Metal Mouth Message Board

I've found that almost all of the canned goods in the section of the grocery store devoted to "holiday cooking" have been really awesome. I'm referring to pre-made fie fillings (pumpkin, apple, cherry) canned yams, tinned chicken/beef, chicken and beef broths (or veggie), plus all of the a...

Permanent numbness is unlikely, but becomes more likely the older you are. If you are still young, the chances are very very low. Plus, those who DO have this kind of numbness rarely consider it life altering - just a bit annoying. It's usually just the center of the bottom lip that remains numb, an...

I don't know how to make it stop, but it's actually an amazingly good sign that you're this tingly and crawly so soon. It means your nerves are regenerating quickly, so in the best case scenario, you recover feeling much sooner than normal. I had my version of this surgery done on the 25th, and I'm ...

Turbinates are round boney shapes in the sinuses that swirl the air around when you breathe (like a turbine, hence the turbinate name). They tend to get overgrown, especially when there has been an injury to the septum (the dividing bone between left and right sinus). When the septum is shoved to on...

With all facial surgeries, it usually takes a full year before all of the swelling and scar tissue land on their final appearance. If you don't like it after a year, you will never like it. There are almost zero surgeons who will do a revision surgery before this time because of this (your starting ...

My ortho (and virtually all other orthos) have payment plans so you can space out the payments evenly throughout your entire treatment. For me, this works out to $200/month because my treatment is only 18 months long and my ortho is expensive ($7,800 for Damon braces). If your treatment is less cost...

Rhinoplasty is 100% cosmetic, while fixing your jaws is functional *and* cosmetic. I would get your jaws fixed first, especially since your nose will change somewhat if they need to move your upper jaw at all.

If you get your nose done, then later your jaws, you may need a revision rhinoplasty.

An increase in plaque and tartar is common with braces. You get more food stuck to the teeth now, so unless you floss and brush after each meal, you have more plaque-bacteria fuel in the teeth than you ever had before. If it doesn't come off, it's tartar build up (the calcium shells of the tartar ba...

Most people overeat in general. The moment we have to carefully consider everything that passes our lips, we tend to eat considerably less. Losing 30 lbs is a lot, but if you're still at a healthy weight, then it was 30 lbs you didn't need. Because of the speed at which the weight came off, you are ...

The hygiene products that contain peroxide do bleach unevenly - even the mouth tray + gel versions aren't 100%. It's probably best to go with a mildly abrasive paste vs gel to keep up with daily staining. I'm in love with my cheapo paste: Ultrabrite. It's much scrubbier than any big brand pastes, an...

Wherever the rough parts of the braces or wire scrape against skin will eventually get a little tougher. They don't callous like your fingers and toes though! The hooks and such can sometimes cause little scrapes or outright jabs if there's a little too much wire sticking out, but your ortho should ...

Reducing a large overbite has the effect of making the upper lip sufficient to close over the teeth properly. So yes, it changes your face somewhat, but 100% for the better. When you have to strain the lower lip close the gap your upper lip can't cover to close your mouth, your chin puckers - when y...

For me, the spacers hurt 10x more than braces! My teeth were very cramped, and the pressure from the spacers just jammed them all up even more. The braces, on the other hand, exert gentle even force across the whole wire, so you don't get the whole set of teeth being jammed like the spacers. Also, s...