Metal Mouth Message Board

Like many things I intended, I have not been posting here as often as I thought I might. But, the primary reason is a good thing: this process has gone much more smoothly than I thought it would. Shortly after we started talking about when it would be time to go to the oral surgeon, I brought up the...

2 months in elastics and my ortho still thinks I may be able to avoid surgery. My correction based on brackets and wires alone was really close, and within a month, my front teeth touched for the first time in years. I just got a power chain on the top yesterday, so that's a bit sore, but otherwise ...

It looks like I'm heading for upper jaw only, Le Fort I. The surgeon says recovery is easier with this than lower jaw or both. Could someone on this thread comment on how their recovery was?

thanks!

Last week, my orthodontist asked if I'd like to try elastics to finish closing my bite, instead of surgery. I know the major trade-off is relapse, so I'm curious if anyone else has gone down this path. Today, I saw the oral surgeon I was planning to use. (I had made the appointment before my orthodo...

Got some good news yesterday: the orthodontist thinks I'm making good progress and may be ready for surgery sooner than we thought! They originally told me 12 - 18 months, so I figured it would be late spring or summer 2015 (braced April 2014), but he thinks it might be much sooner. At my next visit...

In my early 40's, and also a teacher, I went with clear brackets on the top front teeth and metal on the rest. My students didn't notice until the end of class, when I said something. It's really not a big deal. I do like having the clear front brackets, however, so it's not immediately obvious when...

I've wondered the same thing about my hooks. I also have self-ligating, so maybe they do come with them? I'm 5 months in, and no discussion of elastics yet. However, I haven't asked, because I don't want the answer to be "yes"! I remember elastics from my first time in braces and really ho...

Neosporin Lip Health Overnight Renewal Therapy has been good for me. I started using it at night, but now have one in my desk drawer for daytime use, too.

Thanks for the suggestions. I briefly considered the nail clippers, but couldn't reach the very back of my molars with them. It turns out, clipping the wire was not the right solution: it had shifted to the right, so that it was sticking out the back on the right and had slipped out of the back brac...

I was offered ceramic on the bottom (but didn't do it) and my ortho said it was unusual for him to offer that. My understanding is that you really don't want teeth hitting ceramic brackets, because it could chip the tooth. Most people end up with their front teeth slightly forward of their back teet...

This is the third time I've had the end of a wire start sticking out of my back bracket. I guess it's a good sign that my teeth are moving, but the end of the wire is slowly poking my cheek more & more. I brought along wax, so that'll help in the short run, but I'm on the road for another week, ...

Hang in there! I'm 2 weeks in and it is still getting better each day. The first few days, I couldn't floss and barely could brush because my gums were so sensitive. I used a water pik to get the worst of the food out, and I think the warm salt water I used in that also helped my gums. I'm still fig...

Thanks! The first week was worse than I remembered from my last braces experience. The brackets rubbed my cheeks, especially in a few spots. But, as my dentist recommended, I toughed it out best I could. (Used wax only when I knew I'd be talking a lot, which was only a couple of times.) Now, I'm pas...

Delta Dental: $2000 for adult (lifetime limit, but I'm hoping this will be my last time in braces!). I thought that decent, but now I see it is better than most. My health insurance has really low co-pays and deductibles for in-network care, but isn't always happy about covering this. Fortunately, t...

Here are a few links to soft food suggestions http://www.archwired.com/soft_foods_mealtype.htm http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=22673 I also am trying to keep my soft foods relatively low-carb, which is an extra challenge. Have you tried scrambled or poached eggs? I have also...