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Why I Decided to Get Adult Braces | What I Wore

At 28, married, and working full time, is not when I was expecting to have braces.

My teeth have always been a little wonky. I have a severe under-bite, a canine tooth that’s growing on top of all my other teeth, and teeth growing in all sorts of directions. As a kid, the haphazardness of my teeth never bothered me. So when an orthodontist told me that I would need both braces and jaw surgery to correct my bite, my mom decided to leave my teeth the way they were.

Fast forward a dozen or so years – I’m 28, married, working full time, and I have braces.

leggings knit socks ankle boots

The outfit I wore to go to the oral surgeon to have 4 teeth extracted!

What Changed at 28?

So what changed my mind? Why did I decide to get braces at 28 (I actually started at 27), instead of in my teens like everyone else?

I had options.

As a kid, I remember being told that surgery was the only option to correct my teeth. My mom was horrified at the thought of someone cutting into my face and breaking my jaw. I mean, who wouldn’t be?? At my consultation, my orthodontist told me that I had options. He could correct everything except the under-bite without surgery, and for some, braces ended up correcting their bites as well. If I started the braces and decided I wanted the surgery, I would still have the option.

Taking care of my dental health was a part of taking care of myself.

Self care and self love are two phrases you see a lot nowadays. Self care, to me, can mean different things for different people. As someone who had never put that much focus on her dental health, I realized that taking care of my dental health was part of my self care. It was something good that I was doing for myself. I had wonky, crowded, and misaligned teeth, which meant I had issues with cavities and proper cleaning. But no more!

I was confident and I didn’t care.

You can imagine that there would be some stigma around a grown, working adult having braces. Of course there are other adults who have braces later in life like I do, but the majority of adults you encounter do not. As a teen, a lot of things can be mortifying – glasses, braces, acne, you name it. Although this did not affect my decision as a teen, as an adult, I found that I just didn’t care. I didn’t care what people would think. I was settled in life, with all the core people and things I needed. So really, what could shake my confidence? A handful of metal bits? No way.

parka leggings knit socks ankle boots

My Outfit for the Big Day

Onto the fun part of this blog post! Part of my treatment plan was having 4 teeth extracted to make room for my other teeth. I heavily debated wearing a sweatshirt, leggings, and sneakers to the appointment. However, I decided that even a tooth extraction was worthy of some effort.

I wore leggings and a relaxed fit waffle shirt for comfort, and some heeled ankle booties for style. I love wearing scrunched up knit socks with ankle boots – they look cozy, and make my leg line look less chopped off. Over the top, I threw on a padded parka that cinches at the waist to both keep me warm and give me some shape.

I hope you enjoyed reading about why I decided to get adult braces. In addition, I hope that this helps to inspire anyone who might be hesitating to either get adult braces, or just to do something that might carry some stigma.

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Thanks for reading!

3 thoughts on “Why I Decided to Get Adult Braces | What I Wore

  1. I am *far* older than you and just had my braces removed in August. Sounds like we both have jaw problems? Due to my age, braces were the go to because insurance wouldn’t cover the cost. Although braces have been completely out of pocket. It had gotten to the point where I was destroying my teeth due to my bite. I can tell you, it was very interesting navigating life with both braces and gray hair:)

    1. Sounds like we do! The surgery would have involved breaking my jaw, pushing my lower jaw in, and putting it back together 😕. I’m going to start with braces and see what happens, but unfortunately mine wasn’t covered by insurance either. It cost a pretty penny! Thank you for sharing your story! I hope everything went as you wished with your braces!

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