Metal Mouth Message Board

It's not uncommon for orthodontists to recommend nighttime only wear. Every ortho is different, every patient is different. A lot of people on these boards (including myself!) have only ever had to do nighttime wear. However, any concern a person has, they should take up with their ortho. It might b...

I took and one but TWO sick days! I had my braces put on on a Thursday so I took that day and Friday off from work. It wasn't that I felt I physically needed to but I wanted to mentally and emotionally get used to my metal mouth before facing the world. It turned out that it was a good thing I took ...

I opted for sedation when I had my exposure done. My canine was in a deep and awkward position, yes, but I am also a big baby. Even if it had been an easy exposure, I probably still would have opted for sedation because I don't want any awareness of that kind of procedure.

I had my upper wisdom teeth taken out (along with a bunch of cavities being filled and a root scaling) and for that, I was sedated. IV, go to sleep, wake up and it's all over. Wonderful! Later in my treatment, I had to have an upper lateral incisor pulled and the canine next to it shaved down for a ...

One thing I discovered was taping my mouth shut before sleeping really helped me to retrain my brain to breath through my nose only. Prior to braces, I was a mild/moderate mouth breather during the day and a severe mouth breather while I slept. I would always wake up in the morning with my mouth wi...

From Wikipedia: Mouth breathing is considered harmful to the dento-oral complex as it can lead to hypotonicity of the upper lip, hyperactivity of the lower lip, distoclusion, harm to dental growth as well as bone growth, high vault of the palate, xerostomia, and adenoid face. http://en.wikipedia.org...

It's worth going to a consult in your area just to get an idea of what needs to be done. If they tell you that you'll be in braces 9-12 months, it might be worth starting now and commuting the distance to the ortho in the last few months. If it's a more traditional sentence of 18-24 months (or more...

It's worth going to a consult in your area just to get an idea of what needs to be done. If they tell you that you'll be in braces 9-12 months, it might be worth starting now and commuting the distance to the ortho in the last few months. If it's a more traditional sentence of 18-24 months (or more!...

Wow! I wonder why your ortho didn't remove the top retainer. Did s/he say why? I'm all intrigued now!

My bottom arch had a lot of crowding and my orthodontist thought that the bonded retainer would provide some extra insurance against possible relapse once the braces were removed; I didn't have the same crowding issues with my top arch. Also, bonded retainers on the top arch aren't used as often as ...

Well, like I said in my post, I still would have had night-time wear from the start even if I hadn't gotten the bonded retainer. And I should point out, I don't have a bonded retainer on the top arch and there has been no relapse due to only night-time wear.

I don't think I've heard any orthodontist let their patient wear their retainer only at night as soon as they get them off. This could be relapse just waiting to happen :? Mine did (and I've seen other people on here with the same thing). My retention plan is night-time wear every night for the fir...

It depends on your orthodontist. For example, my retention plan is: bonded retainer on the lower front six, night time wear of my removable retainers every night for the first year and then night time wear a few times a week for the rest of my life. Other people have to wear their removable retaine...

I had build ups for a long time while I was in braces. In the beginning, I would eat food that was soft enough that I could mash against the roof of my mouth with my tongue. Eventually, though, you get used to them and figure out how to chew with them on. I'd 'chew' using the contact points made by ...

It depends on your orthodontist. For example, my retention plan is: bonded retainer on the lower front six, night time wear of my removable retainers every night for the first year and then night time wear a few times a week for the rest of my life. Other people have to wear their removable retainer...