PamWaterman

Great Traditional Braces Experience at Age 53 - Tempe, AZ

Well, not sure if this fits your question, but I had four teeth extracted prior to having braces as a teen and it worked fine. The braces closed up the gaps and you'd never know I am four-teeth shy of the full set as an adult (I'm now 57). If you're talking about having them extracted as an adult, I can't say, sorry, but I hope this helps.

"Nice teeth" got the highest rating of things that men and women notice about the opposite sex, per this article. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/02/top-qualities-single-men-and-women-seek-in-the-opposite-sex/ Pretty eye-opening!

Yes! All three of our girls had braces. The first two only needed 18 months' treatment; the youngest needed a tongue crib, then an expander, then tons of elastics, and finally temporary anchor devices (TADs) with more elastics. The process took 6 years; after three years, one day she said, I want a caramel apple. I said no, but she didn't like that answer. So, she went off, peeled, cored and sliced an apple, then put caramel ice-cream topping in a small bowl, and showed me how she could dip the apple slices. She said, It tastes just like a caramel apple, but it won't hurt my braces. I said, What a great idea, and she replied, There should be a whole cookbook of ideas like that. So, we spent a year on research and development fo soft/tender foods, found no one else had done it, and published The Braces Cookbook. Having my own braces three years later convinced me to write The Braces Cookbook 2 of mostly main meals for adults in braces; I had the great luck to make the acquaintance of a professional chef who helped put "gourmet touches" on my basic ideas. Who knew what all those trips to the orthodontist would inspire?

I'm going to run this by some of my professional contacts (I write for Orthotown magazine and I run the Metal Mouth Media braces-resource website) and see if anyone will comment. It may take into the new year, but I'll let you know what I learn. Best wishes.

I had braces at 53 and the results have been great. I do hope it all settles down for you and that you get full use of your newly straight teeth. Wearing the retainer every night becomes automatic and no big deal - I'm sure you'll get there.