Calling all Uni students with braces!

I went to the orthodontist the other day for an assessment and my consultant has basically said I'm ideally looking at 3 years of treatment (train track braces), which will eventually give me a really nice smile.
She said that alternatively, I could choose a different sort of plan which would only take 2 years BUT this wouldn't be as thorough and wouldn't give me as good an end result.

I'm nearly 16 at the moment (Y11) and before now I was hoping to be brace-free for Uni, like all my friends. I don't mind the idea of braces but I hoped it would all be finished by then and I would have a bit of a fresh start. Anyhow, that's what I've always imagined. If I choose to go with the three year plan, this will mean having braces for at least my first year (unless I take a gap year etc.), which isn't ideal.

However, I've always been pretty self conscious about my teeth, they're in a pretty bad way (overjet, crowding, somehow managed to hold onto a baby tooth!) and I would love to have the better end result.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the 3 year plan but...

What I want to know is: how many students have braces around this time? Does it affect your everyday life in negative/positive ways? Is it remarked upon etc?

(Sorry for my lack of detail about treatment, I'm getting more info and deciding what to do on my next visit in a couple of months!)



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I went to the orthodontist the other day for an assessment and my consultant has basically said I'm ideally looking at 3 years of treatment (train track braces), which will eventually give me a really nice smile.
She said that alternatively, I could choose a different sort of plan which would only take 2 years BUT this wouldn't be as thorough and wouldn't give me as good an end result.

I'm nearly 16 at the moment (Y11) and before now I was hoping to be brace-free for Uni, like all my friends. I don't mind the idea of braces but I hoped it would all be finished by then and I would have a bit of a fresh start. Anyhow, that's what I've always imagined. If I choose to go with the three year plan, this will mean having braces for at least my first year (unless I take a gap year etc.), which isn't ideal.

However, I've always been pretty self conscious about my teeth, they're in a pretty bad way (overjet, crowding, somehow managed to hold onto a baby tooth!) and I would love to have the better end result.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the 3 year plan but...

What I want to know is: how many students have braces around this time? Does it affect your everyday life in negative/positive ways? Is it remarked upon etc?

(Sorry for my lack of detail about treatment, I'm getting more info and deciding what to do on my next visit in a couple of months!)



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

a suprising number of students had braces in first year (including me) and no-one commented. the only thing you need to consider is if you'll have to go home for appointments regularly

True or if you live very far away from uni then transfer to a closer one? if thats possible i dont know

i wasn't allowed to transfer but that might be an option for the OP

im 16 and had braces at 14 (i think might have been 15) and i was told three years and my teeth sounded like yours with overjet and crowding etc and guess what i had my braces off within 11 months. they said three years! i had them on in one year in october and the next year they were off in september! so i shouldnt worry! and my brother is in uni and its quite suprising how many people actually have braces! its like a fashion statement in his uni! so i shouldnt worry! braces are cool and they make you look good!

it only affects your life in a bad way once you get them and for the first few times you have them tightened and it only hurts a little bit so dont worry

Wow! I was so jealous of a lot of my friends that had them on for 11 months and I thought that would never really be a possibility or me, so that's kind of cheering thought I agree, braces are so much better than they used to be and are quite fashionable now, only the coolest people have them, obviously thanks for the advice! Would you choose the three year plan if you were me?


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i wasn't allowed to transfer but that might be an option for the OP

Haha! Everyone was in my school! Braces are like the trend now! And i had the three year plan and so did my brother (his teeth were beyond bad) and we both only had them on for a year. 2 years at the most for him! But i would go for the three year plan if i was you because the longer you have them on the better your teeth will look after! Plus the more cooler you will look! Hahaa

Honestly, no-one will hardly even notice. More people noticed when I had mine off to when I had them on just because they were so used to seeing them. Go for the 3 year option, you may as well do it properly

Even if you do have to have them for the full three years, nobody at uni will care! Plus, you should think about the time after you get them off, would you rather have great teeth for the rest of your life, or okay teeth? If you only end up with okay teeth, you'll regret it and might even end up getting them again when you're older. Go for the three year plan! Just don't get any coloured braces, really not a good look.

yeah, 3 yr plan would definitely be better in the long run; much as I wouldn't mind having braces, having them again at 30 is a little different a couple of my friends got white braces because they thought they'd blend in a bit better, have you found that to w the case or would you just go for silver?


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When I had them at 14 I had the silver ones, but if I were to get them now I'd go for white. They are a little less obvious. Whatever you go with, just forget they're there, if you're outwardly self conscious about them it'll draw attention to them. Most people you meet will have had braces anyway.

why dont you get those new almost invisible ones?