Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Crooked Teeth.

I have an aversion to crooked teeth. I'm sorry to say this, as I know there are people around with crooked teeth, but yeah, it bothers me.

(total side note. I use spell check and the only words that usually come up are my made-up words or words that need capitalization and I don't. But this time, "aversion" came up. Wow. I've been spelling it wrong for, well, just about ever. I spelled it "adversion". Heh. What do you know? Totally wrong. Quincy has pointed out other words I constantly misspelled since it was on a message board and no spellcheck. Quincy - help me out here. guarantee and tomato, right? Damn it. Spell check just told me I did guarantee wrong again. I really want that 2nd a to be an e.)

I'm talking ~really~ crooked teeth though. Like an orthodontist's wet dream type.

You couldn't of guessed my amazement when I found out ~I~ was going to get braces due to an overbite. Woohoo~ Braces. I was in 9th grade.

I went in for the braces-on appointment and left in tears. I didn't get the cool braces. I got the super dooper Giant-All-The-Way-Around-Your-Teeth braces. Like the ones on your molars - I get all around. My parents made the decision to go this way because they were faster due to what I needed to get done. I needed to have 2 teeth removed on top and then they pulled back the front of my mouth to fix the overbite. With "normal" braces, it would have taken another year. Or maybe I'm just remembering wrong and the regular braces wouldn't of worked. Regardless, they were huge and ugly and I hated them. HATED them. HATED THEM.

It was all still a normal experience. I ended up with the rubber bands later and got to use cool colors. But still, I was a severe metal mouth. No one made fun of me, thank god, but still.

I got them off in 10th grade and got a retainer. Okay, that's cool - just the wire, which I liked. I also got that bottom wire thing - the permanent wire attached to the inside. Things went as planned and my overbite was corrected and my teeth were straighter.

I don't know how long that bottom piece was supposed to stay in. I knew it was almost permanent, finally taking it out years down the line, but mine broke early. They removed it, but I never went in to get it replaced. And now my bottom teeth are crooked.

The thing I don't like about other people? I have. Serves me right, doesn't it?

I'm thinking of getting adult braces. But damn, I also remember the pain they caused. As a kid it's one thing. As a functioning adult with a full time job and three (hopefully. I still take nothing for granted) kids, I don't think I'd deal will with mouth pain. (I'm specifically not fixing that last sentence because Deb pointed it out.)

27 comments:

Sarah said...

When I was a kid, I wanted a retainer so bad (I thought it was cool that a girl in my class could play around with the retainer in her mouth; which now I think is pretty gross). Anyway, I didn't get a retainer, but I did get braces in 5th grade. I had a space between my 2 front teeth that was so big that I could fit my tongue (sideways) in the gap. They also had to pull 2 teeth because apparently I have small jaws. I only had the braces on the top four, but I'm so glad I had them because otherwise I'd probably be wearing a bag over my head today. :)

But yeah, I thought the colored rubber bands were cool. There was a girl in my class who had to have the rubber bands that went VERTICALLY on the sides and I thought those were disgusting. It looked like she had slobber in her mouth whenever she talked.

Sara said...

I am with you. I never got my "permanent" retainer replaced and now my bottom teeth are crooked too! Sucks, but I do not want braces again.

nancy said...

Yeah - the rubber bands always went vertically~! That was what was so cool about them!

IdleMindOfBeth said...

me too, me too!

I had braces in elementary school & Jr High. got the retainer, didn't wear it, now have somewhat crooked teeth. Stoopid teenager!

the worst part? The DAY I was to have the metal mouth removed, Doc decided that I needed them to stay on - for another 6 months.

And was stoopid enough to tell me this while leaning over me, still inspecting my mouth.

He's lucky I didn't remove his ability to have kids right then & there. STILL PISSES ME OFF!

Debz said...

i had the same all the way around braces - but for 2 1/2 years. blech!
in an effort to keep you "corrected", you typed this:
"I don't think I'd deal will with mouth pain."
but "will" should have been "well"

(heh i love typos)

Alison said...

