Hey Mark!
My experience of adult braces, what nobody will tell you is they are a lifetime commitment, once your teeth are where you want them to be you’ll need to maintain them forever; adult teeth will move and try to return to their pre aligned place or at least somewhere else in your mouth, you’ll need fixed retainers at the rear of your teeth (thin strips of metal) that last as long as they last, my first ones lasted two years, I’m on my second and they’re three years and going strong.
You need removable retainers usually at night which are akin to a gum shield, the Invisalign removable retainers are great, come in a pack of three, I paid £300 for mine.
As you say, Invisalign and the Smile Direct options don’t work for everyone, I had tooth coloured / white fixed braces for three years.
They absolutely murdered for months, you’ll become an expert with dental floss, interdental brushes and the very best of all, dental gum which you basically use to cover the ends of the metal strips that move the teeth; the metal ends poke the shit out of your gums until they feel akin to someone else’s mouth believe me!!
Don’t bother with anything cosmetic, get the full metal braces, they are the cheapest (or were when I chose wrong) and they work quicker!
Embrace the metal, forget what they look like as nobody cares; you’ll get used to talking with them in about four weeks and stop spitting at everyone when your mouth moves in about two weeks!
All that said, I love my teeth now and I hated them previously. They’re a lifetime investment and costs thousands initially plus at least a grand a year (UK prices) for cosmetic hygiene (they clean between your fixed retainers properly and isn’t available on the NHS) plus whitening, retainers, trays etc.
Worth every penny.
Finally, invest in an electrical tooth brush with plenty of soft heads and find that cosmetic hygienist before you get the braces; you’ll need both, former several times a day and the latter every four to six weeks!
Enjoy  |
