Getting braces on your teeth at aged 45! What is it like?

When I was a teenager, my canine teeth did not appear. The dentist kept saying to my mum “they’ll come through when they’re ready”. They didn’t....

I managed to hang on to my baby canine teeth until I was in my mid 20’s and they had become so small they needed to be removed. I remember never being offered a brace or any mention of any surgery to help bring my canine teeth down and into place at that time. That said, in my mid 20’s (1997ish) braces we’re not a popular choice of facial jewellery and I suspect I would have said no even if I’d been asked.

So my baby teeth were whipped out and I was given a plate with two false teeth on to replace them and I managed to cope with this for a few years until my new dentist in roughly 2010 took xrays and recommended that I have a brace fitted to attempt to get the canines to move into position.

I said NO, I was working in a prison at the time and the thought of working with young offenders, at my age with a brace was inconceivable, plus I couldn’t afford the cost of £2500 at that point in my life.

My dentist had an idea, “let’s try two Maryland bridges instead”. My dentist wouldn’t fit permanent bridges because of my canines in the gums so thought temporary bridges might be an alternative option.

Until recently, I’ve lived with Maryland bridges in place of my canines which are basically teeth with wings. They are cemented onto the backs of the adjacent teeth and are designed to last about 5 years. I had to adapt pretty much everything I ate as the can be quite fragile and if you bite into anything too hard or crunchy they can literally pop off. My right bridge came off 4 times over 4 years but my left one was as solid as rock.

December 2017 the bridge on my right side fell off again and when I visited the dentist and he tried to re cement it into place it would not fit. It was apparent that my adjacent tooth, the one next to my big front tooth, was no longer straight. My dentist told me I needed another bridge making so it would fit flush to my two teeth. I agreed this but it meant that I would not have my bridge in place for about 10 days.

I’m a school teacher who teacher year 10 - 13, I was mortified as the prospect of this. Having no choice in the matter, I lived with it but did not smile much during that period of time.

It was odd as during that 10 days I had some discomfort in my gum where my right canine is positioned and on my return to the dentist he attempted to fix my new bridge and it was not a great fit. It transpired that in that 10 days the crooked tooth next to my big front tooth had moved further out of line.

So it appeared that my canime, after all these years had decided to start moving and in doing so was forcing another tooth out of the way.

My dentist was able to fix in my new bridge ( it really did feel unstable and was a poor fit ) but it filled the gap for now.

I had X-rays taken to see what position my canines were in and to check if they were fused into the bone and thankfully they didn’t appear to be. So my options were as follows

1. Have my canines removed at the hospital, then look into having two implants = cost £4,000

2. Do nothing and allow my tooth to be pushed out further and keep having new Maryland bridges made every time the fell out = wonky teeth and £300 for each new bridge.

3. Have a brace on my top teeth to widen the gaps, let the hospital expose my canines, anchor them with brackets and slowly pull them down into place = £2800 and an unknown amount of years for this to happen (possibly 5yrs)

I took some time to think about the impact braces would have on my life, i’m a confident person who likes to laugh a lot and smile, especially at work with my students and peers, plus I dance in shows on stage twice a year so didn’t want to become self conscious.

My dentist offered to make me a new plate with two false canine attached that I could wear to make it look like I had all of my teeth, which I thought “ yes this is great, no one will ever know I have gaps or braces”

So I agreed........

I can’t deny that the first few days were painful, eating was difficult as I could use my front teeth to bite into anything as they were really sore and uncomfortable. My crooked tooth that was being pushed out of place by my canine within the first few days was miraculously back where it was meant to be!! I was amazed. Plus the gap between my front teeth is already starting to close up too.

It took a full 4 weeks before the soreness in my teeth ’almost’ got back to normal, I still can’t bite into anything hard so have to break food up before eating it. As my teeth have been moving I have also experienced some sensitivity on the gum line above my brace which has been uncomfortable when I brush my teeth, I’m hoping this will improve over time or if not I’ll just have to get used to it I suppose.

You can forget biting into apples or anything too crunchy as you run the risk of your bracket coming off and with white ligatures like mine you can forget eating curry or anything remotely ‘curry like’ as it turns the white ligs a lovely shade of yellow - YES, I’ve done it, I can vouch for it being true and nothing returns them to their previous colour I’m afraid. Thank goodness mine are being changed tomorrow, they look awful

So there’s not much more I can tell you about my braces journey just now, but I will keep you updated on my development in future hubs.

So long for now and thanks for reading.