Tell me about your adult braces experience

[Ravenspeckingearly]

I have a gap between my front teeth, approx 2mm, but I think it’s got bigger recently and DH agrees, so I’m thinking of getting adult braces.....but not train tracks.eitherthe retainer ones or the single wire along the back. I’d appreciate any advice from anyone who has had braces- has it worked and are you pleased? Also any negative stories. Thank you.

I had Invisaligns top & bottom at 24, which worked perfectly! Have you looked in to that?

I had Invisaligns too both top and bottom at about age 45. My main problem was gappy top teeth so sounds similar to you OP.

The whole process took two years in total though most of the movement was complete after the first year. It was uncomfortable at times but I soon got used to it and it was exciting seeing the teeth move each time a got a new set of braces.

The treatment finished about eight years ago and my teeth have not visibly moved since even without a retainer. I'm very pleased with the result and would do it all again if I had to.

Following as I’m considering getting them too to close a gap at the top and fix alignment. Mine would need to be train tracks, which is slightly off-putting, but I know I’ll be glad I’ve done it in a few years’ time.

I had full fixed braces in my early 40's. What I realised when they came off snd was given a retainer to wear was there was no way I could have had Invisalign. The retainer took ages to get used to and if I was even slightly under the weather I couldn't wear because it made me gag. I had an inkling this might be the case, having moulds taken at the dentists makes me gag as do the things they put in the sides of your mouth for an xray.

@ivfbabymomma1 I’ve looked at Invisaligns and also the ones where you have retainer type braces that keep changing to move the teeth in. @AtLeastThreeDrinks why do you think you need full train tracks? I got the impression that almost no adult should need train tracks these days......I’m not sure my confidence extends to wearing train tracks for 2 years!

I had train tracks on my bottom teeth and an Invisalign type retainer on my top teeth- I think this is quite a common combination. My orthodontist was great, and he explained to me that it’s the specifics of how (and how much) the teeth need to move that dictates whether you can use an Invisalign or not to get the best results. During my research I also found out it’s easier for dentists to train to be able to fit Invisalign rather than any fixed braces (it can be a lucrative sideline), so make sure you go to a proper Orthodontist who will have all options available to get the best results. Although I’m used to wearing a removable retainer now (I still wear them at night) I actually found the Invisalign took much longer to get used to than the train tracks to be honest! But I’m really glad I did it, and I’m really pleased with the results.

@Ravenspeckingearly I was told by my dentist that it would need to be a traditional brace, although I’m yet to have my orthodontic consultation so I’ll see what they say. I do want to discuss alternatives (wire behind the teeth etc) but the dentist implied I’d get the best/fastest results with train tracks (still a couple of years though!). It is a big consideration, as I think I’d feel more self-conscious about those than I do my gap! But I know modern dentistry has come a long way since my teen years and you can get more discrete tracks than those of years ago.

I did ask about Invisalign and was told it’s not appropriate for my teeth, but to be honest I agree with a PP; I’ve had moulds made for whitening before and found wearing the trays overnight really uncomfortable. Not sure I could manage 20 hours a day!

I had train tracks for a couple of years in my forties - best thing I ever did! I wear retainers overnight to keep them in place. Go for it!!