Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello everyone! I have browsed these boards my entire 4 year journey and only posted a couple of times; but I am finally braces free as of last week! I firstly just wanted to thank this board and moderators and everyone involved who posts their journey in detail because... well... you kept me sane a...

Wow. That is impressive! I'm the same age as you so my numbers will be the same. Not to mention how many times we would smile in our lifetimes... or even the amount of times we may have hidden our smile to cover up our teeth problems! I think I have smiled more with braces on; probably because how I...

First up, you reminded me to put my elastic back in. Thank you! Secondly; congratulations! I don't know how but my open bite halved between my last two appointments so I am so excited to see other open-bites close up. We are all getting there, we are all so close to enjoying being able to bite throu...

It could be from being "upgraded" a strength in something, but I notice I get two rounds of pain before my next appointment. Usually as soon as I leave the ortho my teeth hurt. It eventually goes away then a week out from my next appointment my teeth start to, what I call, "wake up&qu...

I've had 4 TAD's for almost a year now and had no pain caused by them. I would see the person who put them in, just in case. The only problems I have had were from the gum around it being inflammed, but a veery soft toothbrush dipped in antiseptic mouthwash always helped. I did see my surgeon who pu...

Apologies for rambling! But I just have to share this "protein" thing... it blew my mind! A friend told me only last week that she went to a talk held by a neuro-scientist. She said that thoughts are proteins, and negative thoughts send "bad protein" through your brain. This is h...

TMJJill I have been following your treatment since 2011 when I had started my splint therapy. I am so happy to hear you are near the end! Despite the extra things you still need to get sorted I am so happy for you, and the gap? Personally I like teeth that have a "flaw", it adds character ...

I totally feel your pain! No pun intended. The only advice I have is wax. Lots of dental wax on the coiled sections, you start drooling a bit but its the only way to let your tongue settle down and be able to deal with the ulcers. I've had mine for about 11 months now and it's about a month or two b...

isthistaken, it is absolutely nothing to be worried about at all! I forget they are there along with the braces until I need to clean them. :) I was actually the last patient of the day so my surgeon didn't come to visit me to tell me that while I had to not clean near the wisdom teeth holes (to avo...

Oooh, yes I agree. Don't do it the same week (at least a week) that you have other plans that need you up and about. Especially in case you don't bounce back as well as you thought you might. I had one molar removed in the chair by a dentist and was awake for it before I got braces and I was out for...

I wasn't given any instruction either! I had mine inserted at the same time as wisdom tooth removal, so I was put under and my focus was on the extraction sites. Long story short, I wasn't told anything about the TAD's but they did get inflammed while the extraction sites were healing really well. I...

Hi Everyone, I have 4 TAD's/mini-screws that are like two conjoined circles exposed inside the mouth. How they are going to be used exactly I am not sure, but my question isn't regarding that. None of them have been loaded yet. I bit down on a piece of potato tonight which was soft but still firm, a...

I don't have a TPA but a quad-helix expander. I have had it for 5 months now. It was about a month before I stopped realising the expander was there constantly... I don't really remember it is there until I eat something a bit more, err... 'difficult'. I also managed for four whole days in the first...

houseofcash, try flossing with thread now; if your gums bleed and hurt I'd find a new dentist. I only found out last year that I didn't floss properly from a new dentist I saw (I was flossing the teeth only, not going in under the gum-line), as previously not one single dentist I'd ever seen had eve...

I'm not 100% sure if I will get a night-time splint at the end, but it was mentioned. As my jaw is keeping itself in place for now (it seems) I might only need it on hand for bad days?? Who knows. I was told as well that it takes 2 years for the stretched tendons in and around your jaw to tighten ba...