists decide what's next, it's so difficult to get an appointment quickly!
On my top set of teeth however, I was offered orthodontic treatment or just filling the gaps and building on my teeth using the kind of putty stuff they do fillings with. I chose the latter and my teeth look so much better, it's not permanent, they say it'll last around 8 years and i get it re-done but to save 2 years of braces for an hour of filling every decade isn't bad.
As for price, I'm unsure. Mine all gets paid for the moment as I'm a full-time student. However, I've heard a lot of dentists saying that dental care will be fully private and not NHS soon so it might be best to get it done soon perhaps :)
 
Hedge said:
I just took a picture if anyone is interested in how crooked they are.

Dunno why but the pic seems to have side rotated.

here it is anyway.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6251/teethye.jpg

Im thinking they would need to remove some top teeth to make room for everything to fit in nicely.
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I'm a doctor not a dentist but I doubt they'd need to remove any teeth, mine were much worse and the chap is managing to sort it out without any being pulled out.
 
I had top braces around 30 years old. I went for that over invisalign because they're faster. Proper braces put more tension on so they move the teeth at a slightly faster rate although it's all governed by 'nature'. As an adult it'll take longer for the effect to happen than if you were 15. I had them on for 18 months but to be fair I had teeth moved around quite a lot to the right places. It essentially pushes the tooth against the bone causing the bone to break down on the pushed side and regrow on the side where the gap is. At the time I think it cost me £1600 and I was able to pay per visit. Although invisalign looks neat, you'll probably have a bit of a lisp until you get used to them. I had a very similar night retainer for a while and didn't get on with it to had to change but I had a very clear lisp with it.

With regular braces I had the teeth coloured blocks so they were less visible. You have to go back every 4-6 weeks for them to be tightened up. This is either springs or rubber bands. For the first couple of days after a tweak it's a little uncomfortable, like someone's pressing on your teeth, but you get used to it. When you eventually get them taken off you'll need to wear a retainer at night (a bit like a thin gum shield or they can be a plastic palette plate with wires on) to stop the teeth moving back. You'll probably need that for 6-12 months.

It was a lot of anguish and some pain but I'm glad I did it and wish I'd done it years earlier. It makes a huge difference to your confidence.
 
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Hedge said:
I just took a picture if anyone is interested in how crooked they are.

Dunno why but the pic seems to have side rotated.

here it is anyway.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/6251/teethye.jpg

Im thinking they would need to remove some top teeth to make room for everything to fit in nicely.
Click to expand...

If you hadn't said anything I would have said your teeth were normal.

Worth bearing in mind if it ain't broke don't fix it. :D
 
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