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Life with orthodontic braces as an adult: what happened at my latest tightening appointment

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Welcome to my latest Braces at 30 blog post where I share my experience of wearing a brace as an adult with updates from each appointment.  I had my braces fitted when I was 30 years old.  I’m now 32 and this month marks my 2 year brace anniversary!  Some people are lucky enough to have a brace nowadays for only six months or so, but my teeth had so many issues I needed the full on train track braces with an estimated length of 18-24 months.  I passed the 18 month mark a long time ago, so knew it was more than likely going to take 24 months.   I will be having my top brace removed this month and the bottom will stay on for a while to close gaps and try to lift a tooth up.  But, the end is finally in sight!

Click here for my last update in case you missed it.

Braces at 30 update

Life with orthodontic braces as an adult_ What happened at my latest tighte

16th Tightening | 24 Months

I’m so amazed it’s been two years already.  It’s flown by.  One of the scariest things about getting a brace is the duration.  At the beginning two years sounds like such a long time and it could even be off-putting for some people, but the sooner you make that decision and get started, the sooner it will all be over and hopefully you’ll think it was worth it!  I know both me and Ben are dying for my brace to be removed now.  Though two years has flown by, it has also felt like this brace has been on forever and I can’t imagine brace-free teeth!  They’ll feel so different.

I won’t get too excited though as I need to wear a retainer full time for a while and have my false teeth fitted after six months. 

Here’s what happened at my appointment:

Top teeth

Last month one of my canines had started twisting so I had to go back a wire to twist it.  Luckily this had twisted back into the correct position and my wire is now the thickest stainless steel.  I just have a tiny 0.5mm gap to close where my false tooth will be to reduce this overall gap and this should be done by my retainer mould appointment!  I go back on the 20th of this month to have  the top brace off and a mould taken from my top teeth for a retainer, all being well.  Very exciting.  Then I’ll have a fitting for the retainer the next day.  Let’s hope nothing major goes wrong with my teeth beforehand and I can stick to this plan.

Bottom teeth

I’m sure my bottom right lateral incisor is leaning in and not perfectly upright.  It’s causing it to look much shorter than the other teeth, but I’m certain this is because it’s on a slant.  For this appointment the wire was just tightened and more elastics added to close gaps.  We were just closing the front four teeth after filing away some of the sides of my teeth to straighten the edges and bring them together, but now more elastics have been added to bring more teeth together.  Where the front four had closed more, it had created a big (couple of mm) gap next to them so this all needs closing.  I think it will be a few more appointments to close all these bottom gaps, file the teeth and get them as perfect as can be with no gaps or leaning teeth.

Hopefully by the time the bottom brace is ready to come off, I will already have had the top retainer on for a while and be ready for my false teeth.  My orthodontist predicts 6 months of the retainer at the top before I can go ahead and fit the false teeth.

Before and after photos of braces so far!

Here are some before and after photos to show the progress:

teeth braces march 2018 before and after photos 2 years

teeth braces march 2018 before and after photos 2 years (1)

22 months brace timeline before and after photos adult experience wire trai

 

My entire braces & false teeth journey from start to finish!

First orthodontist consultation

Making the decision to get false teeth and braces at 30

Braces booking appointment and moulds

Dentist appointment to check teeth for removal

Two weeks until I get braces

Two baby teeth removed ready for adult braces

Top brace fitting

Braces at 30 - day 2

Braces at 30 - day 3

One week with adult braces

18 days with adult braces

One month with adult braces

What happened at my first brace tightening appointment

3 months with adult braces

4 months with adult braces and another tightening appointment

One week after my third braces tightening

Bottom brace fitting and biting blocks

5th brace tightening

6th brace tightening and update

7th brace tightening and update

Elastics added to my braces from top to bottom

False tooth impression taken for my brace

Temporary false tooth on brace

Braces closing gaps and improving overbite

18 months with a brace

13th braces tightening appointment

22 months with an adult brace before and after

15th tightening appointment braces photos

2 year update with adult braces

17th brace tightening at 24 months with an adult brace

My last braces tightening appointment?

The embarrassing day I get my top brace removed

Essix retainer with false tooth - fitting and photos

Dental implants consultation

Can I get dental implants?

20th braces tightening appointment

Peg tooth extraction

28 months - bottom brace removed!

12 reasons I hate the clear Essix retainer

Hawley retainer fitting appointment

The partial denture disappointment

5 weeks until I get my bridges and false teeth!

The final result of my braces at 30 and false teeth

Before and after braces photos

My teeth whitening experience

 

Braces blog posts

12 reasons I hate the clear plastic Essix retainer

Braces at 30 - read my entire adult braces experience here

Disappointment with my NHS denture

The decision to have two bridges with false teeth

Was having braces and false teeth worth it?

How much do adult braces cost? + 4 ways to finance them

Adult braces: what are biting blocks?