I didn’t really want to talk about this (I drafted all these posts and saved it instead of publishing on the same day) until I got my braces on. I didn’t want to have to explain or justify my decision – I don’t feel up to it. I can hear it in my head – “Why are you wasting money? You don’t need braces – your teeth are fine!”
Now I’m contradicting myself because I’m explaining it here because of what my mom said to me yesterday when I told her my decision – “Is it permanent?”
“What do you mean, permanent?”
“Will it move around again like last time and you have to do it again (and pay all that money)?”
Well, teeth would still move (that’s why braces work! Phew!), that’s why one would need retainers. It took a certain amount of time to move them into their new position, what makes one think that you don’t need anytime to keep them in that new position?
I know (ever since my teeth moved out of its alignment sans retainer) that I WANT to get my teeth fixed again. It irritates me to think that I went through the treatment (and my parents, the money they forked out) for nothing (well, straighter teeth than before but not ideal – I’m not aiming for perfect). You heard me right – EVER SINCE I was 16, I wanted to get them done again. Then when I was 18 (?), all four of my wisdom teeth erupted. Thanks. More shifting.
My problem in the past was not compliance.
Honestly.
My problem was that the retainer was taken away from me and I was told that I don’t need it anymore. If I still had it, I would still wear it – because I’d rather wear it at night for LIFE than to have to fork out the money to fix it again (I’m stingy like that).
My teeth are “fine” because I’ve had braces before and it sort of “failed” because my teeth shifted and I have a bad bite. I’ve always wanted to re-fix my teeth again but never got to because of the cost. I look forward to having a better bite so that I would not wake up with TEETHache and also to prevent my teeth from being worn down unnecessarily.
I don’t remember if my previous orthodontist explained anything to me about my bite or whether correcting my bite was ever an issue when I was a teenager. Perhaps he did explain it to me because I remember the perfect bite model. Hmmm…
Now that I’m an adult and doing my research before taking the plunge, I now know that a proper bite is important – it’s a part of being a healthy individual. Having my teeth look nicer is an added bonus. So, yes mom, it will be permanent this time and if I were to face the same problem that I had last time, I am more vocal now.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
My upper jaw is fine thanks to the retainer. However it snapped after about 10 years but i made a new one.
But… i was not given a retainer for the lower jaw. Just a piece or metal cemented(?)behind the front tooths. Even that snapped recently. Just like you, thanks to the 3rd molars, my lower jaw are all crooked now.
Wah! At least you made new one when it snapped. Mine was too late because teeth shifted after ortho removed (and did not return it to me) my retainer. I didn’t know the permanent retainer also can snap? Why you so ganas?
10 years in the mouth wor. Anything also die la.
It’s the metal piece that snapped. Nothing lasts forever I guess.