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Am I gonna need braces? Pro dentist advice?

Josias

Josias

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Mar 10, 2006
1,908
1
I'm probably just being paranoid, but I would really hate to get braces. One of my friends recently got braces, and he looks terrible while smiling, eating, laughing or speaking. No offence to people who wear braces, but it's a fact that it doesn't look too good.

Here's a pic of my teeth. If a dentist is here and can advise me, it'd be great help, also to get a way of preventing braces? The reason I'm asking is that I'm going to my annaul dentist check thingy next week, and really can't wait that long to find out.
foto17sp4.jpg


Also, there's a girl in my class who wear her braces behind her teeth, so that they're not visible. Is that possible for anyone, or is that only because her teeth are differently positioned than other people who wear braces?

Any help is greatly appreciated.:D lol
 
You don't have to get braces at all. If you're happy with the way your teeth look, don't worry about it.
 
ive seen alot worse.

you dont have a noticeable gap, or buckteeth.

if you have an obvious over/under bite, you might.

dont let an orthodontist just slap em on you for aesthetic reasons, they have absolutely NO idea how their work will effect you later in life.

Case n point, I had braces, and its been about 10yrs since I got them off, and now I am having jaw problems from my orthodontist being only interested in getting my teeth straight and NOT in my long term with regards to my jaw.
 
I don't think that it's a fact that braces make people ugly. In fact, I can think of several instances where people look better wearing their braces than they did without them. Nevermind how much better their teeth will look after a few years...

Of course, if someone walks around wearing braces while emanating bad thoughts about their looks and self-esteem, that absolutely makes them less attractive.
 
You can get invisaline if its an option for you. They're clear plastic, and they come off for when you're going out on something special and don't want them in and eating and stuff. Plus, they're a lot less noticeable than typical braces.
 
Yep, invisaline are an alternative, but if you have an overbite (I can't tell from your picture) you might have to go with conventional braces to get bands put in. Anyways, braces don't look too bad, just don't get wacky-colored ties. I had them for my last two years of high school, and I think the worst part was just getting food out from them. Don't think I even noticed half the time that I had them.
 
Your teeth are beautiful.


(rememember I'm from the UK)

Further proof: One of our most famous and highly respected pop stars is featured below.

Yes, it's the same man. At the height of his success. I honestly don't think you'll achieve more than he has done.

shane_mag.jpg

Shane_macgowans_teeth.jpg
 
Just get them, I had them for a few years, and i honestly will never regret getting them. I had 'perfect' teeth, but was unfortunate enough to not have all of them. So i needed braces to fill up the gaps, i could have had a bridge thing, but chose to have braces.
Now i get compliments all the time about my teeth, and if i look at friends who thought they were just too cool to have braces, I am glad to have better teeth than them.
Modern dentistry allows us to take advantage of it, so do it, and have pleasure for the rest of your life.
 
Your teeth don't look too bad but I can't see your bite so can't be 100% if you need braces or not. No one will force you to have them (Well maybe your parents?)
 
Orthodontists will basically slap braces onto your teeth if they don't look like they could do a toothpaste ad. They're (hopefully) well-trained and will find jaw misalignments and misaligned teeth that need to be fixed, and whatnot. From the picture, your front teeth look slightly forward (I don't mean this in a rude way or anything!), but everything else looks ok, so they might just put a retainer on you (which can be taken on/off) to even that out.

I wouldn't recommend those braces that go behind your teeth. They're an absolute pain to clean. Plus, I've had braces, and will all the pulling and tugging they do, (which makes a mess), it'd be even worse if the braces were behind your teeth.

I actually thought that I looked better with braces on, but what do I know? They're usually cute on people, unless people don't take care of their teeth. I've even seen models with braces, so..

You can't really "prevent" braces. If you don't want them, don't get them.
 
RedTomato said:
Your teeth are beautiful.


(rememember I'm from the UK)

Further proof: One of our most famous and highly respected pop stars is featured below.

Yes, it's the same man. At the height of his success. I honestly don't think you'll achieve more than he has done.
Click to expand...

Godbless Shane MacGowan!
His mug may have been - unfortunate,
and his speech - unclear,
but he brought us so many fine tunes.
 
If you don't want braces just get invisalign. Two of my friends have it. Braces are more effective, but they are also more painful and un-good-looking ;)

I have braces, and theyre coming off in two weeks! Had em for a year, it wasn't that bad. And they also don't look that bad. They may on you... :D
 
First of all, learn fact from opinion. Just because you may think braces "don't look good," doesn't make it a fact.

Secondly, no good dentist could possibly tell you if you "needed" braces from a single picture; they need to examine you in person.

