BRACES!!!!!!

[The Top Crusader]

I'm supposed to get braces within the year, you guys really shouldn't be telling horror stories right now.

Anyway, I don't quite get the big deal, my teeth may not be straight, but they work fine, and I don't yet think that "fixing them" is worth the estimated thousands of dollars that the dentist wants for the job. So I guess this is where you guys are supposed to give me a long lecture on why straight teeth are more important than the pain and money required to get them.

Ha. Seriously, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone unless they were truly hampered/imparred by the way their teeth grew on (coming in on the forehead perhaps).

[Baragon]

"No one ever died from lack of braces." - some orthodonist dude I visited once. I was impressed that he'd say such a thing, since most of such dudes I've visited before acted as if going without braces would cost you your life.

If I ever get braces, I'd really like to get the plastic/clear ones. Though, no idea on how much they cost, or how effective they are.

[darcie]

I was told (of course, this was awhile ago) that the clear ones were more expensive and less effective. You might have to have those on longer, because they're not as strong as metal. Hey, at least we have adhesives now. My mom said hers in the 70s were on metal bands that needed to go around each tooth. Ouch!

[FrayedAroundTheEdges]

I used to think that braces were so cool because of the way they made peeps sound, but then again i used to be jealous of my sisters because both of them had glasses. (but im the youngest so wat can i say)

[H Tide]

I will be getting braces soon, since my tooth are atrociously crooked. Well, they don't look that bad, but I definitely need them.

[Sarah]

I had braces for around 5 years... and rather hated it.

Seven years after getting them off, I still have apparently permanent grooves cut into the inside of my cheeks from the braces wire.

5 years!!! Why so long?? The normal is two years! And yes the wires poke and i i have spots where it hurts even though the wire isn't touching!

Two of my friends (well, family friends) had them on for 8 years, and another had them on for slightly longer... So, the normal isn't always two years!

I have braces, and they aren't that bad. I'm in the elastics stage right now, with the rubber bands that connect your top and bottom teeth. I thought they'd be terrible when I first got them, but they really aren't that bad. I've had my braces on for about a year and a half so far... It would have been two years, but my orthodontist decided to take them off for no reason, for 6 months. O.O

Before I had braces, I had these lovely appliances for 2 years (2 different sets, throughout those two years), which were basically slabs of plastic inside my mouth, and greatly impaired my speaking abilities. I then had my braces put on while I still had the appliances, and eventually got a couple of different rotations of the appliances. I am now appliance-free, for the moment. I love being able to talk like a normal person!

Sarah

[Jonathan]

Anyway, I don't quite get the big deal, my teeth may not be straight, but they work fine, and I don't yet think that "fixing them" is worth the estimated thousands of dollars that the dentist wants for the job. So I guess this is where you guys are supposed to give me a long lecture on why straight teeth are more important than the pain and money required to get them.

Anyway, and I certainly don't think this is the case everytime, but often times making teeth grow the way they are supposed to while the patient is growing, or nearing the end of their growing, can prevent medical issues down the road.

Mine was serious enough that it could've been life-threatening.

And to ease your concerns about the money (which I believe your parents will take care of anyway), insurance usually covers it.

Though I will acknowledge that sometimes they aren't necessary.

[PJ]

I should've had braces..I could still use them. But, I don't like pain so no..and no money.. Eventually though I'm gonna get tired of not being able to tear off a bite with my front teeth. I either have to pull with my fingers..or tear it with them. And sometimes the meat comes off the sandwich, same with vegetables.. I have an underbite, so my teeth don't meet. It's very irritating.

Um..yeah..I was kinda on topic..

(I think..)

[Rio]

braces are evil
(in other words I don't like them)

Does this mean that you have braces??
Na I don't have braces and don't need them either... I only have one crocked tooth on the bottom jaw and two uneven teeth... now you all know so yah but I have never been to the dentist ever in my 15 year life.. Maybe I shouldgo and then maybe not, But then they'er my teeth not yours and I can do whatever I want to them!

RR

[Christian Cowgirl]

My teeth just grew in straight But I do have a wisdom tooth trying to come through right now... ow.

[Laura Ingalls]

I had braces for 2 years, and I didn't think they were bad at all! I liked the way they looked...plus I just had them on my top teeth. Sure, after getting them tightened they hurt a tiny bit for a couple of days, but it wasn't all that bad.
I wouldn't have gotten them if I hadn't needed them though...my parents weren't going to pay big bucks just for how my teeth looked. There was a tooth that was stuck up in my gums, and it would have destroyed the roots of the other teeth.

Enjoy your braces Candy! If you're cheerful about them, the orthodontist will love you.

[Jonathan]

If you're cheerful about them, the orthodontist will love you.

heh, this is very true. I need to go only once every two years now, and despite seeing hundreds more patients a lot more often then me, I still get treated like some sort of dignitary there

[RebekahD]

I have braces -- I've had them a little over a year. =]