Metal Mouth Message Board

It’d be nice to have topics organized by a specific Class problem. Like Class II people, Class III people, deep bites, etc.

Thank you Speck, that is helpful! So sounds like I am in phase 2, and he is correcting my bite front to back at the moment. Do the round stainless steel wires expand arches? He told me that they do but I can’t find any information on the internet regarding this. The only thing I see about expanding ...

Currently I am 3 months into my 24+ month treatment to fix my deep bite. For the first couple of months I had the NiTi archwires, then my ortho placed me into round stainless steels. Now, he started me on class 2 elastics. I’ve read that stainless steel wires don’t have memory shape. My teeth are st...

Thanks for that link! Interestingly in that article it says “Elastic wear is recommend to be used in a rectangular wire to minimize side effects.”

Is there truth in this? Currently I am in round stainless steel wires 3 months into my class II treatment.

Thanks so much everyone! Happy New Year!

I was just started on camel elastics and looks like they are considered a “heavy” elastic. What does that mean? And in comparison with light and medium elastics?

I’m guessing they will have to sand off the glue because I think it’s more of a cement. And I don’t think you should wear a retainer because then for sure your teeth won’t go back to where they were.

I have been following your story and I think you should also take a break. Then you can get more consults. Personally I had 8-10 consults. And I’m glad because I’m with someone who is confident and has many years of experience. And most importantly who I trust. From what I’ve read it seems like Invi...

So in regards to the upper jaw, the changes are dento-alveolar, but for the lower jaw, the jaw joint remodels to a different position? The lower teeth aren’t actually changing position in the gums, just the jaw joint, right?

Thanks everyone! I had thought that they mostly work to reposition the lower jaw but I see they actually pull the upper teeth back. It sounds like a daunting task!

I will be starting elastics later this month to correct my overjet. When the ortho places the elastics, does he place your jaw in the desired final position and use the elastics to lock that position in place until it’s fixed, or does he gradually move the jaw forward with elastics over time? Thanks!

I am only 2 months into my journey so I haven’t had a lot of visits yet. I am in braces to correct my overbite and overjet. Initially my ortho did the mold of my teeth and bite. But I’m curious, as time passes, how do they check your bite is changing and your teeth are touching in the right spots?

Interesting! I think I may have a brodie bite as well. The molars on one side of my mouth do not touch; the upper one reaches toward my cheek and the lower reaches toward my tongue. My ortho is going to intrude the upper one and then extrude it back out facing the right way.

It seems to me it's the norm for there to be quite a bit of pain and discomfort after getting braces on, but honestly, apart from getting used to the brackets against my mouth, I feel some pressure but no pain. I certainly have the feeling of instability with my teeth so I can't bite anything with c...

How far are you into your treatment? I have only had mine on for 2 weeks but I am under the assumption things might get worse before they get better.