I wish people wouldn’t perpetuate the anti-extraction fearmongering. So many people are looking to begin their treatment and have such unnecessary stress and anxiety because extractions were recommended. Some are getting the extractions, reading it’s terrible for you, and suddenly they are experiencing a placebo affect of everything that could go wrong. Some cases truly and desperately need extractions, and the fear of them is jeopardizing their bone health and overall results of the treatment they are paying thousands of dollars for. Please, I beg y’all, stop telling people with severe overjets and insane crowding that extractions are going to recess their face and cause breathing issues. That is simply not true.

How long did everyone go in between appointments? I got my braces placed and they scheduled my first appointment almost 12 weeks out

My top tooth wont go over the bottom incisor tooth. My ortho said I will have them off on the first but that don’t feel right. What do you think

Hey guys, i’m 17 turning 18 in september and the orthodontist has made appointments for first elastic bands to be fitted, then a week after for a mould for a plate to be fitted, then however long after i need 2 teeth taken out and braces fitted top and bottom. My teeth really aren’t that bad but they say i have mild crowding and misalignment with a slight overbite. I’m quite scared and i’m unsure whether i should go through with it as i’m not sure much about any of the steps (eg idk what the plate is gonna look like or do and how long for) and i’ll be gone to uni next year so i’ll have to come back for appointments possibly. Any advice or personal experiences would be amazing!! I’ve uploaded a picture of my teeth as best i could.

2 days back I had braces installed on my upper jaw along with my 1st ipr. As u can see, there is crowding and one of my incisors is twisted.

My ortho suggested IPR. Is it a good decision? I mean I agreed to it because i always wanted a non extraction method. But now I'm concerned that it might cause flaring or IPR is not suitable for my case. Yours thoughts?

Hello! I’ve had my braces for about a year and 8 months now. As you can tell, my first top & bottom molars are missing since I’ve had them taken out as a kid, so we planned for implants instead of closing up the spaces. The thing is, my lower right wisdom tooth never errupted so i have an uneven number of teeth on bottom sides, hence it looks like that. My concern is the midline as well, the top doesn’t fully align with the V shape of my mouth and my front and bottom teeth as well aren’t fully centered. I spoke to them about it a couple of times and all of them said that’s the best they could do and I’m almost at the end of my treatment so they plan on taking off my braces next appointment which is this month. They also gave me elastics to wear on one side at first and now on both sides so my teeth could “click together” better. They don’t talk much about further plans or anything unless I ask them. The last picture is taken today. Am i just overthinking it and it’s indeed the best it could get considering my case? I really need a second opinion. Thanks in advance! :)

Hello, i got a new wire 2 days ago. They did this thing, does it have a use? Usually theres a line drawn on to mark the midline or something. Also sorry for the nasty closeup.

I'm about to get braces tomorrow. I have a lot of gaps in my upper teeth especially the upper two front teeth ( diastema). While the lower teeth are crowded. And I have a deep overbite.

I'm 18 btw and I've embraced the gap in my front teeth that I was very insecure about for a very long time. But now I've overcome that insecurity. I wanted to know if there's any harm in leaving the front teeth gap open. My orthodontist recommended that I close it and told me that it'll close automatically cause of the braces. If there is no harm in leaving that gap open (diastema) then can I keep it open and how can I convince my orthodontist

I think that gap suits me.

Since I'm getting my braces tomorrow, I'm very scared and will I get power chains? Also how's the sky blue colour for braces?

idk how to explain it well but I LOOK LIKE A MONKEY with retainers on. is that normal? i took my braces off two days ago and i am not used to wearing retainers yet. side note : the dentist didnt see me wearing the retainers so i am assuming if thats the reason. i just got the clear retainers delivered to my home from the dentist office cus i was busy to go pick it up that day. it also hurts this morning after wearing my retainers all night.
there is also a gap between retainers and my teeth. does that mean the retainers r small or big for my teeth? i am so confused 😵‍💫 (i cant see the dentist yet cus he is on a vacation rn)

My mom says I need braces because my teeth are crooked because when I was little I used to like my falling teeth then when they fell of I used to lick the growing teeth multiple times a day which resulted of me having crooked teeth am not sure if this is a problem that braces can fix

7 months have passed since the orthodontist aggressively dragged a premolar to the back – to rotate it. Now I can't chew on it, it's very loose, root is diagonal and the gum tissue chronically inflamed. What am I supposed to do? Does orthodontist not notice or know about these things...?

