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Rex Everything · Joined: 27 Mar 2006 Posts: 2

I have the scariest smile you can imagine. Generally my teeth are healthy enough but they are really crooked and all over the place. I have the problem of overcrowding and never used to wear my brace when I was younger. As a result my teeth ar all over the place and I regularly get mouth ulcers from where they rub and cut the inside of my lips.

I am so desperate to have a decent smile and to stop the rubbing that I'd consider having them all taken out and have dentures instead. My dentists has tried rubbing down the teeth which cause the ulcers but that hasn't helped.

I'm 31 so it's unlikely the NHS will pay for it.

I've asked this on other forums and all they tell me to do is try a self-esteem course and other such rubbish - what I really want to know is how to I approach my dentist about this and how much is it likely to cost?

andrea10163 · Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:00 pm Post subject:

You are never too old for corrective treatment. I have known a 50 year old with braces. And look at Tom Cruise..he boasted a dental brace for a while as an adult to achieve a better smile.

Best thing to do would be ask your dentist, then take it from there.

Good luck

totalwise · Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 6 Location: London

I am 23 and I am about to get my braces off 4th december, I had them put on at 21.

OK, I'm not as old as you, but 31 is still quite young.

You can get all sorts of braces that look OK cosmetically. You can have clarity braces where the squars that are glued onto your teeth are made of see-through ceramic and not metal, and is very discrete.

Have a see through tray that gently pushes your teeth back into place.

Or lingual braces that fit on the inside of your teeth.

Pulling all your teeth out is a really drastic measure, god forbid what people will think if you're dentures were to come off whilst conversing with someone in a public place.