• queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    ·
    7 months ago

    Yeah I quit that shit after the first year.

    16 years later and one tooth kinda moved out of alignment but it’s nowhere near what it was before braces.

  • chungusamonugs [he/him]@hexbear.net
    cake
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    7 months ago

    I’m 13 years in. I hated having braces and was so eager to get them off and then they’re like “surprise! You’ve gotta do extra work every day for the rest of your life now or all that expensive dental work you paid for goes out the window!!” I actually need it though. My front teeth will go bow-legged within a week if i dont. One time a dog chewed my first one up and the original ortho wouldn’t make me a new one because they just trash your models after yours is made. Cost $300 to have one made again.

    This is a roundabout way of saying I feel your dread, comrade i-spil-my-jice

  • Red_Eclipse [she/her]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    7 months ago

    Yup I just got my braces off too. Gotta wear them 24/7 for like 3 months, then nightly probably forever. After years of having shit in my mouth I’ll be happy when I can just wear it at night.

    • Cummunism [they/them, he/him]@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      10
      ·
      7 months ago

      im in my late 30s and thinking about adult braces. Probably should have had them as a kid. Top teeth arent too bad but the bottom are pretty bad. Just the thought of having to be an adult with braces makes me sad but luckily im in a committed relationship and not trying to date new people so that helps i guess lol

      • rootsbreadandmakka [he/him]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        7 months ago

        my mom just got invisalign as adult braces. Not noticeable like metal braces, you just have to take it out every time you eat. I’m not sure if it’s as effective as metal braces but might be something to look into if you’re hesitant about getting the metal ones.

  • rootsbreadandmakka [he/him]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    7 months ago

    I’ve done it for >10 years.

    Some people won’t wear it and their teeth won’t move at all for the rest of their life, some people won’t wear it and then will have to do braces again later in life. For me I grind my teeth and my tongue is slightly too big for my mouth so I need to wear it. Every time I put it in I can feel how much my teeth have shifted lol.

  • alexandra_kollontai [she/her]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    7 months ago

    I wore them for a year or so.

    Then I went on a trip and forgot them, when I got back a week later they didn’t fit on my teeth.

    5 years later one of my teeth has shifted kinda annoyingly and is acquiring black parts because I can’t brush it properly in its new spot.

    Still NOWHERE NEAR as bad as it was before braces, but I have a lot of life ahead of me.

  • TraumaDumpling [none/use name]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    7 months ago

    they said that to me also and i continued to never ever put them in again for the rest of my life as soon as braces were off. i will have crooked teeth before i wake up every day to a mouthful of dead mouth skin cells and dried saliva pressed up against the roof of my mouth and tongue. its bad enough without the layer of plastic sealing it in. so far so good but i bet some people probably have it worse than me and would need surgery otherwise. i’m not a doctor so don’t take this as medical advice.

  • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    7 months ago

    That’s really not so bad. What’s worse is permanently having crooked teeth.

    Putting something in your mouth that doesn’t obstruct anything is a tiny price to pay. It’s easier than brushing your teeth.

    • Sopje@hexbear.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      7 months ago

      I very much prefer to have crooked teeth than eating plastic every night. The only reason for me not to have crooked teeth would be looking more conventional and I don’t care about that.

      • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]@hexbear.net
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        7 months ago

        Eating plastic? The polymers used for them don’t really break down, and it doesn’t taste like anything as long as you wash them every so often.

        I had braces for over 2 years and wearing retainers at night was nothing compared to that level of discomfort.

        For me I would prefer to always be able to bite and chew things with my teeth lining up, to have a smile that looks even, and not to notice anything out of order when I move my tongue around.

        • Sopje@hexbear.net
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          7 months ago

          Everyone has their own experience with it. I was just sharing mine. To me it definitely felt like eating plastic because I have sensory issues and I am very angry with my orthodontist for not telling me before I got braces that wearing a retainer every night would be needed.

  • Palacegalleryratio [he/him]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    7 months ago

    No, I kept mine going for 12-18months, with a taper off and my teeth have been fine since, they may have moved slightly but not noticeably.

    Though I had to have a couple of teeth removed to make space, so that means there isn’t the pressure from an overcrowded mouth pushing them back into the wrong place again, so your mileage may vary.

  • lurkerlady [she/her]@hexbear.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    7 months ago

    i did mine for like a year and then stopped doing it, turned out mostly OK. they definitely wiggled around and arent in the same spot but it seems to have been better for my bite overall