Metal Mouth Message Board

I've had the braces for 4 weeks now, and it's been pretty uneventful. One of my molars seems to be shifting a little bit, as my bite will sometimes change for a day or three and then seem to go back, so maybe something is starting to move to where it's supposed to be. And I can tell that the very mi...

Another thing that helps the wax stay on is to make sure the part you're applying it to is dry. This is especially important if it's a silicone wax like OrthoSil. That can be tough if it's way in the back of your mouth -- I usually have to hold my cheek back with one hand, use a cotton swab to dry t...

I don't know if a child's toothbrush labeled "soft" is in fact any softer than an adult's toothbrush labeled "soft". I do know that it's easy to find ones labeled "extra soft" for children, while not so easy to find the same label in adult sizes. For me it's more a size...

The stories about your children are so cute! I hadn't even thought about the fact that little ones like to pull at just about any kind of jewelry -- and to them, "sparkly"="jewelry"!

Ask your orthodontist about how far the brackets he/she uses (metal vs. ceramic) stick out from the tooth. A few posters here have said the ceramic have a lower profile, but mine actually stick out further from the tooth than the metal on my lowers. I personally don't find this to be a problem, as i...

I've always had issues properly brushing my teeth with an adult toothbrush, even with a compact head. I always felt like I was missing whole areas, since the toothbrush hits two or three teeth at a time. I also have a really hard time getting an adult toothbrush far enough into my mouth to brush the...

Congratulations on getting braced!

I've found I'm losing a little weight. However, it's not because I can't eat enough/what I want to with braces. I'm losing the weight because I have healthier eating patterns with braces. I don't snack between meals (because then I'd have to go away from my desk to brush!) and I don't drink carbonat...

I actually timed my routine last night. 16 minutes, 7 of which was flossing.

I'm also at the one-week mark, and I hear you about watching for change! Unfortunately for me, I'm unlikely to see anything for a while because apparently the bite changes happen more slowly...

Congrats on starting the process.

I also have veneers, which were roughed up to attach brackets. However, I'm not planning to have mine redone unless I have to, so I'm hoping the "roughing" won't be an issue when the braces finally come off...

I've had uppers and lowers for a week, and my entire cleaning routine in the evening takes 30 minutes. That includes brushing, proxybrush, floss, interdental brushes, brushing my tongue, and mouthwash. I don't have a good sense of how long the "flossing" portion of that takes me.

Good luck, Lea! Congrats on starting the journey to get your teeth properly arranged!

And, don't worry, I didn't know what a Kiwi was (other than the fruit) before I moved away from Indianapolis roughly 13 years ago.

Hang in there with all that dental work! My root canal experience was probably atypical -- I was in so much pain from the infected root that it was a relief to have the root canal done. I didn't need any pain meds afterwards except OTC ibuprofen (which is what I was taking for the pain before the pr...

Cadbury creme eggs. I can eat them now, very very carefully, but my favorite way to eat them is to bite off the top to start with. Not such a great idea with braces.