I'm Sick of the look of braces

[dvdrw]

i put braces for more than 10 months

i chose a wrong dental clinic
this dentist is not a very good in braces skills....

the reason i say that is because of i told him that, i put braces is because of the extreme overbite, which my mouth cant close properly, with a bad teeth on top that facing out

the problem is, he telling me that i need to be patient, because he will correct my bottom teeth(until complete, close up all the space) which can take up to 2 years +++, then only will starts to correct my overbite

o...come on, it is unfair, why everyone can have their teeth correct together(top and bottom)
my bottom teeth are not crooked, but just have some spaces, he just keep on closing that space, and dun care about my upper teeth at all

even i met my fren yesterday, he asked me why my teeth still not move yet, as we put braces almost the same time, but he went to a extremely expensive place, which is 2x of my braces price

his teeth is even crooked and bad aligned than me

i dun have bad alignment, just overbite.....

so i have concluded myself that, i need to wait atleast 3 years + to finish my braces, and atleast 2 years with that dam extreme overbite look

and im 18 this year, as u know, most of the ppl has finished their braces in this age, and the problem is, whenever i meet new friend, they will always stir at my teeth

and u know, as im 18, i got my work, when i talk to my client/customer, same thing, their first reaction is to stir at my teeth for atleast 5 seconds, some even ask me whats wrong

i have no more self-confidence at all since i put the braces...

and im having student exchange interview tomorrow, so i do need u all opinion on me.....im dam worry right now, what if they ask me to show them my teeth?

[Brace Face]

You poor thing, sounds like you are having a hard time. It is really important that you are happy with your orthodontist and feel confident that he is doing what's best for you. Maybe you should get a second opinion from another ortho if you are not sure yours is doing all he should be.

You are still really young for braces and 2 or 3 years is nothing compared to a life time. I do understand how you feel however, especially at the 10 month mark. I felt really low when I got to 10 months, I think it was because the initial excitement of getting them was over but I felt like I still had so far to go. Don't worry about people staring at them, they don't mean to it's just something that catches their eye when they look at you.......we all do it, even if it's a big spot on someones face! They don't mean anything by it.

Try to speak to your ortho again and tell him what you have said here. Even if it does take more than 2 years you need to feel happy that it is the best course of treatment for you. Good luck.

[Sunny]

Hi dvdrw ... your post is difficult to read, so would you please use written English to help people read it and respond. Your abbreviated text is for swapping messages with friends, not for a forum like this.

I'm sorry that you're not feeling confident with your ortho, as that will tend to make your time in treatment less happy. I must share with your that bite issues usually take longer to correct than alignment. Teeth usually straighten easily and quickly, but it can take a long time to get the bite where it needs to be. Before correcting the bite, it's important to have the alignment correct, so that the ortho can see the correct way to fix the bite.

Hopefully it won't take two years for your gaps to close, but sometimes it does, as each of us is individual and our teeth move differently. If your friends give you a hard time, remind them that your teeth are your's ... they're not the same as anyone else's and they'll move in their own way.

If people stare at your teeth, ask them why? I think it's really rude, as this is such a temporary thing and no one's business. Do these same people stare at people who wear glasses?

It's time for you to realise that braces don't remove your self confidence ... this is something that only you can do. To help yourself in this area, you need to be more positive with your approach, which I'm guessing can be hard when you're 18. One thing to think about is that very soon you're going to have an amazing smile and bite, and unlike most of the people on this site, who're two or three times your age, you can look forward to many decades of this amazing smile ... as long as you continue to wear your retainers for life!

Good luck with your student exchange interview. I have no idea why they'd ask to see your teeth, but if they do they should be suitably impressed that you're making sure your bite is going to be corrected. Orthodontic work is a sign of a person who's sorting out issues that can cause many problems as they get older!

I think it's time for you to get positive and be grateful that your teeth/bite is being corrected. There are many thousands of people who can never have ortho treatment due to not being able to afford this luxury. Orthodontic treatment is a choice and those of us who choose it are very fortunate.

Good luck!

[RicanMedic78]

I would ask your ortho if he can taylor your treatment to your concerns. I know exactly what you mean about the top and bottom being done more closely together. I had an opposite issue when I started. He worked on an overbite I had on top and even though I had to eventually get them on the bottom as well, he chose to wait till the very last second to place them on the bottom (a year and a half). After which they had to settle for a few months before I could even wear elastics which was very frustrating. I then said the same thing you did. Why couldn't you have done this months ago when nothing was going on with the bottoms at all! Eventually it got done but I spent 3 1/2 years with braces for a minor overbite that I believe would of been done much much faster. I even had a friend with a more serious condition as you did, and even she was shocked that I had still had them on while she had hers off for over 6 months before me. Yet she started months after I did.

SO basically I feel your pain.... I think the many orthodontist dont want to overwhelm their patients with too many things at the same time. I think they also need to take into account that our tolerance levels are different. I would of welcomed a little more discomfort to get the process complete faster... so long as no root harm is done, GO FOR IT! But thats me....

[Sunny]

RicanMedic there is no way an orthodontist wants any patient to be seeing them for longer than necessary. To do that would meant that you're taking the chair time of a new paying person ... so it would meant they'd go broke.

Plus there's no way anyone other than an ortho can comment re how they'd treat your teeth. I guess all I can add is that what you see can not be compared with another person. Sometimes people with amazing looking teeth need the most work, it's all to do with the way your teeth are in the jaw bone, the size of the jaw bone and it's relationship to the rest of your face.

It's a pain when treatment time goes over ... as in my case, but sometimes this is what's needed to get the best results possible for you.

Orthodontics is a slow process and it takes a lot of patience to get through it. Teeth that are moved too quickly risk root reabsorption, which may result in them falling out.