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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think braces on teenagers are a waste of time

47 replies

CheekyCat10 · 13/06/2019 20:38

I had braces for two years, and they were taken off when I was 16. I was then given a retainer and told to wear it a few times a week, forever.

I still have it now, though I paid £200 for a new one a few years ago. I have worn it as instructed. But my teeth have still moved :(

I asked my dentist about this, they said it's inevitable - our bones move and grow forever, especially in late teens and early 20s. Plus wisdom teeth makes teeth moveto accomodate them.

I know many people whose teeth are now as bad as they were pre-braces, especially those who didn;t bother with the retainer. It seems braces are such a waste of time and money on teenagers.

OP posts:

ElizaPancakes · 13/06/2019 21:16

I'm 36. At 12ish I had train track braces, my canines were above my other teeth so I had double layer of teeth.

My teeth have moved back a bit, I couldn't wear the retainer and got rid of it very quickly but also my teeth are quite rounded and just didn't fit together well. I'm ok with a bit of overlap. I wouldn't be ok if I had a double layer of teeth!

withaheyandahoandaheyheyho · 13/06/2019 21:32

I had braces, but I also had a number of extra/baby teeth removed that were getting in the way. My teeth are perfectly straight now, but I'm not at all convinced it was worth the year long pain.

Crapplepie · 13/06/2019 21:37

Had braces as a teen (thank fuck!) and 25 years on, my teeth are still perfectly straight. I didn't wear my retainer afterwards, so possibly just lucky.

GabriellaMontez · 13/06/2019 21:40

My teeth were transformed by braces. No problems 20years on.

WhiteRedRose · 13/06/2019 21:42

They shouldve fit a retaining bar behind them op. At much less cost than £200

BiBiBirdie · 13/06/2019 21:43

I had braces from 12 to 17. Got given a retainer. The straight teeth lasted 6 months then went back as bad as ever. My parents took me back and the orphodontist said it was my fault as I clearly hadn't worn the retainer. When he gave me it I told him it didn't fit but he wouldn't listen. It was literally a thin piece of clear plastic like a really cheap poundshop gum shield.
I hate my teeth so much and was picked on mercilessly over the braces throughout high school. Not to mention the pain of the bloody things everytime they were tightened. All for nothing.
You'd sue now but in 1998 with crap parents they told me it was my fault and that was that.

LucidDream · 13/06/2019 21:44

I had 3 braces, between ages 9 -12, although not train track ones, the removable ones. I had 4 adult teeth removed due to overcrowding around the same time. Twas in the 80s so might have been the old fashioned way of doing things.

I didn't need a retainer afterwards, and my teeth haven't moved back, I have still have lovely straight teeth now in my 40s :)

Justhavingacry · 13/06/2019 21:48

When I had braces i was offered the option of having a wire placed behind my teeth permanently instead of a retainer.
I chose this option but a few years later when braces were removed the orthodontist went with his own agenda - no wire.

(as a young teen i didn't know what to tell him other than i wouldn't wear a retainer, which is why i asked for the wire)

My braces have been off for 10 years now and my teeth are still 99% better than what they were before braces, but i do notice them shifting and kick myself for not being more assertive about the wire!

stucknoue · 13/06/2019 21:48

Depends on why you need one, mine stuck out, braces (removable kind) sorted them, the wired in kind were rarer then

ColdTattyWaitingForSummer · 13/06/2019 21:49

My son’s only 17, but indications are that his worked and his teeth haven’t moved back. He has lovely teeth! I hate mine. Allegedly the dentist gave me the option ( I guess at about age 11 or 12?) and apparently I said no. I really wish my parents had made a sensible decision for me. It would have saved me a bunch of problems as an adult.

Lazypuppy · 13/06/2019 22:15

I have a metal retainer fixed to the back of my front 4 teeth top and bottom.

Kept everything where it should be after braces, well worth it!

Lazypuppy · 13/06/2019 22:16

@Justhavingacry just go and get a wire fitted now then? Mine cost £60 when it needs replacing evefy 10yrs or so

CurbsideProphet · 13/06/2019 22:19

YABU. I had fixed braces 14-16 then wore my night retainer and my teeth only moved a miniscule amount. I'm in my 30s now and am surprised my DP was never referred to orthodontics as a teenager, as his teeth are a bit crooked. Even a retainer would have fixed his teeth.

speakout · 13/06/2019 22:22

I disagree.

