When I was growing up braces were quite rare. I can think of 2 children who probably should have had them and did not - my sister and a classmate. That it is.
Even now, when someone in their 30's or 40' opens their mouth, I almost never run screaming from the room due to misaligned teeth. Really, I rarey notice peoples teeth unless they are extreme in one way or another.
All of this makes me wonder....have we gone too far in our love of orthodontia? How necessary is it? (and does it work? Is the cost - both financial, time and pain worth it for straigt teeth, etc).
Also for those more in the know...which area is more likely to give you functional problems - misaligned teeth? Overbites? Is there any way to tell now if an orthodontia issue is going to cause pain or decay in the future?
Can we talk about braces?
Kathy
Even now, when someone in their 30's or 40' opens their mouth, I almost never run screaming from the room due to misaligned teeth. Really, I rarey notice peoples teeth unless they are extreme in one way or another.
All of this makes me wonder....have we gone too far in our love of orthodontia? How necessary is it? (and does it work? Is the cost - both financial, time and pain worth it for straigt teeth, etc).
Also for those more in the know...which area is more likely to give you functional problems - misaligned teeth? Overbites? Is there any way to tell now if an orthodontia issue is going to cause pain or decay in the future?
Can we talk about braces?
Kathy
) that is set back farther than all the others. Dentist said because of his bite she doesn't think this one will ever come forward, and there is a limited "window of opportunity" to fix it--like, start sometime in the next year. She said all it would take is 6 months of top-only braces, and he would likely have perfect straight teeth the rest of his life. Total cost: $800. We can do $200 down, and then $100 per month for six months.
I feel like she will resent us if we do the braces for her brother and not for her. But how to afford it?
: I am missing a back tooth (extracted due to decay) and it is not a big deal. My DH had two teeth extracted to make room for his teeth, and once again, he does not remeber it as a big deal - and orthodontia often is!
: Consequently, my bottom teeth are very crooked. Not only that, but one of the teeth on one side grew in laying over sideways, almost flat, going towards the middle of my mouth. It wasn't something that anyone else could see, but it always really bothered me. It was very hard to floss around it, always was in the way of my tongue and so on. Finally a couple years ago (at age 40) I had it extracted. The tooth broke off during extraction because of the weird angle, so what was supposed to be a "simple extraction" turned into a mini surgery where the dentist had to cut into my gums to extract the roots of the tooth. This made the tooth beside the extracted tooth loose. A couple years later, it is STILL loose and the gumline there has dramatically receded, exposing the rooth of the tooth. I worry that it is only a matter of time before that tooth comes out, which will leave a big gaping hole in the right bottom row. Which will cause all of my bottom teeth to shift around and be wierd.
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Anyone got any money they want to give me? 
