Adult braces and unintended consequences

I thought this was about prnographic printing on the aparatus used to hold up one's pants.....

As somebody who does this for a living, I feel compelled to provide the simplest answer I can to your question:

Complications happen. TMD, for example, can be provoked with fixed orthodontics, but the incidence is very rare (albeit more common in adults than in children). For those that have TMD pre-orthodontics, we teach our students that 70% of the time the TMD gets better, 20% of the time it is unaffected, and 10% of the time it worsens.

All in all, it is a small risk. It's up to you to weigh the risks/benefits and decide on your treatment.

Best of luck!

One of my former office mate's did Invisalign recently. She just had them removed--looks SO much better and none of us really noticed anything when she was wearing the invisalign braces every day. She hasn't mentioned anything negative and has said it was the best money she's spent. If you're really worried about the unintended consequences, it's probably best to consult a dentist/orthodontist. If you live in the US/Canada, crooked teeth (esp if you are like younger and in your 20s, early 30s) are really noticeable. It was actually a dealbreaker on a guy I went on a couple of dates with (I mean, he was already on the fence and then the crooked teeth just pushed it over the edge).

I'll be getting adult braces later this summer and I'm actually looking forward to it.

Short-term hassle for some long-term gain.

Orthodontia is torture. Crossposted in CE.

I had Invisalign a few years back. I thought my teeth looked okay but there were a few issues I wanted to fix. I can say that it was one of the best decisions I could have made. Just go to an orthodontist for a consultation and then make the decision if you feel comfortable.

You must be a real catch. Or maybe you're a plant from the dental industry?

How is my preference for great smile any different than your preference for [X,Y,Z]. I can point to about a million examples in these forums where the old adage of "it's what's inside that counts" hasn't meant shit. Like I said, I gave the guy a chance--TWO chances; he failed to impress; and then there were the teeth.

Blame the fantastic dental hygiene practices of North America... and go see a dentist.

I don't represent this forum. And there's a difference between having standards of attractiveness and having your standard of attractiveness set to where it requires expensive, painful, often unnecessary medical procedures. It's like foot-binding or some shit.

To answer your first question, TMD sort of peaks in the mid-30s and tapers away for most by the mid-40s. Honestly, I can't recall ever seeing a "severe" case of TMD in somebody over 55 or so. Also, in my experience (I'm not sure what the literature says), female TMD sufferers outnumber males by at least 4 times. Knowing that you're a 50ish year old male, I'd say your risk is very low, relatively.

In terms of treatment for those with severe TMD, usually it is palliative more than anything. In other words, it is very hard to treat the "cause" because often the cause is unknown. Stress is a big factor in TMD, despite the fact that the patient often refuses to believe this truth. Successful TMD treatment usually involves simply doing "something"; quite literally the fact that the condition is being treated in some way, often leads to alleviation of symptoms, even if the treatment itself isn't a direct cause of the relief. That said, treatment usually involves a combination of physiotherapy, an intra-oral splint, a stress-relief program, and pain management.

In terms of an orthodontist avoiding full risk disclosure to gain a patient, I'll have to respectfully disagree. In the US particularly, the risk of being sued for lack of informed consent is simply too high to "leave out details"; even here in Canada, most orthodontists will outline the risks of treatment verbally with the patient present (for perhaps 5 minutes) and have the patient sign that they understand and consent to any risk as described.

Go get yourself some braces, or Invisalign if it suits your case!

Hey, I'm in In-Ovation self-ligating brackets right now and am nearing the end of my treatment. My orthodontist is doing the last few stages of 'artistics and detailing'. I've also done a lot of research and that helps out with knowing what a 'good' smile looks like and what and where my teeth/tooth should be.

I've been using www.archwired.com for the info and the forums are great, alot of adults in braces that post there.

I've noticed a slight case of TMJ after getting braced and it's not that much of a problem. I have a bit of slide as well but that I believe will go. My teeth are also significantly more yellow since it's harder to clean but i'll be getting them whitened once i'm debraced, otherwise there have been no complications. The only think that I dislike is that my jaw appears to be smaller, making my mouth look smaller; I have nicer teeth now, but probably a less good-looking smile than before.

I highly recommend you and I have been recommending everyone that have come across asking me about braces to get them. They're the best investment ever; it's worth it.

The problem is you can always find a percentage of cases where problems arise. I suppose the best thing is to contact an orthodontic association and try to get some figures and then decide if the risk is one you are willing to take. I have had my braces in over 18 months, but even if I had known about a risk I would still have got them in.