metal mouthed -- braces in med school

[Delilah]

so i've been advised by 4 orthodontists that i need braces and jaw surgery to fix a bad bite and imbalanced jaw. they said treatment time will take between 18-24 months. i plan on starting orthodontic treatment in my first yr and be metal free before clerkships. not too excited about looking prepubescent again, but i figure its worth the compromise.

anyone wear braces in med school?

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[onemoreyear]

If it makes you extremely self conscious you can probably opt for clear brackets, or brackets on the inner surface of your teeth. My father was experiencing tooth pain which could only be corrected with braces and his orthodontist gave him braces along the inner surface of his teeth. I don’t know how standard that is, but it seems to be an option.

 

[sc71football]

I currently have braces (I actually will get them off in the next 2 months so I will not have them in med school next year). If you are self-conscious about it then I would get the clear looking ones. I have them and some people do not even notice that I have braces when just talking with them casually. Plus they do not make you look like a teenager like the metal ones do. Don't worry though, you get over the fact that you are a "brace face" fairly quickly and you don't even notice that you have them (well accept for when you get your wires changed, owww🙂)

 

[Kthanksbye]

Aside from being a general pain in the ass, braces are no big deal. I just got mine off this summer and have been wearing retainers since then. Pretty soon, I get to wear them only at night. Where I volunteered, there was a resident with braces on. And I've seen several nurses wearing them. I have a few friends who would like to get them as soon as they can afford them. A lot of older people are getting braces these days. I'd say, get your teeth fixed and don't worry about it.

 

[Bacchus]

Do it now, you'll be happier. I think, and I don't sense a lack of it from you, that it can build confidence (having a great smile). That'll shine through even moreso on your rotations and will indirectly help you!

 

[45408]

The second oldest person in our class had braces during first year. Sure, it looks adolescent, but you'll be much happier afterwards that you had them.

 

[Jolie South]

with all the studying in the pre-clinical years, i doubt most of us will have much of a social life anyways. don't think the braces will do too much harm there.

seriously, i've wanted to get braces for a while, but can't afford them. my teeth aren't jacked or anything, but i would like them to be straighter (i have a big snaggletooth).

if you need them, you need them. you'll be glad once they're off. if people make fun of you for having them, they are tools that you probably wouldn't want to get to know anyways.

 

[Bacchus]

Nice smiles are attractive. I always notice them, especially if they're white, heh.

 

[syang]

You could always go for Invisalign depending on how severe your case is. It takes a lot shorter than normal braces and you can't even tell they're on. Plus you get to still eat the same things you do now.

 

[neuro1617]

I know a med student w/ braces...he's a 3rd year. The residents joked around a bit w/ him about it but there was a girl who was about 14 that he made feel better b/c he had braces too...so you can kinda connect w/ some of the kids😀 You could always go w/ invisalign, which I'm thinking of getting myself, if it's not too bad of a case. Some docs will also do a combo of braces then invisalign.

 

[pinkblue]

I wore a headgear (the thing that comes out of your mouth and hooks around your neck) for elem school & braces and retainers through middle and high school. 11 years of orthodontic metal/plastic/rubber in my mouth and it was totally worth it. Suffering through a few years in med school w/ braces is worth having a pretty smile for the rest of your life. Good luck!

 

[Kthanksbye]

I know a med student w/ braces...he's a 3rd year. The residents joked around a bit w/ him about it but there was a girl who was about 14 that he made feel better b/c he had braces too...so you can kinda connect w/ some of the kids😀 You could always go w/ invisalign, which I'm thinking of getting myself, if it's not too bad of a case. Some docs will also do a combo of braces then invisalign.

I connected with a patient as a volunteer once because we both had braces. She came into the ER because her braces hurt, and I showed her mine and we talked about it for awhile. I should have known better, though. No one comes into the ER because their braces hurt unless they're wacky or drug seekers. Sure enough, she started telling me how she found God and asked if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. Fortunately, the doctor came in at that moment and I escaped! Close one.

 

[EBI831]

2 people in our first year class have braces. and no one cares. honestly i had to think hard to recall that they even had them. go for it.

 

[BrokenGlass]

I have seen a guy with one tooth who wore braces. It's never too late.

 

[Funky]

Besides the bleeding gums and getting food stuck in them, braces were no big deal. Go for it! It's a great investment IMO.

 

[PsychPremed]

I had a meeting with this lady from george washington med school and she had braces too. She pointed out that we gotta watch each other's back. She also listened to all my questions for a long time and gave me a lot of good advice. Adult braces unite! 😀

Now if only my interviewer were to have braces too....

 

[centersharpie]

I actually have invisaligns now... and they are pretty awesome. It just sucks because I snack all the time and I have to keep poppin them out and back in again. But it's true, it's a bit more expensive then regular braces but I've only had them in since Janurary and I should be getting them off this upcoming march. It's cool because you can actually see the difference. My smile is a WHOLE LOT straighter then what it was in january. The only thing that sucks is that you put in a new set every two weeks, and it hurts like a mother... but you get used to it after 3 days.