My DD wore braces at 14 for two years ( she did have extractions too for overcrowding)
Now 19 her teeth are perfect, straight, no movement.

C0untDucku1a · 13/06/2019 22:22

I had braces before my wedding, taken out at aged 29. Just gally teeth, rather than crocked. I have the wire attached to the back of my teeth to keep them in place and a retainer i rarely wear but funnily enough i have this evening!

Get the wire and wear the retainer

JaneGlorianaVillanueva · 13/06/2019 22:24

Nope, disagree!

I had my braces on from 12-13 didn't wear my retainer for long as I cracked it from grinding my teeth in my sleep.

13+ years on I still get complemented on how straight my teeth are and I've since had wisdom teeth come through with no space, impacted wisdom tooth, wisdom tooth removal etc

UndertheCedartree · 13/06/2019 22:29

My teeth are very straight after having braces as a teenager - only one tooth has moved slightly. It was horrible at the time, though. Just been told my son won't need braces so I'm really pleased for him.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 13/06/2019 22:32

I was only thinking this myself the other day when I noticed my teeth in a photo. I had fixed braces and a fixed retainer and they really made my teeth so much straighter, They were awful before. but the dentist just took the retainer off after about a year when a bit broke off. I’m not sure why I wasn’t taken back to the orthodontist. Maybe the treatment for retainers then was just to wear them only for a year or so, I don’t know.

Suddenly as I turned 40 my semi erupted wisdom slowly moved down and moved everthing back a little bit (was even a bit painful, like when you get braces tightened)

I mentioned this to my dentist and he just shrugged and said “yeah, teeth can shift round our whole lives”.

A bit disappointing really.

I am worried about my 13 year old’s teeth. They are really sticky out and he is extremely self conscious. He has a referral to an orthodontist but if he’s anything like me his adult teeth won’t have all come down yet and they orthodontist won’t touch them till they have. At which point he’ll be nearly 18 and i’ll Have to fight to get NHS treatment, exactly the same as my mum did for me

EmeraldShamrock · 13/06/2019 22:38

Interesting thread, I was going to follow the crowd with DD as a teen for braces, they are around €5000.
Her teeth are very important to me, I never had braces my teeth are a bit wonky, dental hygiene was not a priority growing up, thankfully they're clean, we didn't eat sweets often as DC. I will definitely have implants and veneers in the future. I'll literally be grinning.

Justhavingacry · 13/06/2019 22:38

@Lazypuppy im looking into it, thats one of the options i've been given
I'm tossing up if I should get them re-aligned before the wire goes in. (although its really only myself and people who have known me for 10+ years who notice at the moment)

As a teen, my dentist told me I had a mouth like a dog - my eye teeth were coming out the side of my gums, other adult teeth had come up all over the show rather than pushing the babies out.

Peopleshouldread · 13/06/2019 23:02

Completely disagree.

We've had to get braces for a pre-teen at 9.
Only one adult front tooth erupted and that was sideways, he had extra teeth that needed to be extracted, to allow for the other front tooth to come down. The braces were on for two years, plus a retainer for 6 months. This was with half of the teeth being baby ones. We did this in full knowledge that he'll be likely to need them again in a few years, judging from the X-Rays.
I'm absolutely not going to leave him with wonky teeth just because they might move later on, he's self conscious enough of them already having had to spend several years of childhood looking like a stereotype of some TV hillbilly.

My husband is nearly 50 and his lower teeth have become increasingly crowded with age - causing problems with cleaning and flossing- he didn't need them as a teenager but does now. So he's getting them.

I had braces , and my teeth are still fine 30 years later.

Teeth tend to be a pretty noticeable feature in a person, if they are messed up and you can get them fixed you should .

TheGoogleMum · 13/06/2019 23:08

I was supposed to have braces as a teenager, they started me off with this awful retainer that really hurt and I think was meant to change the shape of my jaw, after that I was supposed to have metal braces but I have up way before then. As an adult I then had dentists telling me I needed a brace, of course I didn't need it enough for it to be nhs funded... eventually I got invisalign for a really vain reason - I wanted straight teeth for when I got married and had been in a relationship a long time so figured it would happen soon. I was good at wearing the retainer after for a while but now I never do. They are unlikely to be as perfect as they were at the end but I don't think they've moved all that much and dentists no longer tell me I need a brace! So maybe there is something in it being more worthwhile done in adulthood (I would have been mid 20s) I do reccomend invisalign btw if anyone is considering a brace as an adult.

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