Saturday, June 4, 2011

When is it too old for braces?

So lately, my teeth have been bothering me like crazy. I don't even want to post up a picture of my teeth alone, but I do have some pictures and I will EXPLAIN what it's like.

When I was 6 years old, my second tooth on the top was loose so my mom took me to the dentist. My dentist had to remove 2 of my teeth on the top because there was little room for my other tooth to grow. So I left with three missing teeth. I was told I needed braces as well but I saw my cousins who had braces and they ALWAYS had a bleeding gums or something and always need to put some kind of wax to prevent the skin inside their mouth from bleeding. So basically I never got braces and now I regret it.

I don't have an overbite, but my teeth are misaligned. The center of your lips should be aligned to the center of your two front teeth. But for me, the center of my lips is where my left front tooth is. And I have have these awkward gaps between my upper teeth. Pictures below!




bad eyebrows, bad picture :( But that's a story for another day.

Nobody can tell my misaligned teeth unless I point it out and some people still don't notice after I do. BUT I NOTICE! I see it when I smile (thank goodness I don't smile widely). But I'm already in college and I feel braces should be for like those awkward middle school years. Should I go for invisalign instead? I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure invisalign won't fix this (I did some research). Or should I just leave it alone?.. It's pretty costly as well which I can't let my parents pay for but I know my part time paychecks can't pay half of it off lol. Am I too old for braces?

6 comments:

  1. I don't think you're ever "too old" for braces but you might want to wait until you're more financially comfortable. Maybe later on it won't bother you as much.

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  2. I have a similar problem! I actually had braces in middle school, mainly to correct my slight overbite. But my orthodonist was a butt head and completly screwed up my teeth, causing one of my bottom front teeth to stick out at a weird angle >:( My mom was really pissed off and wanted me to get my teeth fixed, but I didn't want to spend another 2 years wearing braces :/ I'm still in high school, and I really don't want to wear braces during senior year, so I'm waiting till college when I can get a steady job and contribute to some of the costs. I am considering invisalign though...anyway, I don't think you're too old for braces; it's better to get them now and not wait until you are 30 something and have regrets that you didn't get it done sooner. If cost is a issue, I would of course wait because college is super expensive as it is. Hope this helps :)

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  3. Hmm, I do understand what you're saying. And to answer your question, it's never too late to get braces. My good friend was 29 and got braces for the first time. Generally it's good to get braces as a teen since your teeth are growing but you seem veryy young still (in college) so I say go for it before you get a job! You should talk to a dentist to see what procedure to get to align them correctly. Research is so advanced nowadays I'm sure you can fix it in less than a yr's time.

    I had braces for 3 yrs of my life! LOL It was horrible because every month i"d have to get them tightened and i would be in pain (sore teeth) for 2 days every month :p But my teeth were pushed out and it looked gross, yours look very normal so I wouldn't worry so much about it ;)

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  4. :( aww jane~ I'm exactly like you! I'm almost 18 so i'll feel really odd with braces in uni next year.
    I've always needed braces like really badly..I have really big teeth and a super small mouth. I can't even smile with teeth cause its super creepy.. when I laugh I feel so embarrassed cause one of my upper tooth comes out of my gum. I asked my dentist once if I can just have that tooth pulled out but apparently if I did it'll cause all my teeth to collapse and shift.

    My parents never allowed me to get braces because all our relatives got them and they always told stories about how painful it was and my parents didn't want me to go through that :(

    At the moment I'm trying to save up for invisaligns.. it's fairly expensive but its so much faster!

    So overall I don't think you're too old to get braces! you never are! because I understand how teeth can really put down your self esteem :(
    so go for it! (:

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  5. Jane, it's never to late if it's something you want to correct. I know when I'm bothered by something I'll keep fretting about it for sure. If invisalign won't work then for sure braces and I'm sure if you decide to do it, they will be off in no time.

    But if no one notices unless you point it out I'm sure it's not that big of a deal, I think our flaws just seem more obvious to ourselves cause we know it's there.

    My two front teeth jut out pretty badly but I feel like it's to late for braces as well and although it's not that noticeable, it does bother me occasionally.

    Good luck with whatever choice you make :)

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  6. You are never old for braces!! I had braces but never had bleeding gums or something that extreme. If I felt the braces were poking the inner cheek skin/ flesh then I use the wax. Maybe now you are older, you'll be able to handle the pain. Braces should be okay for all ages except for ages 65+. I recommend you get them, because it's one less thing to worry about? However there is quite a big expense.

    Since no one says anything about your smile, then you shouldn't be so worried about it. But you'll be getting braces for yourself, and not because of other people's opinions, so that's good.

    Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and thank-you, I'll study hard this summer and from now on. Study well!!~~

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