Metal Mouth Message Board

I usually pick darker colors for my ligs because I actually think they look better than the lighter ones I've tried, but they are very noticeable. I guess it depends on your kind of braces and what you're looking for, but mine are all metal so choosing black/dark blue ligs doesn't really make much o...

BracedSurgeryStudent -

You have 2-3 more years left in braces? That sounds pretty long from what I can see of your pictures. But I suppose you can never really tell.

I have all metal braces, but I chose that same blue color for the power chains on both upper and lower ones. It was the newest color my ortho had and now it's my favorite. I didn't know the exact name of it though. It will be hard to choose different colors during my next adjustment in December. :Bi...

My bottom molars were all a lot lower than my bottom front teeth, but they were pulled up during the straightening stage. Well, I think they're still moving, but at the beginning, the wire connecting the brackets from the higher front teeth to the molars was very noticeable, as it was almost complet...

I've been wearing Class II elastics for a few months and I've had my braces nearly a year. I've had the same configuration the whole time - each band connected from the canine on top to the furthest molar on the bottom on both sides. I've also had upper and lower powerchains the whole time. I've adj...

My ortho said I could chew gum as long as it was sugar free, so I've had gum with my metal braces on and it didn't stick. But now that I have the power chains, I'm not so sure and forgot to ask at my adjustment.

Just wondering if you can chew gum with powerchains on or if it gets stuck to them?

I just got upper and lower powerchains, no ligs. Both go all the way from the last tooth to the other last tooth. It's been the most painful thing since getting braces, more painful than that first week even. At least they are nice colors though.

I have had problems with dry mouth for years because of some medications I take, but with braces, it's worse because my lip seems to stick onto them when they're especially dry. And then when I try to drink some water, my lip won't detach itself and I end up spilling some out one side of my mouth. A...

I'm not sure how the orthos decide whether to use bands or brackets, but my ortho basically said that he doesn't use bands at all. I'm sure he must have someone with bands, but the staff and the ortho act like bands are old-fashioned or something. My last teeth have a bracket thing with a little tub...

Sometimes if you have braces to correct more serious problems, your midline may be off and the ortho won't be able to correct it. I think that midlines that are off a bit are not a priority. I know orthos always consider midlines and try to get them as lined up as possible, but perfect results don't...

Hi - Your overjet sounds normal, and the whole report, without seeing pictures, makes it seem that you look just fine. A 60% overbite is pretty significant and I know of people on this board who got braces to correct overbites that were much less than yours. My main problems are a significant overje...

I've definitely sprayed water all over the bathroom with the waterpik. I have the ultra water flosser waterpik that has to be plugged in, but I still like it. It took me a while to figure out how to use it without getting water everywhere and I only started using it when I got braces.

I think the lower ones hurt more. I'm not sure why though. And they are constantly poking the inside of my cheek and lips, leaving deep indentations or little holes, so I have to wear the silicone wax a lot. But, like I said, I can't think of any reason why the lower ones hurt more. My teeth seem to...

I was able to eat normally within a few days. I can pretty much eat anything now and it's been close to 7 months. However, I can only eat on my left side because I have a huge gap on the upper right side, and when I've tried to eat on that side before, the wire across the gap popped out. It's happen...