Metal Mouth Message Board

My ortho told me 24/7 for 6 months, then nightly forever. I had braces as a kid and wore my retainer for a couple of years. So 20 something years and one jaw surgery later, I will be doing exactly what my ortho says. I have noticed that the first month after being debraced, if I removed my retainer ...

Faerydust, I am having a similar experience. Toward the end of my treatment my ortho bent my wire and pulled one of my front teeth down so it was actually lower than the tooth next to it. When I asked about this he said not to worry, he would be shaping my teeth when he removed the brackets and they...

My friend's daughter had a very bad reaction to metal braces. Her whole mouth became swollen and raw. She ended up having all ceramic brackets (no bands on her molars) with titanium wires. It made her treatment longer than anticipated because they could not use many of the appliances they originally...

Sean, I have the same situation on my top teeth. At my last visit, I told my ortho I didn't like the way it looked and he said he was going to shave the tooth down to the same level as the tooth next to it on the day my braces are removed. I had no idea this is how it worked. I thought they should a...

I chewed through my spacers. Hey, I still had to eat and I am a horrible night grinder. So I think it happened to 3 of them. When they broke, they fell out, so I had to go back to the ortho and have them replaced, which hurt much more than the original placement because my teeth were so sore! They e...

Gennel - Wow!! Your teeth look great. Like you and Spidey, I have lateral incisors that are currently not connected to the archwire. I can't wait for them to get hooked in and dragged into place! Thanks for sharing your progress. It's always nice to see the beautiful results. Can't wait to see the f...

Hi everybody. I just had to chime in on this one. I have been blessed with very healthy teeth (never a cavity), but they are crooked. I have had people ask me why I didn't just get veneers instead of braces. I respond "why would I want to ruin perfectly good teeth?" When my teeth are strai...

Hi Jess - I have what is generally known as a rapid palate expander, but like you it is not being utilized in that way. My ortho just wants to widen my arch without separating the palate. I only turn mine every 3 days, so it is a slow expander. And because I live alone, (crazybeautiful -this is for ...

I guess I'm the exception, but my clear ligs aren't stained. I had them for 5 weeks before they were replaced at my first adjustment and the assistant even commented on how clear they still were. But, I almost always brush my teeth right after eating. My friend's daughter has the white ones and I th...

Kirjax - Wow! My mouth currently looks a lot like yours did. I have a spring between my central incisor and canine to make room for my lateral incisor that is behind those teeth. It's great to see how far you've come in a year and it makes me more confident that this will work! It's only been a mont...

I bought the Waterpik Ultra model WP-100. I love it! I have a RPE and it's the only way to get food unstuck from that thing. It also does a great job getting stuff out of my brackets that brushing would leave behind. That said - I still floss. My mouth has never been as clean as it has since I got m...

I was told 4 turns equals 1mm, which is the same .25mm per turn that Meryaten said.

Like you, I only feel pressure for a very short time after turning my RPE. I was worried it would hurt, but it doesn't.

Hi Junkee - I too have a narrow upper jaw and crowded teeth. This is my 2nd round in braces and I did have extractions the first time around. I had 2 upper and 2 lower molars removed as well as my wisdom teeth (surgically removed before they broke thru the gums). Because of this, my current ortho di...

Kimblebee - I can relate to your frustration. I've only had my expander for about 2 1/2 weeks, but things have already gotten better. My excessive saliva stopped after 3 or 4 days and speaking gets better after the first week. You said you work in a call center, which must be difficult right now, bu...

Hi Marguerite

I've been doing the reading aloud thing. I believe that it's helping. I also seem to have the hardest time with the long "E". And of course that sound has to be in my name