Why can't you wait a week? After all, you've had these teeth how many years? ;)


FWIW, I would imagine braces on the back of the teeth would be much more uncomfortable and impair speech more than conventional braces.


Also, from what I've heard, Orthodontists are reluctant to use invisalign on children/teens because they don't work as well on teeth that are still developing and moving.
 
extraextra said:
Orthodontists will basically slap braces onto your teeth if they don't look like they could do a toothpaste ad. They're (hopefully) well-trained and will find jaw misalignments and misaligned teeth that need to be fixed, and whatnot.
Click to expand...

If your dentist says he wants you to wear braces, ask your dentist if you have any of the problems above. If he says no, then tell you don't want braces. I think they're just a way for them to make money.
 
first off, your teeth arent even that bad. there are a ton of people who have cross-bites and they missed out on braces. :D but ifu do decide on getting them they arent that bad. jus get the good ol fashioned metal ones and pick your color of rubberbands to be easier on the eyes. i had braces for a little over a year and the time goes by fast. by the looks of your teeth, i bet you'll have em on at most 14 months. ;)
 
Not a big problem, a Bite Equilibration might work for you.

The Bite Equilibration might take care of any bite problem in several dental appointments without the cost of hardware.

Plus the dentist is likely to even out the teeth during this procedure.
 
I'm well aware of your situation :)

I had braces back in middle school like most other kids. But as I grew older, my jaw didn't grow correctly, and so my teeth became mis-aligned again, and I have crowding on my lower jaw. So, back in high school I was told I would need major surgery on my jaw, and before that I would need to wear braces for about a year.

Ever since then, I have dreaded getting braces again. I'm in college now and didn't want to look like a 13 year old kid again. I didn't care at all about the surgery and everything else, just didn't want those darn braces again.

Well, 3 months ago I decided to go ahead with all this jaw/braces stuff, and I now wear normal metal braces on the bottom, and clear braces on the top. For me, it's no where near as bad as I imagined. People tell me they can't even tell I have braces on, because my bottom teeth aren't very visible when I talk, and the top you can only see the wire, which is hard to see.

3 months into it, and people can tell a difference in my teeth already :). So go ahead with it, you won't regret it in any way.

Also, see if the Invisalign is an option. But know that the metal braces work the fastest.
 
My situation is similar to kainjow's

I used to have braces when i was a kid but unfortunately, I gave up halfway through because I was fed up with the infamous headgear and was scared I would need surgery to go on with the treatment

I've come to regret that decision and that explains why i've been wearing braces for the past 16 months or so... I decided i'd rather have to deal with braces for a few years, while im still in school (I'm 19), then have crooked teeths all my life...

Besides, its not as bad as you might think: since I have the clear ones on top, It took more then a year for some of my friends and coworkers to notice my braces
 
braces may not be the greatest looking thing out there but look what you get in return, a perfect formation of teeth = perfect smile. you look young in your picture and that is the best time to do it. the longer you wait the worse it will be
 
I had braces for about 2.5 years. I had terrible things happening with my jaw and teeth (small mouth, big teeth) and had to have an operation to fix my bite. Have had the braces off for about a year now and always wear my retainer plates to bed. The pain and stress braces give you...I wouldn't want to do it again. Having said that, my teeth are great now. Just don't expect perfect movie-star lookalike results.

Your teeth are really not that bad, the reverse braces (behind the teeth ones) are only available to certain cases and same with the invisalign. Your dentist will be able to tell you what you can get and what you can expect from your choices as there are pros and cons to each,

The main thing is, if you get your braces, wear your plates and don't lose them. I've had friends who had braces, got them off, looked great, and then have it all turned to **** cause they don't wear their retainers.
 
I had braces in 7th and 8th grade..ugliest years of my life (due to also having BIG hair thanks to my sista and the freaking 80's) but at least I got it all over with in those two years. The main reason they suck so bad is because they hurt, especially when you go to your check ups and they get tightened. My mom almost passed out when my dad brought me home after getting my braces...she couldnt believe all the of the METAL. :eek:

You will be ok and happier when it is all over. :)
 
macartistkel said:
The main reason they suck so bad is because they hurt, especially when you go to your check ups and they get tightened.
Click to expand...

yeah, i remember those....that truly did suck! after each tightening, you couldnt eat till the next day cuz your gums would be throbbing, almost pulsating......i say go for it!!
 
I wore braces for 3+ years because I had quite a large overbite and a few crooked teeth. They're really not that bad to wear - you just get used to it and in my opinion the results are worth it.

Nowadays most people don't need braces for as long because they have a "new generation" of them, which my brother and sister both had. Their teeth were worse than mine but only had to wear them for 1-2 years.
 
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