I still have my bottom retainer in! The dentist said that if he removed it, my teeth would move. I have an overbite now on the top b/c my retainer broke a year after getting it. I think there is new technology in braces like clear braces and stuff.

kjames106 said...

I just got my braces on 2 months ago. It's really not that bad at all. I'm probably not the orthodontist's wet dream scenario, but I definitely have an over bite and a "fang" that sticks out. I got the clear braces and will need 4 teeth pulled. They are sore for a couple of days, but not so sore you have to take anything. At least not for me. I thought it was going to be terrible, but nope, no big deal. They are probably more advanced now. Anyway, gotta see pics if you get them! :-)

Io said...

I still have my bottom retainer! I want to have it removed, but have been too lazy to find out what I need to do for that.
I got braces when I was a sophomore in high school, just as everyone else was getting theirs off. It was all for one lousy crooked tooth. And then I never wore my top retainer, so it's crooked again. Doh.

Motel Manager said...

Even if you had worn your retainer as long as you were supposed to, bottom teeth still end up crooked again. Check out other people's mouths. I'm serious. Most people who had braces as tweens/teens have at least some crookedness on the bottom teeth by the time they're 30.

(I'm no orthodontist, but I did notice this in my own teeth, and I conducted my own informal research on others' teeth after I noticed this! :))

Ali said...

I had my bottom inside wire in for years. I'm talking YEARS. When it finally broke off I went in and begged them to put another one in. They refused, and my front two bottom teeth are ever so slightly turned. I think I'm the only one who can even notice it, but still.

My brother took his before he should have and now his teeth are jacked up. I tease him all the time!

Kim said...

I had braces as a kid too (7th to 9th grade) then a retainer for about 5 yrs. My teeth aren't crooked, but they did move some since then! I am a horrible speller too. And now with spell check programs, I just type away and click to fix it. Great for proofreading, horrible for teaching me to spell!

Anonymous said...

I've just finished Invisalign. It might be more expensive, but it's worth it. Being able to take the trays out was the best part of it. And it only took a year, and I had serious problems.

Anonymous said...

I need braces badly but as a grown-up I'm having trouble getting myself to an orthodontist.

LOL at the spelling! Now that I'm re-learning the language i find I'm spelling a lot of things wrong. and your spelling is fine! :-)

The Captain's Wife said...

I wore braces for 3 years...and have crooked bottom teeth now!

After all that, my Ortho never gave me a retainer.

I have looked into Invisaline instead of braces. Mainly becasue I remember teh pain of the metal cutting up the inside of my bottom lip. Even with that lip bumper it was awful!

Check out that option.

Jen said...

I was one of those people with horribly crooked teeth. Add to that my severe (over 1cm) overbite and a top jaw that was too narrow, I was not only a orthodontist's wet dream but a jaw surgeon's too. My parents never got me braces, so at the age of 23 I finally paid for them on my own. Then I had two teeth pulled on the bottom when my wisdom teeth were pulled. Then I had major jaw surgery requiring 3 weeks off work and my mouth to be wired shut. And sadly the first surgery got messed up so I had to have surgery again a year later. Finally after all of that and 4 years of braces my teeth are straight. And you know what, it was well worth it! The difference is so dramatic and it really helped my confidence.

Kim said...

I never had braces growing up, even though I desperately needed them and a palate expander. Unfortunately, my "parents" didn't care. And so I spent several years in adulthood hating my teeth. I rarely smiled or laughed in public, and if I did - I covered my mouth somehow. It really, really hindered my life and happiness. So please, have some compassion for people with crooked teeth - you just never know their situation.

