Metal Mouth Message Board

Before you cut it, make sure it has not just "traveled" from the other side of your arch. If it has then work it back to a central position and you'll be sorted, if on the other hand it does need to be trimmed you'll need something like a small pair of side cutters or I've heard of some pe...

Hi, and welcome .
Don't worry about the pain/ inconvenience caused by the molar build ups, you really will get used to them in no time.
Good luck on your orthodontic adventure .

I'm not sure what size I started with on the upper arch ( that was way back in September 2007), but I know my lowers have a .012 because at my last adjustment my Ortho told the tech to leave it in until my next adjustment as the teeth have not yet moved enough for the next size wire ( real bummed ab...

Yep! I know exactly what you're talking about, at the beginning it was always either a broken archwire or one particular bracket that kept coming off for me. I remember asking the assistant if there was something I might be doing wrong , but never did figure it out. I was at the Ortho's office so of...

Hi there Des, I'm also from South Africa. I'm 33 years old and on top of that am male (in my opinion men in braces are a minority worldwide) making me even more of an oddity. You're definitely not the only one in the country going through this, in fact I went to a function on saturday night and foun...

I have found the discomfort to subside in two or three days after getting power chains put on. After that I'm not even aware that they're still there.
Also if they're replaced at your next app they don't hurt at all, they just give you a feeling of renewed pressure.

Give your Ortho a call and let him/her decide if it can wait. Some Orthos don't mind leaving it for the next adjustment, but others (mine included) prefer to fix it right away (even though going in for an extra/unscheduled appointment can be a real drag).

Good luck.

It is not entirely unusual (especially with self ligating) to have up to 12 weeks between adjustments, particularly in the early stages and right towards the end.

Well on your first question, the above responses prove to me that everyone is affected differently as I found the top arch to be much more of a big deal (perhaps part of it was psychological, being a new experience and having to adapt) than the bottom arch. My bottom arch was braced about a week and...

I voted "other" as I'm petrified that after all this cash and disruption of normal life, my teeth move back to non ideal positions. I guess what worries me is the long term stability of my new bite.

Yeah, I had that done about eight or nine months ago, as I remember the gap was completely closed in about three or four days with the help of a power chain (I'm assuming your ortho has put a power chain on to close your gap). Also realize that the gap looks and feels way worse to you than anyone el...

I can sympathize with you on this subject. I had a problem tooth/bracket that had to be bonded four times before it stayed put! Fortunately it has behaved for the past four or five months, so there is indeed hope for yours to come right. I don't know what to suggest other than hang in there, it will...

No, although I was expecting to need some teeth extracted to make space to correct the crowding I had/have, when I saw my current ortho he said it was not necessary to extract. I was (and still am) naturally over the moon about this, and I think it was one of the things that convinced me I had nothi...

I think a lot has to do with the individual case at hand and the treatment plan the ortho decides is most suitable to get the desired results. In my case, the uppers have been on for about year now and my lowers were only braced a week and a half ago, so that's almost a year between the two. I didn'...

I had it done on my upper incisors (in the middle) to sort out a black triangle caused by a bit of gum recession. My teeth look a thousand times better than they did before IPR, and I can honestly say I had absolutely no side effects from this. If your ortho recommends it, go for it.