Thursday, April 8, 2010

Regan's Ramblings

Too Old For Braces?
That was a question I asked myself several years ago when I first considered improving the appearance of my teeth. It was one of those “gosh I am no longer a young guy anymore” questions I think we all have. Is it too late to try to make myself look better? Before we get off track, let me make it perfectly clear (as our infamous former president once said) that I am not one of those guys who is going through a mid-life crisis (or am I?) and I am not a fan of plastic surgery or any other what could be termed “artificial means” of improving my appearance. I do not want at any time to be injected, inserted, inflated, or deflated, or any of the myriad means we can use to change our appearance. I am a strong believer in eating right, exercising, and maintaining balance in life as the most reliable and best means of remaining healthy and youthful in body and spirit. I just was asking myself would it be too self indulgent to get braces on my teeth at my ripening age?

Like many of you old enough to remember, my elementary school would have an annual dental day where we would all line up, class by class, and a dentist would briefly examine our teeth. I distinctly remember the dentist saying to me and then checking the box on the form to take to my parents “recommend orthodontist”. Of course, when I brought the form home, my parents just said “honey, your teeth are fine”. Sound familiar anyone? Well, because my teeth weren’t really bad and were relatively free of cavities, I just didn’t think about it for another, oh 40 years! But as many of you who are now parents know, we started putting braces on our kids’ teeth as early as the 3rd grade in some cases and the use of an orthodontist is as common for our kids  as the 6 month check up was for us. All three of my kids had braces and all three have incredibly perfect teeth and beautiful smiles. And then shockingly in the last few years, my kids started giving me a hard time about my teeth! The nerve! I figured I had invested about $15,000 or more on their perfect smiles and now they are giving me grief? Oh the injustice of it all! Well, I thought about it for about two years off and on and the more I thought about it the more I became convinced I should do it. My wife, being the angel that she is, told me I was being silly and that my teeth were just fine and that I just needed to whiten them. I said oh thanks!

Now, not only were my teeth in need of braces, but now they need whitening too? Oh the pain and reality of middle age is sometimes tough to take! Well practical guy that I am, I just figured that the most inexpensive way to improve the appearance of my teeth was to whiten them and I thought I could do that without being too self indulgent. I paid a visit to my dentist and took the steps to have trays made and soon was feeling very good about my newly bright white teeth. Incidentally, I do recommend this as a boost to your self esteem. I immediately felt better about my teeth and even received a few positive comments (not that I needed that kind of shallow reinforcement, at least that is what I kept telling myself). But white teeth and all did not satisfy my adorable kids with the perfect smiles who remained unafraid to point out my flaws! I kept trying to think of a reason that a man my age could get braces without it being perceived as a total self indulgent endeavor (other than getting my kids off my back). For years my “former” dental hygienist would comment on the crowding of my lower teeth and how difficult it was to clean them (I finally changed my dentist about 10 years ago after years of this semi-annual reminder of how difficult my mouth was to work on). My new dentist is a goddess by the way and I never miss an appointment!  My new dentist, and her dental hygienist, never pointed out my flaws, but responded very positively when I asked about whitening, and also when I had my several conversations with her about braces. She is the one who encouraged me to move ahead and that she had numerous patients in their 40’s or 50’s who decided to get braces and were very happy with the result. She even opined that it just might have a positive effect on plaque build-up and gum health by realigning. Now that was good reason! It would enhance the health of my mouth! I had my excuse! As I considered this option, my good friend and fellow Original Not dead Yet Guy, Vince, showed up at lunch one day with a mouth full of metal! It was all the additional reinforcement I needed to get me over the hump.

I immediately made the appointment with the orthodontist recommended by my goddess dentist and was on my way. I was fortunate that my “bite” didn’t need adjustment so I was a good candidate for “Invisalign”. Invisalign does the same job as traditional braces but are less visible, but somewhat more expensive. They are a series of trays that slowly but surely, just like traditional braces, realign your teeth. And unlike my good friend Vince, no rubber bands! I began my regimen and in 18 months, I had the teeth that my kids could no longer abuse me over. It was well worth the time invested and my teeth have never been healthier as a result. Much less plaque during my routine cleanings, my gums are healthier, and most importantly, I smile even more now than ever. And isn’t that what life is about?  So if you are thinking about getting braces on your teeth and you are no longer in your teens or twenties, I say go for it! You are NOT DEAD YET and should never be afraid to look your best. You deserve it!