Braces for teeth- your experiences please.

[ameliagrey]

I go through phases of wanting my crowded teeth sorting.

Had a consultation a while back and was told I was likely to need Invisalign for up to 2 years, costing £3K and needing fortnightly trips to dentist.

I ruled that out due to possible relocation, cost and the fact that my own dentist ( who referred me to that orthodontist) is not convinced about Invisalign- she thinks it can move teeth too quickly and long term they move back.

So- back to the drawing board.

I am wary of having visible braces- I am mid 50s, and although I know people have braces at any age, wearing them for 2 years seems a long haul. (My mum had hers at 75 BTW!)

-Has anyone had braces at the back of their teeth?
-Do they work?
-How often do they need adjusting ( this would give me ore options over who does them)
-What about tradtitional braces on front but clear - are they £££ too?

[captainpig]

I had braces for years on and off when I was younger and in my twenties. Fixed train track type ones, visually it didn't bother me. It was painful after tightening though.

Anyway, my top tip if you do have them done, is get them to put fixed retainers on the back of your teeth when treatment has finished, that way the teeth stay there and do not move back. I still have the same retainers stuck on the back of my teeth teeth 17 years on.

[msshapelybottom]

Have a good read of the forum here: lots of experiences of every possible type of teeth alignment system...

www.archwired.com/phpbb2/index.php

[onelily]

i got them done, when i was around 14. the dentist had to take out two teeth. Overall was a not a bad experience except jst my bracket use to break as use to chew alot of hard stuff and dentist use to get irritated :)

[ameliagrey]

thanks that website is good but it makes me more wary than ever- it sounds very painful.

[tulpe]

I have Clarity braces on my upper teeth. They have been in place since January and during that time I have only had discomfort for the first few days after each tightening (approx once a month). I am 40 and felt quite self-conscious for the first week or two but have had nothing but positive responses from friends.

In retrospect, I wish I had gone for the metal fixed braces since the Clarity ones are visible anyway!

I will wear a retainer a couple of times a week after treatment has finished in order to keep the teeth in alignment.

[ameliagrey]

can i ask how much they cost?

[tulpe]

Metal would have been £2K
Clarity were £2.4K
Invisalign £3.2K

Includes fitting, adjustments, retainers.

[normaleggy]

I work for an orthodondist - you don't need Invisalign, that is bollocks, there is nothing that Invisalign can do that regular braces can't and is really only suitable for slight adjustments not overcrowding. Lingual braces (inside of teeth) are not suitable for everyone, depending on your bite and can be very difficult to maintain. Many orthodontists will not use them, we certainly don't.

Clarity/ceramic braces are your best bet really, and so many adults have braces these days, i wouldn't worry about visability just think about how good you will feel when you have beautiful straight teeth at the end!! Our prices start from £1800 but we have payment plans available as I'm sure many other places do.

[auroraday]

I have lingual braces. Great progress in 4 months. Mine are adjusted about every 6-8 weeks. I have been told 12-18 mts (closer to the 12). Invisalign wouldn't work for me either as I have some big gaps.
It took a little adjustment to get used to talking and eating with them (and cleaning them) but they are fine now - completely easy to live with. Yes teeth ache after the tightening for 2-3 days but that is the case with any brace. And obviously I don't have to be conscious of them on the outside (incidentally - Kate Middleton had them - would you ever have known?!). I am very happy with them - in my 30s - you are never too old for good teeth!
You do have to go to a specialist ortho as not all orthos are trained in them - I wonder if they may be more expensive as mine are a lot more than the figures quoted (central London though).

[DilysPrice]

I asked my dentist about Invisalign and he said it wasn't suitable for me, so I'd need proper braces for a year, but he wasn't prepared to do that because he didn't think I'd stick with it - most of the adults he'd treated had got them removed after a few months. He then gave me the hard sell on veneers, and I wavered for a bit but resisted because
a) I don't want veneers that look like I have straight teeth - I want straight teeth.
b) when I posted on the family blog that I was thinking of this, and canvassed opinions, several of our friends asked whether this was me or DH who was asking. Since DH has perfect teeth (bastard) I assumed that this meant that my teeth were not actually as appalling as I thought.

[normaleggy]

I'd get an orthodontists opinion rather than a dentist, they are not specialists in that area. If it were any other part of your body you were considering treatment on you would expect to see someone who specialises in that field.

And definitely do not get veneers!!

[DilysPrice]

Yes, I think he's a (very expensive) "cosmetic dentist" rather than an orthodontist - hence his pushing his speciality.

[auroraday]

another point - archwired is a decent forum, and you can get useful tips on there (eg we learned about the water flosser on there which is great for cleaning) but - for possibly obvious reasons - it is populated by people who are struggling with their braces and want to chat about it so not necessarily a fair representation. I have lingual braces and they are giving me no trouble at all so unsurprisingly I don't hang out on archwired chatting about braces !

[ameliagrey]

Okay- thanks everyone- lots to think about.

[woopsidaisy]

ameliagrey,I think you should go for it! I am in my 30's,and thinking about it too.
I actually had very bad overcrowding when younger. I have had 8 teeth removed-including my wisdom teeth due to overcrowding. I had a top plate that I had to tighten everyday myself.Then train tracks for 4.5 years! Then a top and bottom plate. But within a few years my wisdom teeth started to grow and everything went back to where they had been. Had wisdoms out,but my bottom teeth are very crooked,and I have an overbite. My sister got the metal fixed brace on hers and they are still perfect 20 years on!
So make sure you get one is my advice!