Metal Mouth Message Board

What do solder points on retainers do..? I also have springs and a clear plastic piece that covers the bottom four front teeth. Thank you. I don't think the solder points do anything, it just happens to be somewhere your ortho or the lab decides to connect on a retainer. All I hear about them is th...

Thanks for the article! The stem cell research is an incredible opportunity - or could be if eventually missing teeth could be 'made in a lab' for someone who lost one or multiple due to injury or disease. I more or less meant that I was surprised that Texas was the only location for testing here, y...

I have no idea whether my teeth could have been straightened effectively without extractions, to be honest. Back when I had my treatment initially, most orthos used extractions routinely, you didn't hear about expansion much for adult patients. I didn't really notice a change in my profile at all du...

Were you charged for your consult(s)? Maybe it's just because I live in the US, to me it seems odd. Every single consult I have ever had has been free, and many offices advertise a free consult and a followup to discuss your treatment plan before you begin. Not only have I never been charged for a c...

I replied to another thread about this, but I think it was a couple weeks from the intial consult to getting my braces. I had a followup after the initial which included molds, photos, xrays, etc and I figured it would take a bit for my ortho to decide how to tackle my case. I had no overbite/overje...

I've never heard of not having diagnostic models OR being braced the same day as your consult, but I guess stranger things have happened. When I intially got my braces, I went for a consult (I already knew it was necessary) so at my consult, I went into it already with the idea that treatment would ...

Is there anything made that is safe to use for appliances with solder? My ortho told me I can use denture cleaner and mouthwash but everything I've read HERE says it's not safe for longterm use with solder. Of course I also read here that you shouldn't put retainers in hot water and my ortho said it...

See if there are any coupons or deals for local dental offices where you may be able to get a cleaning and exam and xrays as a new patient if you pay cash - sometimes I see coupons for $39 or so. You WOULD have to pay the $39 for the cleaning and exam, but that would not go to your ins so you would ...

I agree with VA5, it DOES make a difference to see that a professional practices what they preach. However, I can tell you that when I get a manicure or pedicure or I get my hair highlighted, often the person doing it doesn't seem to take care of their nails or they need a haircut. I know that sound...

Was it stretchy - like a power chain? Are you talking about ligs that are all connected or like a bumper thing to keep the wire in the end? It won't stop your teeth from moving along the wire, if it's something on the back it should keep the wire from coming out and poking you. From past experience,...

I'll say from experience that sometimes it may be better to almost over-correct with the braces so that the little bit of relapse that can happen with settling after with retainers doesn't 'hurt' you as much as it would have if things were just 'perfect'... and then the retainers didn't hold the res...

I wouldn't double up on them unless I was told to, I actually did that once and it moved a tooth too far. I figured you can't have too much of a good thing - I was wrong lol.

I'm a bit curious as to why they didn't do more testing somewhere other than only Texas... I'd heard about this too but didn't realize it wasn't approved by the FDA yet.

I'll call the office and ask, my appts are usually about 7-8 weeks apart. I was hoping one of the dentists would respond to this question lol.

That's wonderful! it sounds like you are progressing with the expansion very quickly. Sorry about the black eye, it seems every time someone has surgery on their face somewhere, black eyes or bruising happens. :D Also very glad that someone is taking care of you - you know, we wives really are incre...