Metal Mouth Message Board

Sorry you are having these problems. It seems a bit odd that the powerchains keep coming off. I have had part of one of the links come loose from either the top or bottom half of the bracket a time or two in which case you just need to stretch the ring back around the wings of the bracket but I have...

hi Duallydani. From your post it sounds like you have some issues which orthodontics can address and correct. TMJ issues are frequently multi-factorial. Orthodontics may improve or possibly even resolve your TMJ issues but I would reluctant to refer a patient for orthodontics on the presumption that...

Hi AmyA. You are correct in that class II elastics generally run from the upper cuspid to the lower first molar. When I have worn class II elastics that was the set up. Molar brackets generally have a tube for the archwire to slide through and have a hook for elastics as part of the bracket. Premola...

Hi Huskydogmom. Sorry for the late reply. I have been trying to post but kept getting an error message. While I am not an orthodontist I am a general dentist and here is my impression of your situation. Your post indicates that you had a cant in the upper arch before starting your current treatment....

Welcome. For some reason I have trouble finding the "our Braces Stories" forum on the index. Maybe I am looking in the wrong place and missing something. Best of luck!

I am a bit behind the times but that is great that you are able to cut back on the headgear hours. You were brave to go the 24/7 route. I wore mine in public a few times but chickened out more often than not. I would think you would be approaching the end of your treatment!!! I also found the open s...

Hi and glad you are here. Hopefully you find the site entertaining, interesting and informative. Hopefully your 15 to 18 month treatment time won't be Island Time like me. Simply trying to close some posterior spacing which was trapping food. Estimate was 6 months and 16 months in here I am! Luckily...

Hi bigopenbite, my ortho is currently using ligature wire laced around the brackets to close stubborn spaces. Seems to be working slowly!

I have third molars and when my ortho picked up the second molars a few months into treatment I said you could go ahead and place brackets on the third molars as well if you want to. She said that involving the third molars would likely result in an open bite. How or why??? but that is what she said...

I am glad to hear you are having success closing your anterior open bite with the high pull. When I had braces for the second time about ten years ago I developed an anterior open bite mid-treatment which I did not have at the start. We spent over a year trying to close the open bite with elastics w...

Hi Vampirefangs, I hope your frustration with braces and wanting to remove them early has passed. I have my second molars bonded with a tube bracket. It was placed about 6 months into treatment. Last time in braces the second molars were bonded right from the start. Not sure if that is what caused t...

Hope all went well. The first several days are an adjustment to say the least. Did you decide on the metal or ceramic?

I am sorry you are feeling so frustrated. Three years is a long time to be in braces but I suspect your case was somewhat extensive with the impacted cuspids and all. Hang in there and the end will come at some point, hopefully soon. I think the other replies are on the right track. I think Dan is r...

My first time in braces lasted 20 months out of a pretreatment estimate of 24 months. Not so lucky the second time. Had braces for 36 months. Had some posterior spacing open up after 10 years so back in braces, next month will be my one year anniversary. Pretreatment estimate was 6 months. Island ti...

My orthodontist and general dentists are both female as well. My general dentist is my wife. We met in dental school. Back then the majority of the students in dental school were male, probably 135 out of 150 in my class. These days enrollment has completely flipped with probably 60 - 70% of the stu...