Metal Mouth Message Board

Appointment today. Before: 0.016 round upper, 0.012 round lower, splint during sleep, no accessories.

Now: 0.016 round upper, 0.018 round lower, power pushers added to lower 3s, class 3 elastic lower 3 to upper 6, 1/4" x 4 oz, splint every other night.

Clear beverages shouldn't damage your retainer but that not what you should really be worrying about. Alcohol of any type contains calories, which means consuming it with your Essix in is a no-no due to decay.

Grinding or clenching, both are called bruxism, both will cause wear. If you use nothing, it will be your enamel that gets lost (not to mention your teeth will shift). An acrylic night guard will protect your teeth from bruxism, prevent them from shifting, and last longer than an Essix, but it will ...

Are you on rectangular wires yet, or round? Elastics used during the round wire phase will always cause tilting like you describe. Some orthodontists will not use elastics until the rectangular wire phase for that reason. Others will use elastics from day 1, relying on the rectangular wire later on ...

It's fairly common, I'm told. Adult has an issue that they'll get around to "someday." Then they have a child and take the child in because it's the right time, and while they're thinking about the kid they get around to making an appointment for themselves as well. That's sort of how it w...

Had my first adjustment yesterday. Same wire on bottom, moved to 16 on top. No more daytime splint, down to only night use of the lower splint. It's amazing how much they have moved in just three weeks. I am glad that I took before/after pictures so I can see the movement. There is one space that I ...

Go find an orthodontist who knows how to treat it. I was in permanent close lock for about a year before I sought treatment. Splints to properly reposition my mandible and time restored my opening. Now I have braces so the teeth can replace the splints.

It does get better. I'm just over a week in, myself. I used OCT analgesics the first day and the first two nights. Wax a lot for the first several days, though I haven't needed it for a couple of days now. I select my meals carefully, and I have a supply of meal replacement shakes in the pantry. At ...

Aside from major surgery of last resort, there is no way to widen the lower jaw. The upper is made of two bones that meet in the middle and fuse around adulthood. The upper arch can be expanded in a child because of this natural joint. In an adult, usually they surgically break apart that suture. Th...

In the US, maximum by law is 1500 ppm for OTC. Any higher concentration requires a prescription.

My treatment plan involves a lot of elastic work, in the back and the front and basically everywhere. The only teeth with hooks are the molars, everything else is just plain brackets. I expected hooks on pretty much every bracket. I thought you had to have hooks for elastics. Has anybody had elastic...

Brush and Waterpik, then use a plaque disclosing tablet. You'll see how much the Waterpik doesn't get. Gotta floss to get your teeth clean. As somebody said earlier, if you could aim perfectly and hold it at a perfect 90 degree angle, you'd be fine. But you can't hold it at a 90 degree angle between...

I bought this for my kid, to help her learn to brush properly. Never showed any plaque at all. Tried it on myself. Nothing. Not even when I used it as a mouthwash of sorts, without brushing, first thing in the morning. My teeth were definitely not clean but nothing was disclosed by this toothpaste. ...

Eight spacers are in. Ow. My teeth were so tight the doc broke a spacer trying to insert it. The smidgen of a space I had between each tooth, just enough for me to get floss in (often shredding it), is gone. All of my teeth on top are moving, even the incisors. On the bottom, it's just the molars th...

It's been a while since I've updated. I did get the upper splint at the end of August. That one has a ramp on it to move my lower jaw forward in my sleep. Since using that, my jaw never drops back into the old position. My vertical opening dimension is over 40 mm now, almost double what I started wi...