Hi,
I have had upper lingual in for about 6 weeks. It has been very challenging, however is now basically manageable. Eating is no problem and speaking is about 90%, meaning that I can get by at work etc.

I am supposed to get the lower lingual put in in a couple of weeks. I wonder, can people give some thoughts on how difficult the adjustment is going to be? Am I going to have to go through another 6 weeks of having a major speech defect?

Hi James2000,

I've had my uppers on for 8 months now and lowers on just recently - around 6 weeks ago.

I have STb light linguals. My uppers took me quite some time to adapt to but it was mainly due to the treatment required - I had a narrow arch which made less room for the lingual appliance. However, after a few months my arch has expanded and I have become 100% happy with the upper lingual - no need for wax and no speech problems.

Having the lower linguals on six weeks ago, I had to start the entire adaptation process again. However, on a positive note it only took two weeks to get used to them. I am still using wax on the lowers as I find the brackets a little pokier but I'm sure in time I won't need the wax anymore.

I'm sure you'll adapt a lot quicker to the lowers. This journey is so worth it, I am really happy with my results so far. Good luck with your treatment.

Hi James

I had the lowers put on in November. I adjusted quickly and had no speech problems and after about a week eating was back to normal. My ortho told me he likes to put the lowers on first because they are the most challenging. I had my uppers on last week and Im having more difficulty with the uppers with my speech and eating. I feel like I want to rip the uppers off.

Im glad to hear it will get better for me. I hope anyway

Pimlico

Are you seeing results already? I wonder if mine are working. lol

Hey teach,

I totally agree, the uppers are the most most challenging - especially with speech. I was exactly the same wanting to rip them out but that feeling passed very quickly - within a couple of weeks. I have no problems with my uppers now - just remember you WILL adapt and everything will be just fine.

After eight months with the upper lingual, my teeth have moved a lot. After six weeks with the lower lingual my teeth have moved a little. My ortho is using power chains (little elastic bands binding two brackets together) to rotate one of the teeth quickly - and it's working. I'm popping into the clinic every four weeks without fail so treatment is going quickly. Hopefully it will all be finished in the estimated 18 months or before.

thanks pimlicko. I just need to be patient I guess. Im going on my second week with the uppers so we will see. My poor tongue has taken a beating though.

I have one tooth that needs to rotate but my ortho didn't put a bracket on it yet. He is waiting for the lower to expand a little. My main concern is making sure my overbite doesn't get worse but corrected. I read other peoples stories where they got teeth extracted to solve the overbite but my ortho didn't want to take that approach yet. This is going to be a long journey.

I am getting my lower linguals in 1 and a half hours. I have had my upper linguals in for three weeks, they have not been a problem at all since the first couple of days. I was having trouble talking in the first few days, went out drinking and the next day my lisp was 97% gone (though my toungue was a bit cut up badly and I had a stonking hangover).

I did however manage to bend one of the brackets when I was flossing a couple of days ago - it is now sticking straight out and cutting my toungue up quite a bit. Hopefully I can get this fixed when I go in this afternoon.

I am looking forward to getting the lower ones on, have already seen a fair bit of progress on my upper teeth.

I have had lower linguals on for 2 and a half days now. Have had to resort to wax as my toungue has been cut up quite badly. I am finding it more difficult than the upper ones - this could be from having a narrower arch on my lower teeth. My speech still sounds like I am under water, but am starting to notice a slow improvement in this already.

My actual teeth hurt a lot more as well, this is probably because my lower teeth are more complicated than my upper teeth. Work has been difficult, I do not really feel like talking to my workmates as my toungue is so sore.

Even with the pain, I am glad that I have chosen to do this.

I had my uppers put in yesterday, and am having many of the same challenges that others have posted. Speech is lispy and a little garbled at times. My teeth are a lot more sore than I anticipated. It hurts to bite down. I have molar bands on (which I did not expect), and biting down on metal feels weird. I had a sharp wire on my left back which I went in this morning to have clipped at my ortho, but it left my tongue pretty sore. My teeth feel to sore to try anything to solid, so I'm sticking to soft food right now. I'm hoping things improve quickly. It's making me nervous about getting the lowers if they end up being worse for me. It seems like it varies for everyone.

lisac01- I've used a little bit of wax where my sharp wire was and it helps.

For some reason when I typed "the goo product" it turned into "spam" on my post?!?

Yes, the product cannot be mentioned on this website for legal reasons. Please understand and cooperate. Do not mention it or allude to their website or I could be sued. Thank you!

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I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!