Metal Mouth Message Board

Honestly, finding out what is going to stain your ligs is really best done on a trial and error basis. Many people on the board of late say their ligs just don't stain. Three years ago when I got braces it was the opposite--everyone was complaining their ligs stained no matter what. Not quite sure w...

You probably couldn't go up in thickness yet b/c your teeth are not aligned enough to support a thicker wire. If you put a thick(er) wire on a tooth that is significantly out of aliment, the bracket can pop off the tooth. Two thinner wires exert more force than one but probably not as much as the ne...

Oh yeah. I whimpered a lot at adjustment appointments. That was my way of letting them know that it hurt. Most of the time they tried to be a bit gentler.
Take two Advil about an hour b/f your adjustment appointment. That really helped me a lot.

How long did it take you to feel comfortable with your braces? I feel like I never will. Everyone is different of course, but I think it only took me about a week or two to no longer be self-conscious. Once my friends and co-workers saw me in them and didn't blink an eyelash, and once I went out to...

Tumble- did your cross elastics cause a gap in your front teeth? Mine did and since I have been off the cross elastics for a few weeks, the gap has closed but not a lot. I got back in two more weeks for new wires and powerchains, I assume. He said we will start closing the gaps. No. As far as I cou...

Bends in the wire can intrude/extrude teeth. By the end of my treatment my wire looked like a roller coaster from all the bends.

My crossbite (which affected all my molars upper and lower) was corrected with a combination of wires, a quad helix, and crossbite elastics. The quad helix was placed early on and basically did the heavy lifting. It got my molars moved to basically the correct place. After the QH was removed I went ...

Sounds like molar bands. They function same as brackets but they wrap around the whole tooth rather then just stick on the side.

I spent 33 months in braces (starting at age 35) and have been out of them for more than a year. The beginning of treatment really sucked but the end is so worth it. I totally know where you are right now. Braces are a big change. One day you have naked teeth and the next day you have braces. No mat...

If your ortho has them, try Smoke or Light Gray ligs. No, those aren't clear, but they are discrete colors and are on the blue end of the spectrum so don't look yellow. If you have very white teeth, they may blend better. I used both those colors on my clear sapphire bracket throughout my treatment.

Have you asked any of the othos if going the non-surgery route is a cover up fix? Maybe it isn't. My advice is to get multiple opinions--3 or 4 and ask that specific question. Go with the orthodontists you mesh with--one that you can talk to and who is willing to talk to you. Avoid the ones who try ...

What's the risk with popcorn? I've been eating it for the past few months without any problems lol Popcorn kernel+bracket = popped/broken bracket. Hulls can get jammed in or under a molar bands. (I've actually heard of a few people getting an infection this way.) Basically popcorn creates a big mes...

Ceramic brackets don't stain--the rubber ligatures do, however the ligs are changed at each adjustment. (If you have self-ligating brackets stop reading now. You will not have ligatures, thus will not have a staining issue at all.) If you opt for clear ligatures, those will stain in a matter of days...

Why don't you just wear it at night? Then you will definitely get at least 4 hours in Positioners, to work to their full potential, need to be actively used. You need to bite into them--like when chewing. I think that's what the ortho had in mind when prescribing it 4 hours each day. The thing is b...

Yes, if you don't wear your positioner your teeth may move. I had a positioner for a very short while at the end of my treatment but I was then given a retainer which was much more comfortable and easy to wear. However I'm an adult and done growing. In my opinion it's better to have a retainer that ...