T Nation

Adult Braces

Off Topic
#1

I know T-Nation is probably not the site to be getting information from, but then again there are lots of very intellegent and worldy people here.

I have a rather large gap in my teeth. As a kid growing up in a single parent household, we did not have much money, so when my mom wanted to get me braces, I always told her no because I knew she coudln’t really afford it.

However, now that I am nineteen and in college it has become a rather important issue that I would like to get fixed. I have heard that there are braces that are only worn at night, and I have also heard that there are invisible braces.

I was wondering if anyone on here knew about some of the options for fixing gaps between teeth for adults? Thanks.

#2

The invisible braces are a little more expensive. Ask an ortho if you can get those, which will depend on how fucked up your teeth are. I think you can still tell that you have braces even with those though.

Another option is clear brackets (I’ve currently got these because of broken jaw where the oral surgeon basically fucked up my teeth). I’ve actually hung out with old friends before who didn’t notice I had braces until about the 3rd or 4th time being around them (and that was at a strip club where the lights made them stand out more). They suck but they’re not as bad as regular I guess. Still a pain in the ass.

#3

http://www.invisalign.com/generalapp/us/en/index.jsp

#4

[quote]carter12 wrote:
The invisible braces are a little more expensive. Ask an ortho if you can get those, which will depend on how fucked up your teeth are. I think you can still tell that you have braces even with those though.

Another option is clear brackets (I’ve currently got these because of broken jaw where the oral surgeon basically fucked up my teeth). I’ve actually hung out with old friends before who didn’t notice I had braces until about the 3rd or 4th time being around them (and that was at a strip club where the lights made them stand out more). They suck but they’re not as bad as regular I guess. Still a pain in the ass.
[/quote]

And what was the cost of those? ( I do not have dental insurance)

#5

[quote]BarneyFife wrote:
And what was the cost of those? ( I do not have dental insurance)[/quote]

The price for those are the same as regular braces. I don’t have the exact number in front of me but they definitely weren’t cheap.

#6

I believe the going rate for braces today is your left arm, or right if you prefer.

#7

[quote]BarneyFife wrote:

And what was the cost of those? ( I do not have dental insurance)[/quote]

Unless you’re in the mood for taking out a loan from the bank, you might want to hold off on major cosmetic dental work until after you have some pretty serious dental insurance.

Dental work is incredibly expensive. Maybe Prof X will work on you for cheap though if you ask nicely, and enlist in the military…

#8

I called a local dentist and they said somewhere in the 3500 range. Anyone know of a cheaper way of fixing a gap between two front teeth?

I know that this will sound incredibly vain, but how much does good dental work figure into a mans attractiveness.?

#9

[quote]Bauer97 wrote:
BarneyFife wrote:

And what was the cost of those? ( I do not have dental insurance)

Unless you’re in the mood for taking out a loan from the bank, you might want to hold off on major cosmetic dental work until after you have some pretty serious dental insurance.

Dental work is incredibly expensive. Maybe Prof X will work on you for cheap though if you ask nicely, and enlist in the military…[/quote]

I will actually be becoming a corrections officer in less then a year, and a LEO shortly afterwards. I spose it can wait for then.

#10

In some people, a gap between the teeth is very attractive looking.

If you really want to fix your teeth, I would say (like the old Nike commercials) “Just Do It”.

First, consult with a cosmetic dentist and an orthodontist to see what your options are, the best results and financial expense.

Some orthos allow installment payments. My ortho allowed me to pay $800.00 to start the braces and the rest I paid in a few installments. We were a small budget family growing up too and I saw a dentist once ever when I was twelve.

I had the clear type braces in my mid-twenties (I’m now in my thirties), they were the clear brackets. The clear brackets are much thicker and stand higher on your teeth than the metal ones, in order to make them stronger. I wore them for 11 months then the clear type of braces only at night for the rest of my life.

Before getting the braces, I had all my impacted wisdom teeth removed and a bunch of dental work (fillings, etc.) The total for all was $4,000.00.

Best thing I ever did. I’ve always smiled a lot and fixing my teeth removed a lot of self consciousness in my life. It seemed to give me a whole new face.

So BF, I would say that if your gap bothers you, change it.

Good luck!

#11

Bro your smile is incredibly important as far as meeting people and shit. It’s gay but if you’re not smiling when you first meet someone, they (especially girls) usually think you’re a dickhead and/or not interested.

This is my problem socially. I don’t smile a lot mainly because of TMJ which leads my face feeling like shit a lot anyway, so it takes a while for people to realize I’m a nice guy.

I actually have to have oral surgery to set my jaw straight so that my bite won’t be so fucked up (I can’t bite anything right now, only chew food). In about a year after all this is over, I’ll be feeling a lot better. We all care about our appearances (hell this is a bodybuilding site) so don’t feel bad about that.

Oh yeah, I knew someone who had a gap in their front teeth and had something like a filling put in there. It wasn’t noticable at all and made their smile look a lot better. I think it was a filling, not sure, but definitely worth looking into.

#12

One more thing, me and my parents paid $1500 down and now pay around $145 a month.