Metal Mouth Message Board

I had a small space when de-braced. They closed it with the retainer.

I had a suresmile wire before jaw surgery for the final detailing. I saw the orthodontist a month after the surgery. He gave me elastics to close my bite, which I wore for a month. One month after that (3 months post-op) I was de-braced. The suresmile wire did a great job of detailing so my teeth we...

Orthodontists would not use a metal in your mouth that would corrode or rust

I remember those days! It was really frustrating. I used to get my hubby to bite my hangnails off (sorry if gross to some people)

Most drug stores carry orthodontic wax.

That's not a good idea.

I have an appointment to check to see if I am ready at 4 months post implant (in March)

The hooks go between the brackets. They are for elastics.

Lower jaw surgery will not reduce the length of your face. The lower jaw can only move forward or backwards. The upper jaw can move forwards, backwards, up or down - which changes face length.

Whitening before braces can affect the ability of the brackets to adhere to your teeth (this has been confirmed by Dr. Rick on this board). It's probably best to wait until you are done with your treatment.

No, it's a molar that you can't really tell is missing when I smile, so I don't have a fake tooth. My essix retainer is made so that it retains each tooth on either side of the extraction side, then the retainer covers the extraction site. So it covers each tooth and then is melted down I guess so i...

Didn't you also wear removable retainers at night? I have to wear my essix retainers every night for a year and then maybe 3 times a night for life.

It was super easy. Actually easier than the initial extraction. Dr. gave me freezing just like for a filling. The implant took maybe 20 minutes or so. When the freezing wore off, I was a bit achy, but was eating normally by the next day. Just had to be careful not to eat anything with seeds etc. I w...

I just got an implant placed 2 weeks ago. The cost was $2520.00. The ct scan that was required beforehand was $340.00. I also had to have a stent created by my dentist (before the CT scan) and I believe that was around $200.00 I think the cost most people approximate for an "implant" usual...

I see that many people who have bonded retainers only have them on the bottom, but I have both arches bonded. I asked the ortho's assistant why most people only have them on the bottom. She told me it had to do with the person's bite. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. On the top arch, 4 teeth are i...