Metal Mouth Message Board

Once a day for me before bedtime.....although after lunch I usually floss my back teeth, top and bottom, as those are the teeth I chew with most and food always gets stuck back there that brushing/interdental brush does not remove.

I have an overjet also and have worn different configurations of elastics for the past year. My teeth have over corrected due to elastics from time to time. What the ortho did is reconfigure the elastics to correct it during the next visit. A lot of times they are working on turning teeth and all ki...

I brush at work once a day after lunch and by now everyone is used to seeing me in the restroom at the same time every day. Most people smile and make positive comments about my braces and/or my good oral hygiene which makes me feel less self conscious. That said, I don't do everything at work. No w...

Warm salt water rinses, warm salt water rinses, warm salt rinses!!! Your cheeks, gums, and everything in between need to toughen up and the salt water rinses DO help. Wax has never worked for me so I don't bother anymore. Right now I am pain free but there have been two or three periods of time duri...

Congrats on your decision to get braces and for finding this forum. You will find it extremely helpful, especially in the beginning as you get adjusted to everything. I've been in braces for 15 months and in the beginning I came here at least once a day to lurk or post questions. Welcome to the club...

Honestly, looking at all your pics I find your last pic the most attractive. I think women with a slight overbite / overjet to be attractive and more feminine looking than a totally flat smile. I have an overjet perhaps even more prominent than yours and my teeth are even larger but I don't mind it ...

I've given up one thing.....red wine. I've tried giving up licorice, popcorn, soda, hard kettle chips....but I just chew everything slowly and carefully. Having said that I did get an adjustment yesterday and now my bottom arch wire extends to my very back molar so it might be more difficult chewing...

I have been in braces for almost a year and have been wearing super strength elastics for about 6 months. I started noticing my smile becoming more gummy several months ago but thought it was just my obsessing over every detail concerning my smile but I am beginning to notice it more and more. I pla...

What's amazing for me is in the beginning I loathed when my teeth ached but now I've gotten to the point where if I don't have at least a little discomfort I don't think anything is moving or progressing. Enjoy your tooth pain.

I'm not sure what your ortho means by protrusion but if it means anything I think a slight overbite and protrusion is kinda "sexy". Just my 2 cents....

I don't know what mine are called but I do know they work as long as you wear them faithfully. I did not for the first several weeks (or longer) but now that I am I can actually see and feel my bite changing and teeth shifting. Yay!! Whenever I don't want to wear them I just think about the progress...

I posted a similar question about a week ago. I was wearing my elastics most of the time except when eating, brushing & flossing which for me was a significant part of the day when I included bfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. I'd wake in the AM feeling a tightness to my teeth (a sign that some ...

I agree. I made the mistake years ago having a dentist shave the biting edge of one of my front teeth to make it appear even with the other side -- MISTAKE!! Now one tooth is shorter than the one next to it. What I needed was braces to create alignment but didnt understand that at the time. Thanks f...

Thanks everyone, I will try eating with them in. Right now my configuration is from the canines on each side to two lower teeth at the bottom so it creates a triangle on each side (sorry, I don't know the technical name). The extra strong elastics may make it difficult to chew but I will give it a t...

I have been in braces for almost 7 months and I have noticed that my gums appear larger at the top. In other words I may end up having a more 'gummy' smile at the end of treatment....but maybe not. So I consider this as "worse" than before but overall I am satisfied with the progress. It's...