I am 30 years old, have had braces for the last 6 months and will be having a jaw surgery called Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy (BSSO). Basically someone will cut through my jaw bones, slide my jaw forward and bolt it in place to correct my overbite.
So how do you end up needing this at 30????
The teen years
I was late for my baby teeth to come out, in fact my last one fell out at 14, but other than that my teeth were trouble free, fairly straight, never sore and because of that there were few dentist and no orthodontist appointments. At 17 I started grinding my teeth and after a recommendation from the dentist I went to talk to an orthodontist.... his response, I needed braces and jaw surgery. I was just about to finish matric (Grade 12) and spend a year in London, there was no way I was going to have braces then. So I ignored him....
The 20's
I continued to ignore the orthodontists recommendations, my teeth grinding got worse and I was given a guard to wear at night. I continued to avoid dentists!
Fast forward to 2013, my wonderful man has proposed and my passable but less than perfect teeth become an issue for me. I am 100% certain that I won't wear braces though and go to a doctor to talk through any cosmetic dentistry options. I was about to be thoroughly told off and put in my place!
My teeth grinding had gotten worse and my overbite was a major cause of this. He started asking if I suffered from headaches and my ever increasing, ever more severe migraines came to mind. Although the exact cause of migraines is unknown TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) is a common trigger and something I needed to sort out in my need to control the migraines.
I head off to my orthodontist, Dr Steven Flax. Wonderful, well recommended doctor but definitely not on the cheap side! My options are for Invisalign braces (clear 'plates' that slowly mouth your teeth into position) or traditional braces. Seems like a no brainer, not so much.
Oh the pain
After 2 weeks with braces I felt desperately sorry for all my school friends that had worn braces. I didn't anticipate just how painful this would be! My teeth throbbed, my gums were aching and my cheeks were full of holes and ulcers. I wanted them off! I've learnt a few tricks along the way
Tips to cope with adult braces
1) Dental wax, all over your teeth! Wax can be tricky to get on and feel weird but its the best thing to stop your ulcers getting worse
2)Andolex gel. I bought every mouth/ulcer product on the market. Even clearing out boots on a trip to London. They all work marginally but don't clear the ulcer. Be craeful with some, excessive use can actually cause and ulcer instead of healing it.
3) Warm salt water. I bought a bunch of mouthywashes, some even with salt but nothing works as well as salt and water, old school :)
Off to the surgeon now to see what he says!
Ally
So how do you end up needing this at 30????
The teen years
I was late for my baby teeth to come out, in fact my last one fell out at 14, but other than that my teeth were trouble free, fairly straight, never sore and because of that there were few dentist and no orthodontist appointments. At 17 I started grinding my teeth and after a recommendation from the dentist I went to talk to an orthodontist.... his response, I needed braces and jaw surgery. I was just about to finish matric (Grade 12) and spend a year in London, there was no way I was going to have braces then. So I ignored him....
The 20's
I continued to ignore the orthodontists recommendations, my teeth grinding got worse and I was given a guard to wear at night. I continued to avoid dentists!
Fast forward to 2013, my wonderful man has proposed and my passable but less than perfect teeth become an issue for me. I am 100% certain that I won't wear braces though and go to a doctor to talk through any cosmetic dentistry options. I was about to be thoroughly told off and put in my place!
My teeth grinding had gotten worse and my overbite was a major cause of this. He started asking if I suffered from headaches and my ever increasing, ever more severe migraines came to mind. Although the exact cause of migraines is unknown TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint Disorder) is a common trigger and something I needed to sort out in my need to control the migraines.
I head off to my orthodontist, Dr Steven Flax. Wonderful, well recommended doctor but definitely not on the cheap side! My options are for Invisalign braces (clear 'plates' that slowly mouth your teeth into position) or traditional braces. Seems like a no brainer, not so much.
Braces versus Invisalign
Invisalign is nearly impossible to see and a great alternative for braces but it has some downsides.
1) If you are getting a jaw operation done you will need to have braces anyway. The braces are needed for a while before your operation to get your teeth ready, during the operation so the hooks can be applied and your jaw kept in place, and for a while after the operation during the bone healing.
2) The cost. I hadn't anticipated quite how much braces cost, and how little medical aid covered. I am on Discovery Classic Comprehensive, a relatively good plan and the dental benefit is approximately R20 000 a year. This includes dentist/orthodontist etc. The Invisalign system for my relatively straight teeth would cost R70 000 and ceramic braces R55 000. This is without surgery if you need it, and retainers, and cleaning appointments.
So I went with ceramic braces and I have been fairly lucky in that I have a small mouth and you rarely see my teeth, in fact some people only noticed months later that I had anything. But braces come with many downsides........
Invisalign is nearly impossible to see and a great alternative for braces but it has some downsides.
1) If you are getting a jaw operation done you will need to have braces anyway. The braces are needed for a while before your operation to get your teeth ready, during the operation so the hooks can be applied and your jaw kept in place, and for a while after the operation during the bone healing.
2) The cost. I hadn't anticipated quite how much braces cost, and how little medical aid covered. I am on Discovery Classic Comprehensive, a relatively good plan and the dental benefit is approximately R20 000 a year. This includes dentist/orthodontist etc. The Invisalign system for my relatively straight teeth would cost R70 000 and ceramic braces R55 000. This is without surgery if you need it, and retainers, and cleaning appointments.
So I went with ceramic braces and I have been fairly lucky in that I have a small mouth and you rarely see my teeth, in fact some people only noticed months later that I had anything. But braces come with many downsides........
Oh the pain
After 2 weeks with braces I felt desperately sorry for all my school friends that had worn braces. I didn't anticipate just how painful this would be! My teeth throbbed, my gums were aching and my cheeks were full of holes and ulcers. I wanted them off! I've learnt a few tricks along the way
Tips to cope with adult braces
1) Dental wax, all over your teeth! Wax can be tricky to get on and feel weird but its the best thing to stop your ulcers getting worse
2)Andolex gel. I bought every mouth/ulcer product on the market. Even clearing out boots on a trip to London. They all work marginally but don't clear the ulcer. Be craeful with some, excessive use can actually cause and ulcer instead of healing it.
3) Warm salt water. I bought a bunch of mouthywashes, some even with salt but nothing works as well as salt and water, old school :)
Off to the surgeon now to see what he says!
Ally
