Metal Mouth Message Board

I wouldn't say it actually scares me, but everything is taking so much long than I originally thought, and I'm starting to wonder if I'll EVER be finished!

I've had a Nance for almost the whole 2 years I've been in treatment. It's not too bad. I hardly notice it anymore (except when I get something stuck under it). I also had to have all my top teeth moved back, like you described. I'm surprised your ortho has said only 4-6 months more though. It's tak...

Hi Andrew, I'm glad you started a blog as this is all very interesting. Did you really not struggle with the palatal screw insertions? Initially I had 2 inserted into my palate, but I had a lot of trouble with inflammation and pain, and one loosened quickly. Eventually the plan for using them was ab...

Why not have the very light grey (smoke) or silver ligs put on before you go? They don't show stains nearly as much and are still discreet. Or the best option of all for stain-free travelling, ask for wire ties.

Oh Jill, don't let one rude waiter in one Indian restaurant in one small town put you off your trip. I work in a secure unit for mentally ill offenders - rapists, murderers, arsonists and worse - and not one of them has ever said anything rude! One of them even asked me how much they'd cost, because...

I am sorry for your loss, Mark. Blood donation is a small price for we healthy people to pay in order to help others.

I'm glad your treatment is progressing well.

my best wishes to you, and to your family.

In a deep bite the top front teeth are usually slanted backwards. There is actually an overjet, but it's camouflaged by the inward slant. As the bite opens and the top teeth come into line, the hidden overjet becomes apparent. It's a necessary "ugly duckling" stage, but once all the top te...

I would think 8 at once would hurt pretty badly for a day or two! You are braver than I. I've had 6 in total but only 2 at a time, and that was enough. I hope they do the job for you. Another tip I was given to help minimise loosening is to resist the urge to fiddle with them. It's hard, because you...

I'm glad your wax palate is working. I had palatal screws for a while and they were rough on the tongue, but they didn't stick out as much as yours do. What hardware are you having attached to them?

I know what you mean. I had them 3 times altogether, and my teeth felt really skanky. I just used lots of Listerine and hoped for the best!

Flaka, my post was mainly for Mike, who has a 1/2 inch overjet but is not able to tolerate headgear to bring his upper teeth back to a class I. So in his ortho's opinion the best solution is to camouflage the overjet and class II by extracting upper teeth to make space, and just bringing the upper f...

It's not such a common extraction pattern as taking all 4 bicuspids out, but the idea behind extracting uppers only is to leave the molars as they are, in a stable class II occlusion. Then extraction of just the upper bicuspids will allow the cuspids (canines) to settle into a class I position (with...

They are all brilliant. I do envy people who can come up with witty ripostes on the spot, as I can never think of anything till long after the moment has passed.

If you have to have an appliance such as a Nance or a pendulum, then molar bands are necessary as the appliance is soldered to the bands. Molars with large fillings or crowns are often (although not always) banded, because the band spreads the load over the whole tooth and gives it some extra suppor...

Perhaps you should do a serious-faced pic