Metal Mouth Message Board

Had my first adjustment today. The coil springs came off all four back corners and brackets put on the molars back there. Old wire taken off, new wire put on. The corner tooth that sticks out is noticeably better from before.

Looking really good so far!! That one tooth is greatly improved

Steph30 wrote:Looking really good so far!! That one tooth is greatly improved

It's kind of amazing. I actually noticed it from the back first with my tongue. Like, where did that gap go that used to be there? Still waiting for the teeth on the bottom with the spring to spread apart to pull the tooth stuck behind forward. That will be really exciting to have at least everything in line.

Looks like Photobucket ended their free hosting service, so I'm going to have find another site. But here's some pics anyway.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxf-Gf ... UNLYVp5Y00

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bxf-G ... zFVU0hxSmM

New, thicker wire put on this morning along with a spring to force two feet apart so they pull forward the tooth behind.

And MAN am I feeling it! Goodness, gracious. I went to the store and bought a whole gallon of ice cream. ow.

Now that you've had your braces on for a bit, do you feel like they've helped with your grinding? I didn't know that correctly aligned teeth "can't" grind. According to my boyfriend I grind my teeth all the time when I sleep (which he hates) and I never knew it could be fixed. I am started my braces journey tomorrow (eek!) so I'm interested to see if it helps mine as well.

Me too! I never grinded (ground???) my teeth before, but I fractured my jaw in a bike accident in April, had it wired, and now that I've mostly healed up, I am grinding and clenching like crazy. And it is driving me mad. My bite feels better than even just a month ago, but still I grind and clench, both during the day and night. Awful!

My Oral Surgeon recommended braces to finish my healing process, and I am really, really hoping they will stop the clenching and grinding. I haven't had a consultation with an ortho yet, but that is coming soon.

bracedengineer wrote:Now that you've had your braces on for a bit, do you feel like they've helped with your grinding? I didn't know that correctly aligned teeth "can't" grind. According to my boyfriend I grind my teeth all the time when I sleep (which he hates) and I never knew it could be fixed. I am started my braces journey tomorrow (eek!) so I'm interested to see if it helps mine as well.

I think it is helping. My headaches aren't bothering me as much and when I forget to wear my guard at night, my teeth don't feel that bad in the morning. I can tell I am still doing some grinding, but not as much. I used to REALLY feel it when I forgot my to wear my guard, now not so much.

EmilyTravels wrote: My Oral Surgeon recommended braces to finish my healing process, and I am really, really hoping they will stop the clenching and grinding. I haven't had a consultation with an ortho yet, but that is coming soon.

My ortho told he couldn't really do anything about clenching. But for some people, your brain recognizes something odd is going on with your mouth, and it will stop the clenching and grinding as a protective instinct. I haven't been that lucky. I'm still grinding, but I'm grinding a lot less. So progress has still been made.

I hope your consultation goes well!

Heidirs wrote:

EmilyTravels wrote: My Oral Surgeon recommended braces to finish my healing process, and I am really, really hoping they will stop the clenching and grinding. I haven't had a consultation with an ortho yet, but that is coming soon.

My ortho told he couldn't really do anything about clenching. But for some people, your brain recognizes something odd is going on with your mouth, and it will stop the clenching and grinding as a protective instinct. I haven't been that lucky. I'm still grinding, but I'm grinding a lot less. So progress has still been made.

I hope your consultation goes well!

Thanks so much! It's Monday, and I can't wait to see what he says. I hope braces can help my bite, and perhaps as a side effect, help with the grinding and clenching. I never did either until my bite went wonky because of my bike accident/jaw fractures. Glad to hear that you've experienced less grinding!

Got an adjustment on Monday that included putting a thicker wire on top. He also put a gauge on the bottom spring to tighten it up again to try to get some more movement in those teeth that need to spread apart.

I have another appointment in 4 weeks this time to get a bracket replaced. The tooth it's on is twisting inward, which it's not supposed to do. So they want to change where the bracket is placed to make it behave properly. And they are hoping they can put a bracket on the tooth that needs to move forward.

I've noticed a gap on top between two back teeth that I get food stuck between all the time. Going to ask them about when that can be closed because that's annoying.

So far so good.

EmilyTravels wrote: Thanks so much! It's Monday, and I can't wait to see what he says. I hope braces can help my bite, and perhaps as a side effect, help with the grinding and clenching. I never did either until my bite went wonky because of my bike accident/jaw fractures. Glad to hear that you've experienced less grinding!

How did your appointment go?

Heidirs wrote:

EmilyTravels wrote: Thanks so much! It's Monday, and I can't wait to see what he says. I hope braces can help my bite, and perhaps as a side effect, help with the grinding and clenching. I never did either until my bite went wonky because of my bike accident/jaw fractures. Glad to hear that you've experienced less grinding!

How did your appointment go?

I've had braces on for nearly four weeks now. So far just brackets and wires, no elastics, so no change in my bite (or the grinding/clenching that I think result from the malocclusion), but it's early days. Still very hopeful!

EmilyTravels wrote: I've had braces on for nearly four weeks now. So far just brackets and wires, no elastics, so no change in my bite (or the grinding/clenching that I think result from the malocclusion), but it's early days. Still very hopeful!

That's interesting. My bite changes all the time. Even without elastics, my teeth are still moving around. I have stopped grinding entirely, but I have discovered that I am in fact clenching. My mouth guard is doing good to help with that.

4 weeks ago, I went into the ortho for another adjustment. They put a thicker wire on the bottom and replaced the spring, still working on making a gap for my back tooth to come through. Today, I went in and they put the wire on to move the tooth forward. I never expected it to move so fast. I took the bottom picture at 3:45pm and my appointment was at 9am. The tooth is nearly lined up with the others.

Here's before: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxf-Gf ... sp=sharing
And after: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a_jkAa ... sp=sharing

Woah, that is crazy! I can't believe how much that tooth moved in ONE DAY! I hope it's not loose!

My bite actually is a bit different all the time too because of the braces, but it's still "off" based on the midline being shifted quite a bit on the bottom. I think my ortho is taking things pretty slowly since I am older. Don't want to increase the risk of root resorption.

I had an adjustment yesterday with a heavier wire put on the top arch, and I am so sore. Interestingly, the bottom arch is also sore because I had a bracket fall off the back molar (which has a crown), so they opened half the self-ligating brackets and reinstalled the same wire. I didn't expect that would make me sore on the bottom, but I guess having that bracket back on changed how things are lined up.

I am grinding less since yesterday's appointment, but I am sure I'll start doing it again as soon as things are less sore. I am ready for elastics since I suspect they will help me grind less -- I hope!