Artcle by BR Merilyn
My name is Merilyn and I was an Adult braces wearer.
I'd always hated my teeth. As a teenager, and then continuing the trend as an adult. Frankly, I’d always thought it was a bit unfair. Why couldn’t it have been my hair I hated? My clothes? At least I could change those quite easily.
To be fair, looking back, they probably weren’t the worse set of teeth on the block, although they were to me! I had a noticeable overbite due to some overenthusiastic thumb sucking as a child, and a couple of prominent “fangy” looking eye teeth, which, had I been born a decade or so later would have had me as a shoe in for a member of the Twilight cast.
Nowadays – (I’m now in my 40’s), you see more kids at High School with braces than without. And frankly no one bats an eyelid anymore when they meet adults with braces.
Back in the day however, braces were a novelty, an anti- fashion item that instantly branded the wearer as a geek, a loser – think Katy Perry in her “last Friday night video. I remember my Mother asking me when I was aged about 7, after a visit to the dental nurse if I “wanted to get braces”. Of course my answer was “no”! Who in their right mind would want to set themselves up for an object of ridicule? “Oh no”, I proclaimed, "no braces for me!"
So just as an aside to all you Mothers out there…. When your child is 7 they generally have no idea of the bigger picture, (and) and sometimes (a lot of the time) you just need to say “you’re doing this” for their own good.
By the time I reached my mid 30’s I’d not grown to like them any better, I had however learnt how to smile with my mouth closed a lot of the time. I’d seen other Adults around with a full mouth of metal braces and whilst I was full of admiration for them, I was at the time in a very senior position at work and I just didn’t feel that I could go down that track. And then….
Technology found Orthodontics!
A new way of teeth straightening became available. It’s called Invisalign. Essentially instead of permanent fixed braces, the straightening is done with a series of clear aligners. which are custom made for you. The Orthodontist does a mould of your teeth and then plans your program out based on the results that they want. You then receive 20-30 of these clear aligners, which go on both your top and bottom teeth Each set is slightly different and you need to change them every couple of weeks.
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You need to have some ceramic small dots or “anchors’ put on some of your teeth to help with the process, and you can’t (or you’re not supposed to) eat or drink with them in so that can be a bit of a mission. However, on the upside, they’re almost completely invisible! I generally found that people only noticed I was wearing them when I told them, that’s how clear they are. |
18 months later, I was left with the smile I’d always wanted. Even now 4 years later, I still see my smile in photos and shake my head that those gorgeous teeth are mine, it’s kind of like a person that has lost a lot of weight and still can’t believe it’s them in the mirror.
Invisalign may not be everyone, and some conditions will still need to be treated in the traditional way, but a consultation with an Orthodontist would be able to clarify what will be best for you. . Cost wise I think vs the traditional method Invisalign comes out pretty similar, and depending on the work you need and the length of your treatment it will cost between $8,000 - $10,000, and if that’s got you gasping, don't panic, most Dentists will let you pay it in monthly installments.
So if you are like me and hate your teeth I’d strongly encourage you to look at getting them straightened, at ANY age. For me it was a real life changer, and I’d spend the money again in a heartbeat.
So how about it? Would you? Could you?
I had braces in my teenage years for three years and afterwards I needed to wear a metal retainer behind my bottom teeth, which is permanently on, and a plastic retainer which I wear at night, which looks exactly like the Invisalign, like a plastic mouth guard. Invisalign sounds good as you can actually take it off, so it would be easier to brush and floss your teeth ad also eat, as when I had braces it restricted the foods I could eat.