Metal Mouth Message Board

Thanks everyone! I had no idea about the existence of pre-pasted brushes. I'll ask my ortho if I can snag any freebies, but otherwise I'll definitely be ordering from Lynn!

It only took me a day or two to begin talking normally with my upper and lower Essix retainers. I just sang along a lot with the radio for practice and found that my lisp (which was QUITE noticeable that first day! :) ) quickly disappeared. Fortunately, I never had any problems with gagging. Best of...

I've got upper and lower Essix retainers, which I currently have to wear 24/7. Has anybody else in this situation flown since the new carry-on rules went into effect? Toothpaste is specifically listed as a forbidden item. But I REFUSE to put my retainers back on without brushing first, especially fo...

I feel your pain - literally! I'm currently about halfway through a 10-day twice-a-day course of the "Renewal" kit sold in stores, and I've found that I can at most wear them once per day. When my teeth become too sensitive, I simply stop for a couple of days and then start up again. Advil...

Just wanted to post a quick update now that I've had my retainers for almost two weeks. The adjustment-like pain resolved within a few days. So now I can focus on other paranoias, like "is it just me, or is that tooth looking a little crooked?"

My teeth still felt rather loose when my braces came off, and I was quite worried about it since everyone else here seemed to say their teeth felt more settled near the end of treatment! My ortho agreed that they were looser than is typical, but it was simply due to the sequelae of how things needed...

I used Colgate's Phos-Flur nightly the entire time I was in braces. It was definitely on the expensive side (about $10 for a bottle containing just under 500 mL at my local Wal-Mart), but I found that I didn't need the recommended 10 mL rinse. Using about 5-7 mL instead was more than enough and made...

My ortho did some minor shaping about 12 months into my treatment to fix some very obvious chips in my two upper front teeth - it made a big difference. At my debanding, he then smoothed out all of my front upper and lower teeth (including rounding out the canines a bit), and I swear that the shapin...

Thanks Jaws, I think I'll give it a shot under my Essix!

Update: They fit no problem!

Those look great, Jaws! Maybe you (or someone else) can help me with something - about how thick are the Whitestrips? Scotch tape thick? Duct tape thick? I had my braces taken off two days ago and now have Essix retainers. My ortho told me I can't try whitening just yet because he doesn't want my re...

johnnys_angel, just to clarify, the pain that you experienced during the first few weeks was WITH constant retainer wear (as opposed to the result of leaving your retainers out for periods of time)? My debanding was yesterday and I got my upper and lower retainers (Essix) several hours afterwards. I...

I just got my retainers yesterday (upper and lower Essix), and my ortho said that the cleanest retainers he ever saw were those of a woman who said she just dumps straight baking soda into them and applies an electric toothbrush. Apparently, her retainers were more than two years old and still looke...

I'll add another vote for don't worry too much, you'll be able to go to class! I went right back to seeing patients the day I got my braces on, and then closed on a house the following day! I definitely had some insecurity related to it all, but in the end it was no big deal. Be sure to keep some pa...

Let me add another "wow!" to the comments! It's funny, I logged in today specifically because I remembered that your braces were coming off today...you've been such a great resource as I struggled with the decision to get braces, and I was hoping you'd post pictures. :) Thanks for sharing ...

analucia, you may also want to consider contacting Tufts Dental School: http://www.tufts.edu/dental/ Dental schools often provide treatment at much lower rates. I work in medicine, and a number of my patients report that they've had good luck through Tufts (just anecdotal though, you'd obviously wan...