METRO DETROIT – At nearly 70, Ruth Foon did something that most people her age might not think of doing, she had her teeth straightened.
"I had moved my teeth by grinding them, even on the top, and it just was bothering me. The bite was very bad," Foon said.
Foon said family and friends thought her teeth looked beautiful, but she said they didn't meet her expectations.
"A friend of mine said 'Why are you bothering to do this, you're going to be dead in 20 years? and I said because the time I really want to enjoy and I just feel it looks good,'" Foon said.
"We see a lot of adults now rebooting their careers at age 50, 55 and going in a different direction, a different field and it's like, 'OK, I got to take care of this,'" said Dr. Scott A. Tyler.
Tyler, an orthodontist with offices throughout metro Detroit, told Local 4 that many adults 50 and older have made changes to correct their smile.
"Our adult population is now a full 30 percent of our practice which was unheard of 20 years ago," said Tyler.
Tyler said many of his adult patients never had orthodontia, their teeth moved as they aged.
"Arch form is the number one thing that we're trying to address in adults because the natural aging process is for the arch to narrow. That's where we see the chipping and the fracturing," Tyler said.
The wire braces have been the most traditional form, but now clear ceramics brackets that are clear or the color of your teeth are more cosmetic and have become common.
Dr. Tyler told Local 4 the number one choice for adults is the plastic tray.
"Plastic trays-- extremely discrete, very comfortable. And the ability to remove the tray for eating and brushing is worth the price of the admission," said Tyler.
Foon really likes the trays.
"Invisalines are thin. You put them on and don't even hardly know they're there," Foon said.
Tyler said adult patients are different both psychologically and physically because they've usually had prior dental work.
"Adults, once you have an implant in placed, that's a deal breaker. We're not moving your implant. So we're working to your implant or around your implant," Tyler said. "For adults that have a lot of previous restorative experience, they have a lot of porcelain in their mouth, it's very difficult to glue braces to their teeth."
"You wouldn't do this if you weren't motivated, believe me," Foon said. "At my age I want to be comfortable and I want to look good."
Foon said she wished she would have done something about her teeth sooner.
"If you're in your 60s and you see that teeth don't look great, do something," Foon said.