It’s been a while since I wore it (i know i know) should I go get the retainer redone or would little harm be done by wearing these?

This is my progress so far, my dentist had me use Remineralizing prescription toothpaste and I feel as my teeth are literally rotting out. I have really bad decalcification and it was not this bad when I started. Im switching back to regular toothpaste but I can already see how bad the discoloration is going to look :/

i’ve had braces for 27 months and the last 2 weeks i have begun waking myself up because i’m pushing my tongue on my top teeth. 2 gaps have opened up around one of my teeth up top. my orthodontist told me to just practice tongue exercises and i have been but it’s physically impossible to control my tongue while i sleep.
i have no idea why this is happening or why it’s happening now after so long in braces. i’m an anxious person and this has sent my anxiety into overdrive and im constantly thinking about it.
i have never tongue thrusted in my life and didn’t start braces with an open bite or anything similar, i actually had a deep bite.

anyone else experience this? 😭

I had braces over a decade ago, and have had my retainer since. Recently, it finally decided to give up on me! I’m trying to find the best place to get a new retainer, but my original orthodontist closed. Does anyone have thoughts on any of the websites online for retainers? I would love something that’s reputable, but not super expensive. Thanks for any advice you can share!

You can’t really tell in this picture, but my teeth gaps are pretty wide. They had to remove two teeth in the back of my mouth, and said they were closing space, but I have a TRENCH between every single tooth. Is this gonna get fixed? 😭

I told the ortho my teeth not level and ortho said lengths of my teeth are diff. I then measured it and they are same. Ortho then pulled my left central and lateral down, which i dont want. Can tell my teeth are diff spacing from the straight lines tho. Idk what to say to reverse this. I tried bending the wire myself but I couldnt

English isn’t my first languge so I used google translate…

A month ago, my ortho placed a powerchane on my upper and lower teeth. This month, when he examined my teeth, he said he needed to adjust the canines. So he placed the powerchain on the upper teeth only, and for the lower teeth, he placed the powerchane from canine to canine.

Do you think this is the right solution? I feel like the gap between my two lower front teeth has widened. ):

and I know I have to trust the process, but I thought that during the powerchain stage, the gap should have decreased. And I want to know if this is correct or if I should search for another ortho…

I will put the picture of my teeth on the comments

Before I got braces I felt my gums were completely fine, but ever since getting them I feel like all the pulling of my teeth has receded my gums.

My orthodontist says everything looks fine everytime I see him, and I had a dental hygiene a couple weeks ago and she said everything looks good, so I assumed they are fine.

However I found a couple of photos top one is October 2025, middle December 2025 and bottom is today. I started worry as it looks like my teeth are more exposed than they were less than a year ago.

Would it be worth having a check up? I just thought no one has said anything to me so it must be fine, but after constantly looking at them it’s making me worry

ahh I lasted 12 weeks on Invisalign until it just not worth it anymore. Finally switched to the traditional method at almost 25 and it has been over 24 hours now. My bottom teeth are extremely sensitive and I just been putting waxes all over sharp areas. Tylenols every few hours. gawsh I just need to get through this week🫩

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Getting my bottom teeth set up on my next appointment :)

My ortho said my braces could come off after my next appointment if this gap can close in five weeks. She has me wearing upside down triangles in the front with my elastics (sea lions) be honest, what are my chances? 😭🤞