Braces and Me

A twenty-something who's always hated the way my teeth look. So much 
so that I hated having my photo taken, in case it caught me with them 
showing. Conscious when I laughed as everyone would get an eyeful of 
my hideous wide open smile. I finally decided, after years of wishing 
I'd had a brace when I was younger, to go for the initial consultation. 


 
I'd thought about having braces when I was 13ish on the NHS as a lot of 
people do here in the UK if they don't have very straight teeth. But the 
man I went to see was pretty useless and seemed too busy to discuss the 
options we might have. He told me I'd need to have headgear (where you 
have a fixed brace and every night you attach headgear to it around the 
back of your neck) for a few years to pull all my teeth backwards as
they were very over crowded, and then the straightening of the teeth 
would begin! And this second part of the process would potentially take 
another 18-24months. My teeth were pretty crowded but he said that if 
he removed teeth there would then be too much room. Looking back now, 
he didn't seem to put into the equation that none of my wisdom teeth 
were yet through and what would happen once they came... Anyway, my 
parents decided at the age I was, I wouldn't wear the headgear 
religiously everyday from when I got home from school until I went to 
school (4pm-7am) so I wouldn't get braces and would leave my teeth as 
they were. I'd always had "good" teeth, no fillings or work done 
(touch wood) and anyway my wonderful dentist said I had "a lovely smile 
with character". Surely that means they don't look too bad?? 
 
So I went through life, watching my friends at school deal with braces 
and have them on and off. Watched my younger brother have his braces 
(he had a different, new orthodontist to the one I saw) and I still hated 
the way my teeth looked but not knowing if they could or would ever 
be any better. Id thought about "adult" braces for a few years but as 
I was now over 18 it would have to be done privately and the initial 
consultation fee always deterred me as it was about £140. But I really 
wanted to know if a different orthodontist would give me a different 
treatment plan to the only one I'd ever had. Did someone think they 
could give me straight teeth?
 
The final straw came when I attended a friends wedding recently. 
Afterwards I thought, I want to be able to smile in my wedding photos 
(when that day comes! Ha) and not have to filter them due to my teeth 
showing. I've realised looking back that I've always deleted all photos 
of me with my teeth showing in a horrid way, or I just don't smile 
with teeth. 
 
I went for my initial consultation on 6 December 2012. I decided I would 
go to the same orthodontist that did my brothers teeth. I had the proof 
of what could be done in front of me. His teeth were initially a lot 
worse than mine before he had braces, and now they were great! I might 
show you his before and after photos if he lets me.
 
This blog is to record the changes that happen along the way. My experiences 
and what happens if you have fixed braces as a twenty-something year old.
When I thought about getting braces I searched for blogs to get some
other peoples experiences and to find out what I might expect if I
got braces, but I could only find a couple of blogs. So I hope this helps 
anyone thinking about getting braces later on in life. 
 
Here are some of my "Before" photos. A word of warning, they are not pretty!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A front on photo of crooked teeth before orthodontic treatment with mouth open

A side photo of crooked teeth before orthodontic treatment

A front on photo of crooked teeth before orthodontic treatment with mouth closed
 


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