I love them. PM me if you want to know how much it costs.

P.S. if you get an amazing orthodontist, like mine, the first two weeks you can get an at home whitening treatment. you put the whitening gel in the actual trays and wear them for up to and hour or so. So whiter teeth is always a plus.

 

[Concubine]

We should start a thread: Any Premeds with braces out there?

Seriously, it sucks. I've had mine on for about 2 years. I just barely got my bottom braces off, but will have my top set on for another 5 months or so why my implant sets. Mostly it sucks to have braces for interviews. I feel juvenile and have to always wonder if I have a leaf stuck in my teeth.

 

[curlywurly]

Do it!

The small amount of suffering is totally worth it. I had braces for 2 years and got them off at the end of my senior year of high school. According to my orthodontist the metal brackets will move your teeth faster, but I opted for the clear ones. I had to pay a little extra but I think I would have been even more self conscious if I had had metal brackets.

There's nothing better than having a great smile 😀. You'll thank yourself later.

 

[Blade28]

We don't mind seeing them on med students, and as surgery residents we mercilessly tease everyone. 🙂

 

[quiltlady]

If there is a dental school near your med school, you might be able to get a deal on your orthodontia. I know I could get free teeth cleanings from students back in the day.

 

[CCLCMer]

so i've been advised by 4 orthodontists that i need braces and jaw surgery to fix a bad bite and imbalanced jaw. they said treatment time will take between 18-24 months. i plan on starting orthodontic treatment in my first yr and be metal free before clerkships. not too excited about looking prepubescent again, but i figure its worth the compromise.

anyone wear braces in med school?

Yes, some people do. It's no big deal.

 

[dentstd]

What your dentists don't tell you is that those invisible braces, Invisalign,...suck. They're not as effective, and they don't always work. And when they don't work, your orthodontist can't do anything about it. The only reason why orthodontists use them is because they get serious money from it.

You could always get lingual braces (braces put in the back of the teeth). Those are okay. Just a pain for the techs to install.

If you want quicker results, ask your orthodontist about the Damian system. They go in the front of the teeth, but they work much, much faster than regular braces.

 

[brianmartin]

^^^
Actually its the "Damon" system, and hopefully I will be getting these shortly. They are "low force" braces that use a free-floating wire...with appointments every 10-12 weeks instead of 4-6.

 

[NJDIF]

dentstd-


this is the most useful thing said. the invisalign clear braces work. ive put off braces all of my life, and i thought id do it the year id be out the least (last year when i studied for the MCAT). I tried the invisalign, and it worked wonders. no one noticed (took them out at inconvenient times like eating, job interviews, time with girlfriend), and over the course of 8, 9 months, i went from tons of spaces and gaps, to a straight, tight smile that no patient would dare sue for malpractice.

 

[centersharpie]

What your dentists don't tell you is that those invisible braces, Invisalign,...suck. They're not as effective, and they don't always work. And when they don't work, your orthodontist can't do anything about it. The only reason why orthodontists use them is because they get serious money from it.

You could always get lingual braces (braces put in the back of the teeth). Those are okay. Just a pain for the techs to install.

If you want quicker results, ask your orthodontist about the Damian system. They go in the front of the teeth, but they work much, much faster than regular braces.

I don't think that's true at all. I am having a good experience with Invisalign. Yes it's kind of pricey, but at least you get free range on what you can eat. You can eat anything you want. And just like regular braces after I'm done my last set I will have to wear retainers and such. They are the best way to straigten teeth....

^ my 2 cents ^

 

[gujuDoc]

so i've been advised by 4 orthodontists that i need braces and jaw surgery to fix a bad bite and imbalanced jaw. they said treatment time will take between 18-24 months. i plan on starting orthodontic treatment in my first yr and be metal free before clerkships. not too excited about looking prepubescent again, but i figure its worth the compromise.

anyone wear braces in med school?

I have a friend who got them after she got into dental school. Just think that the light at the end of the tunnel after you take them off is better and you'll look a lot better.

 

[Mubash'shirah]

You might feel a bit insecure for the first month or so but I'm pretty sure you'll get so busy you won't have time to think about them and I doubt anyone around you will notice them that much since they'll be busy too.

I got mine a week before I graduated high school and it took most of my friends a few weeks to notice I even had them. And it wasn't as painless as I thought. The only thing that killed me were the spacers.


But seriously, I see more and more older adults with braces these days. It's not that big a deal🙂 Go ahead and get them now and get it over with...

 

[dentstd]

sorry, you guys are misreading what I said. I didn't say that they can't be effective, and that they don't work. I'm saying that they're not as effective and don't always work. And when they don't work, the orthodontist can't do anything about it, because the brackets are made by another entity.

These are not my opinions. They are the words of an orthodontist. Believe it or not, they tell dental students different things than what they tell their patients. Based on pictures of the final results of various Invisalign patients, their teeth aren't quite as straight as those of traditional braces. They can come close, but the extra, hefty premium you pay gives you inferior results.