Metal Mouth Message Board

I tend to do OK with keeping my mouth open, but right now I have some pretty tight elastics on, so it's not really up to me anymore :P I think I tend to clench my teeth more when I'm stressed out, but whereas it may not have bothered me before braces, the combination of my teeth being sore already a...

Just wondering how many of you have dreams about your braces. In the 15 months since I got braced, my dreams have never centered around my braces nor have my braces even made guest appearances in my dreams. Now that I have a date set to get them off, I've been having dreams 1-2 times a week where I ...

I started having the same problem after I got braces. I had always had some issues with grinding/clenching my teeth at night, but since getting braces it's been worse. I'm not sure if I can offer any good advice though, even when I try to relax my jaw when I'm going to sleep, I'll still sometimes wa...

Congrats! Yay for July debracing dates!

My ortho has given me gum a few times when he knew my teeth were going to be really tight/sore from adjustments. I chew gum occasionally and I've never had a problem.

When I first got my braces I had the same problem. The only suggestions I can offer are to keep taking Ibuprofen and try to relax your jaw as much as you can. I know I was tensing my jaw up a lot at first because of the pain, but it will get better as time goes on. Also maybe try eating something co...

Congrats! Glad to see that at least one of us is living braces-free today

There aren't any foods that I won't eat because of my braces, though there are plenty that are really annoying. Many of them I love too much to give up entirely :) Rice is awful because huge amounts of it get stuck between my braces and my cheek, but I love it enough to deal with the annoyance. Spin...

Wow, reading all these responses it seems like the time between my adjustments has been pretty short. In the 15 months I've had braces, all of my adjustments have been every 3 weeks, with the exception of my most recent one which was 4 weeks. There's been no rush on things either, that's just the am...

For me, finishing has meant wearing energy chains and elastics to close my bite, close gaps and fix my midline. I think in general it's just all the little adjustment that need to be made before the braces can come off.

I just had my appointment where I thought I might get my braces off, since I was scheduled to get a bottom permanent retainer today, but no go. My doctor wants to close up a gap between two bottom teeth and also do a little more correction on my bite. I have regular ligs on top, which is a change fr...

I had a decent amount of gum tissue removed (with a laser) from my incoming incisor in order to fit a proper bracket on it. My ortho did it in his office and I wasn't charged for it. I'm also hoping to have some removed from around another tooth for aesthetic reasons when I get my braces off tomorro...

You'll get more used to it as time goes by. I don't really think of brushing as a chore anymore, it's just something I have to do and if you can't brush right away, you find ways to cope until you can. I'm a slow eater also, made worse by the fact that I have to stop every few bites and work food bi...

When I had a gap from a missing/impacted canine and the tooth was being pulled down, I felt like I was drooling all the time from so much metal in one place (button on the roof of my mouth, wire pulling it forward, spring coil holding the space open). Now with powerchains and elastics, I feel like a...

I am 24 and have had braces about 15 months. Getting them off in 4 days!!! Ok, so without being too stalkerish, I'm really curious to know (if you don't mind) when your birthday is? So much of our braces timelines match up (brace date, age, debracing date) that I'm wondering just how close it match...