Adult braces

[PrivetDrive24]

I hate my teeth and im now in a position financially to do something about it. I had braces as a kid but didnt keep up with my retainer and some have now shifted back.
Has anyone had adult braces or invisalign? How much did it cost, experiences etc

Thank you

[BlueberryMarshmallow]

I have got braces and I'm 25. They are the basic train track ones but I was fortunate enough for the NHS to fund them (I still had baby teeth!). A friend of mine paid £4000 for hers and she had the clear brackets.

I looked at Invisalign however they can't fix certain problems but if your teeth aren't too bad you should be fine.

I have found it is worth it because I am finally getting the confidence to smile but at the same time it draws a lot of attention to an area I am self conscious about- everyone wants to talk about teeth!

I never had them as a child so I can't really compare but they have been painful and very annoying at times!

[PrivetDrive24]

Thanks for replying. Im 25 too. My teeth arent too bad. Its just some of the top that have shifted back behind the rest if that makes sense.

Its a lot of money but i guess its worth it

[BlueberryMarshmallow]

It is a lot but if it would make you happy then I'd say go for it, there's a really good braces forum that I followed for a while which has a lot of blogs and things about people going through braces as adults. Not sure if I'm allowed to post it but if you Google pretty much any braces question you should find it

[PollyPerky]

My mum had her first braces in her 70s!

Prices vary. I've looked into it (in my 60s) but I'd need extractions as well. My teeth are too crowded for Invisalign. I'd need traditional sort and it would cost around £3K.

[Thattwatoverthere]

I had braces at 25 (must be a common age for them!) and I don't regret it for a second now although I hated them the whole time they were on.

They were ceramic brackets, top and bottom and I paid about £6k to have them on and then had the wires changed every 2 weeks at a cost of £80. Then £2k to get them removed. So over the space of 18 months they were EXPENSIVE. Plus more regular hygienist appointments for a full clean. Afterwards I had them whitened as my teeth were pretty yellow when they came off.

My dentist charged ridiculous amounts though so I imagine most wouldn't be quite that high.

The pain was quite bad when they first went on as apparently adult teeth are more 'set' in place and this can cause more pain when the bonds are broken and the teeth start shifting. That went away fairly quickly though but I did lose some weight by not being able to bite for a bit. Also get wax for the wires as when your teeth move they will dig in to your cheeks. That can be a bit sore.

Overall though it's a short time and you get nice teeth for a long time after. If you could get Invisalign I'd definitely look into that though, I'd have loved them.

And yes to the forums! My favourite had something to do with arches and wires in the name I think (if I'm allowed to say that?!)

[PrivetDrive24]

Thanks everyone