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12 Sep 2017, 10:37 pm

When I was a teenager I had braces for a long time. They fixed my teeth but then after I took them off they went right back to how they were before and I'm worried they might even be moving even more out of place than before. Should I consider getting braces again now that I'm an adult?



Sweetleaf
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12 Sep 2017, 11:48 pm

I had braces for a while and then didn't have them and didn't wear the retainer so they did essentially just go back to how they were. But then it turns out it was never my teeth that were a problem to begin with, because apparently my jaw is somewhat misaligned and I would need mouth surgery to actually fix it. But to me it is not worth it, they said if I didn't fix the issue I'd ground my molars too much by the time I was 20. Well I am 28 molars still intact, because guess what turns out you can just keep your wisdom teeth and grind those down instead just gotta live through the two weeks of pain from them growing in. I wish I had never had braces, worst inconvenience ever and didn't even fix anything, not that I had any real problem in the first place aside from the cosmetic flaw of not having perfectly straight teeth...well I don't care. Getting the damn things off was the best thing ever, though my teeth are still kind of stained where the braces were attached.


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13 Sep 2017, 12:42 am

I had my bottom teeth straightened when I was in my early 50s. It was definitely an experience. After I had them taken off I had a permanent retainer fitted (behind my bottom teeth). I know it sounds weird, but if it wasn't there I'd miss it... I've got so used to it. And my teeth have stayed in the new position. I'd recommend to give it a try.


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Sweetleaf
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13 Sep 2017, 1:52 am

Trueno wrote:
I had my bottom teeth straightened when I was in my early 50s. It was definitely an experience. After I had them taken off I had a permanent retainer fitted (behind my bottom teeth). I know it sounds weird, but if it wasn't there I'd miss it... I've got so used to it. And my teeth have stayed in the new position. I'd recommend to give it a try.


The entire time I had them they were uncomfortable, and not very useful if you got stuck in the wilderness. I always thought about getting thrown into some crazy survival situation while having braces would be a hassle more than an asset.


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13 Sep 2017, 6:38 pm

One of my upper teeth is extremely crooked and has been since before I was a teenager. However, the dentist said I didn't need braces. Which was odd considering people with far better teeth have had them in.


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renaeden
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14 Sep 2017, 5:39 am

Sweetleaf wrote:
The entire time I had them they were uncomfortable, and not very useful if you got stuck in the wilderness. I always thought about getting thrown into some crazy survival situation while having braces would be a hassle more than an asset.
I've thought of that maybe happening to me but instead of having braces, it's without my meds. I take 5 and I think if I were in the wilderness without them, I'd be in for a horrible time.

Anyway, I was meant to get braces when I was a teenager but my parents couldn't afford them. I got teased about my crooked teeth and it didn't do much for my self esteem. Years later, when I was 25 and working I decided to get braces because I had the money and someone at work who I didn't like made fun of my teeth. Grrrr.

It turned out that I had to have jaw surgery because of my overbite. So I had braces put on and then about a year later, the surgery. It was actually really easy to get through. I was never in any pain, just a bit uncomfortable because I couldn't open my mouth very wide. My mum looked after me, making me pureed food. And I had McDonald's thickshakes. ;) This lasted three weeks until I was unwired.

A year later I had my braces taken off and I was so happy with the results. Like Trueno, I had permanent retainers behind my teeth. I had them in until last year until I needed an MRI for ear problems. So I went back to the orthodontist and he took my permanent retainers out and gave me regular ones that are worn at night.

I have so much more confidence about smiling after everything had been done. No more teasing. I think I did the right thing for myself.