5 ms·

I had braces for six years, and if I had to get my teeth straightened today, I would probably go this route. Don't forget, braces mean: - More cost - Monthly

by Magi604 12y ago

I had braces for six years, and if I had to get my teeth straightened today, I would probably go this route. Don't forget, braces mean: - More cost - Monthly trips to the orthodontist The physical act of having to go to the orthodontist every month for years costs you time and money in terms of gas, parking, etc, not to mention the time cost. Think of your schedule today. Can you fit in another 2-3 hour monthly appointment? You probably can, but it will probably be at the expense of another activity you'd probably rather be doing. Emergency maintenance is sometimes needed (the braces can get damaged from accidents, sports, etc.) Also, braces are UGLY. Wow, I wish this was around when I needed braces.

shitlord 12y ago
I wish I could have done this too. Braces were painful and actually scarred the inside of my cheeks. I can actually feel where the wires sliced my cheeks. Something similar, in another domain, is PocketDerm. They are also pretty cheap, and hopefully a good sign of things to come: cheaper access to specialists for simple problems.
wldcordeiro 12y ago
It astounds me that in all the years of braces being in use they haven't found a way to make them less ugly. It's like they're frozen in time.
- nilkn 12y ago
  There's Invisalign, but it can easily cost twice as much as braces.
- to3m 12y ago
  Virtually everybody I know who's had braces on their teeth had them when they were 13, 14, 15 years old - presumably at that point your adult teeth are through but they (and you!) are still new enough to be flexible. So there's probably not, historically, been much demand. The parents don't want to spend extra on making the stuff look nice, so they just tell their children to put up with it. And their children don't really have another option, so they put up with it. "Character-building" was the stock phrase my school teachers and parents would use for stuff like this. I'm sure I've seen people with whitened fixed braces (perhaps made out of plastic rather than metal?), so clearly there have been at least some attempts to make them look less ugly - but I'm not sure it represents a huge improvement. If that costs extra, it's not great value.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 12y ago
    Not sure about the flexible thing. Every month after seeing the orthodontist I spent two or three days laying in bed for hours crying, unable to eat. The pressure was awful, but mostly only when I had the time to focus on it.
    - greedo 12y ago
      Yep. My dentist keeps mentioning the need for braces for my children, despite one being age 8 at the time. I hated having my braces, and my teeth ended up shifting at a later age anyways. The pain was terrific, and the idea of putting my kids through that when they don't even have all their adult teeth seems like the worst of scams. Makes me wonder if my dentist gets a referral fee from the orthodontist.
PhantomGremlin 12y ago
Six years seems like an eternity for braces. Your case was probably "complicated". You probably wouldn't have been a good candidate for mail order braces.

by Magi604 12y ago

shitlord 12y ago

I wish I could have done this too. Braces were painful and actually scarred the inside of my cheeks. I can actually feel where the wires sliced my cheeks. Something similar, in another domain, is PocketDerm. They are also pretty cheap, and hopefully a good sign of things to come: cheaper access to specialists for simple problems.

wldcordeiro 12y ago

It astounds me that in all the years of braces being in use they haven't found a way to make them less ugly. It's like they're frozen in time.

nilkn 12y ago
There's Invisalign, but it can easily cost twice as much as braces.
to3m 12y ago
Virtually everybody I know who's had braces on their teeth had them when they were 13, 14, 15 years old - presumably at that point your adult teeth are through but they (and you!) are still new enough to be flexible. So there's probably not, historically, been much demand. The parents don't want to spend extra on making the stuff look nice, so they just tell their children to put up with it. And their children don't really have another option, so they put up with it. "Character-building" was the stock phrase my school teachers and parents would use for stuff like this. I'm sure I've seen people with whitened fixed braces (perhaps made out of plastic rather than metal?), so clearly there have been at least some attempts to make them look less ugly - but I'm not sure it represents a huge improvement. If that costs extra, it's not great value.
- TheSpiceIsLife 12y ago
  Not sure about the flexible thing. Every month after seeing the orthodontist I spent two or three days laying in bed for hours crying, unable to eat. The pressure was awful, but mostly only when I had the time to focus on it.
  - greedo 12y ago
    Yep. My dentist keeps mentioning the need for braces for my children, despite one being age 8 at the time. I hated having my braces, and my teeth ended up shifting at a later age anyways. The pain was terrific, and the idea of putting my kids through that when they don't even have all their adult teeth seems like the worst of scams. Makes me wonder if my dentist gets a referral fee from the orthodontist.

PhantomGremlin 12y ago

Six years seems like an eternity for braces. Your case was probably "complicated". You probably wouldn't have been a good candidate for mail order braces.