Metal Mouth Message Board

I always get exciting old silver, and they do NOT stain.

I drink a lot of coffee, too.

To then read in this thread all about how people judge you on your teeth, and how only poor people of low class have crooked teeth.. both are factually incorrect in my country. So many people have terrible teeth here that people really don't judge you on it. Anyone who needs it can get free treatme...

Britt, I really feel for you. Mine hurt too, and I had extractions and that was painful, and I felt like I had HUGE METAL TEETH like Jaws in the James Bond film. ;) It does get better with time. I forget that I have braces now. You do get used to them but the first few days and weeks are really unpl...

Yay!

Doesn't hurt much. I had my adjustment yesterday.

Another 16 months to go...

SandraJones wrote: Perhaps the color of the brackets highlights the yellow color, or the fact that I chose violet ligs.

I think that's the case too. I always go with boring silver ligs.

I wonder if "gold" braces and ligs would make teeth look whiter?

.. That being said, my crooked teeth do cause me some moments of angst in my professional life. I'm in sales and I'm always wondering if clients are thinking if you're so successful why the jacked up grill? Yes, I've felt that too. I was a broadcasting major and I ended up in radio! I did do some t...

F. My mother thought my bite was fine (and frankly, it wasn't too bad... I've got braces for cosmetic reasons. My teeth bothered me but other people like my husband thought they were fine.) My mother is from an older generation and most people didn't have braces when she was young. If I had had an e...

I'm a smoker (I know, bad bad me) plus drink coffee and red wine. My dental hygienist recommends dry brushing before you really brush, to help remove stains. I then brush normally. I sometimes use baking soda instead of toothpaste. I also get a professional cleaning every 3 months. My insurance pays...

My reason for braces was totally cosmetic, so I'm looking forward to having a perfect smile! (Well, my bite wasn't perfect, but my teeth "met", so I had no chewing or biting issues.) They were, however, quite crowded. I had four extractions, so obviously needed the room! I'm looking forwar...

I just got elastics a week ago and I'm not bothered by them at all.

I was told to remove them to eat and brush/floss and that's it. My ortho told me they need 10 hours of steady pressure to do their job, so if I take them out to brush/eat I should put them back as quickly as possible.

I've had extractions and my ortho told me to expect gaps to form, and not to freak out!

After having crowded teeth, I look on the bright side and how much easier it is to floss!

Looking great, and such awesome improvement!

Congratulations!

I have had four teeth extracted and I honestly don't think the gaps are that noticeable.

It's just temporary, in any case.

It won't last forever, but like other people, I did feel conscious of having a lisp and can detect it in myself (everybody else swears there's no change.) When I'm sore it's much worse. I worked in radio so am very aware of my voice. There is one exercise you can do to acclimate your mouth to weirdn...

My insurance does not cover braces, but my orthodontist's office offered a discount for paying in full at start of treatment (to save the effort of billing/bookkeeping) so I did.