That being said, I did get braces as an adult. Actually, I just got them off a few months ago. And they were the metal kind, not clear. And I hated them, and they sucked. And I had a palate expander, too. And that was terribly painful. But I sucked it up, paid the $5k my-grown-up-self, dealt with the pain and the fact that I looked like a child, and now - almost 2 years later, I couldn't be more pleased. It's INCREDIBLY changed my life. I would show you before's, but they're BAD. I can't wait to have some Zoom whitening done, now. I can laugh and smile around my husband, in pictures, around friends, and in public... and that's something that I was never, ever able to do before. It's so hard to have something that absolutely disgusts you about yourself and not be able to do anything about it until you can afford to, but such is the case for a lot of people. So yeah, my teeth look WAY better and they're WAY healthier.. but I didn't just do it for vanity's sake. I am a MUCH happier person now.

nancy said...

Kim, I definitely have compassion. I just simply notice it. It's one of those things I notice. I never make fun of anyone or anything like that. I know it would be horrible to live with.

Please, don't think just because I admited having the adversion that I'm a terrible person.

I'm happy you are happy with yourself now though.

Christina said...

I got braces when I was 20! And had them taken off at 23. I couldn't wait to get cool colored retainers. Turns out that my bottom teeth moved too and now instead of wearing my retainer only at night I have to wear the lower one all the time. I have a horrible lisp. Maybe they can straighten your teeth with a retainer like mine instead of getting the braces again.

Chastity said...

Could you get one of those invisiline things for your bottom teeth? Those seem pain free.

jenn said...

I had the braces with 'permanent' bottom retainer for years too. I still wore my regular retainer sporadically way after I was supposed to. Anytime I felt like things were shifting I'd pop it back back & I always wore it overnight. Despite all that- my bottom teeth have slightly shifted & the main reason for the braces- my inwardly turned teeth next to the canines- have been slowly turning for years. I smile a hell of a lot, and every now & then I cringe at photos because of my janky little teeth (because they are turned they look TINY!). But it usually doesn't bother me, cetainly not enough to get the full metals again!
Althought th Invisaligns are supposed to be great- they could be exactly what you are looking for!

Jamie said...

I am the exact same way!! I think I critique other people's teeth because I am so self conscious about mine. Of course, that doesn't really make sense but it is the best I can do.

Denise said...

I have a thing about crooked teeth too. But sometimes it just becomes part of the person and doesn't bother me at all. Like with Patricia Arquette. She has crooked teeth, but I think she's just so cute (especially in her younger True Romance years), that the crooked teeth become part of the charm.

I had braces TWICE as a kid. The first time was in 4th grade because my top front adult teeth came in really high and wouldn't come down on their own. The second time was to correct an underbite. I complained both times and my parents told me I would thank them later. Huh, guess I should thank them one of these days!

Kim said...

No one said you were a horrible person :O).

~Joe said...

I agree with the others get invisaline, I had a friend that had them as her retainer after she got her braces off, they are pretty noticeable so I don't get why they claim they are invisible, but I hear they are a lot better than braces

Mazzy said...

I, too, wore Invisalign at age 26 and it was worth every penny! Not terribly painful and so cool that they could be taken out. My teeth were perfectly straight in 9 months. No one even knew I was wearing them, either!

Anonymous said...

I've now had my braces on since March 21 (CD1 for my pregnancy was the very next day). They hurt enough for me to take some ibuprofen for a day or two, but after that it was OK. I was on a soft food diet for the first couple of weeks, but I have a feeling you're much more of a trooper than I am. I've had them adjusted once since I got them on, and there was no pain afterwards.

I've got at least another 15 months, and one extraction to get through. With all the movement I've seen already, I can't wait to see the end result!

Oh yeah, and I've got purple bands on right now...not nearly as fun as I thought it would be.

I'd say if your teeth aren't that bad, I'd go for the invisalign. I've only heard good things about them!

Miss Feisty said...

This post was hilarious to me!

And I'm so sad I missed the chance to comment on your WIC post...amen & amen!

Oh & I am with you...totally plan to work once we have kiddos...it's the only thing that makes sense for us! :)