Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone! I am so happy I found these boards - it's so nice to see I'm not alone in this! Whenever I tell someone about my braces situation (surgery to expose canines, chains attached, etc.. ), they go "yikes". I can almost hear them thinking, "Thank God I don't have to go through that!" I had two impacted canines on my top row of teeth.

I feel like I have had things done a little differently than most people on these boards. I had surgery the day after my braces were put on, in December, to expose my adult canines and also to remove all 4 of my wisdom teeth. I have a TPA, and the surgeon attached the exposure chains to it. The weird part is that the chains are coming out of the roof of my mouth close to the TPA... not anywhere near where my canines are supposed to be. And it's still sore where the chains come out of the roof of my mouth. The orthodontist hasn't started "pulling" on the chains attached to my canines yet, they are loose. He said he thinks we'll start tightening them at the next appointment in April. At that point I'll also have "springs" attached to widen my gap and make space for the adult canines. I'm worried about this, since originally he wanted me to have SARPE surgery to widen my palate. I opted not to, so he might have trouble making room for all my teeth. Also, it looks like my canines are in awful positions.. almost horizontal instead of vertical and I don't know how close they are to the arch. I'm so confused where my teeth actually are! Based on where the chains come out of my head, they are suuuuuuper far back.

I've been lucky that my orthodontist agreed to give me pontics ("fake teeth") to cover the big gaps left by my missing baby canines. I do truly miss my baby teeth... The pontics look good but I have to stick wax on one of them otherwise it spins around on the arch wire while I'm talking.... that's not a good look.

At this point, I just can't imagine how I'll feel 2-3 years down the road when I am finally close to getting braces removed (hopefully, that's what the ortho estimated). At 3 months in, I am already so sick of these. I thought I would be used to braces by now but I can't get over the minor lisp I have, I feel like my lips puff out and make me look awkward while I'm speaking. I'm 24, just graduated my master's degree and finally I have a real job, and the braces just make me feel like a child. I know how lucky I am to even have access to orthodontic treatment, so I am trying to remember that and stay positive.

I just wanted to put my story out there and join the community on here. It's nice to see some of you progressing! It's also cool to see old posts from around 2008 and realizing that these people are probably so happy they got braces and it's probably all behind them now. One day that will be us :)

What was it like for the canine tightening? Getting it done this Saturday and want to prepare myself, I’ve hesrd it hurts but my oral surgeon said it won’t.

KarinaJean94 — I had my second exposure surgery on February 1, and my chain tightened 8 days later. I thought my mouth would be too sensitive to have everything "activated" so soon, but it was fine. I actually didn't feel any pain at all when the orthodontist started applying pressure to the chain, but I have a very tight canine so maybe a little pulling is nothing lol. Good luck at your follow up appointment!

Krystal — You should start to see a lot of improvement within a week near the surgical site. Gum tissue starts to look more pink and normal. I was not scheduled for a follow up with my oral surgeon but I went anyways just to make sure everything was healing properly.

braceface93 — Welcome to the club! I'll be 26 this year so I know exactly how you feel. No one wants to be in braces (especially at this age) and like you, I had a fake tooth in place for a while to cover my space but eventually it was removed. It's no fun having a gap there now, but I'm so glad I started this journey. Even besides the canine issue, it's been nice seeing the other teeth come into proper alignment. Luckily I didn't need a palate expander or any surgeries to prepare my mouth, but I do have a very stubborn canine that has only moved a little since my first exposure surgery in 2016. We had been pulling on the tooth for over a year and it still hadn't broke through the gum tissue in the roof of my mouth (so frustrating not being able to see it!) But like I mentioned above, we decided to do a second exposure - done with a laser this time, the canine left partially exposed and my gold chain bonded to a new position.

That's good that your ortho wants to tighten the chains soon - that'll apply pressure on those canines and hopefully get them moving! I'd definitely mention to him that you're still sore in that area though. Don't be afraid to ask questions at appointments if you're concerned or even just curious about anything. My surgical site was EXTREMELY sensitive where the gum tissue was lasered away, but it improved after a week. Maybe he can attach the chains to a different area? I'm sorry that you have to deal with this on both sides.

Here are some fun pictures below of my mouth these days - I have something called a "Kilroy spring" pulling on my gold chain (which gave me a small lisp too but my tongue is getting used to it.) Before my 2nd exposure, I couldn't see the tooth at all and now I can see the surface of the tooth emerging (so exciting!!) so I take pics of my mouth constantly lol. It's an easy way to look for signs of progress/how I keep myself sane during this time :) It's sad to think that despite all of this time, effort and money, I still may not end up with a success story but my orthodontist and I are remaining hopeful. We'll see what happens in the next few months!

https://s13.postimg.org/66vzo86c7/archview.jpg

https://s13.postimg.org/da3v3ujhj/sideview.jpg

impacted4lyf -

Thank you!!! This Saturday will be 14 days after my surgery because that’s the day I also get my braces tighten aswell so I thought I’ll get it done all in one setting.

I’m also 23 and had braces since I was 22, so I’ve had them on for 5 and a half months and so far so good, the worst part of everything is the anxiety (I have GAD, so I overreact over everything)

impacted4lyf -

Thank you!!! This Saturday will be 14 days after my surgery because that’s the day I also get my braces tighten aswell so I thought I’ll get it done all in one setting.

I’m also 23 and had braces since I was 22, so I’ve had them on for 5 and a half months and so far so good, the worst part of everything is the anxiety (I have GAD, so I overreact over everything)

impacted4lyf:

Thank you for responding! It's looking a lot better today, so I'm not worried anymore. Now I'm just worrying it won't come down. The not knowing is the worst part of this journey! I think it's so fascinating that your tooth didn't move for over a year and now it is. I hope it continues to move for you!! :)

braceface93- It sounds like me and you are in the same boat. My chains are coming out of the roof of my mouth as well. I too have both canines impacted, they are both high and lying on their side. I have an appliance that has two arms that have loops on the end. My chains are attached to these with thin wires. It has been a year for me since I got braces. I just had another ortho appointment today and they took another image. My teeth are moving!! My left side is still higher up then the right. I feel like the right side should be poking through anyday. I too have fake teeth in place of my real baby teeth. I had the same issue with them spinning around. My ortho put a thicker square wire in instead of thin round one. They don't spin around anymore. Makes it much easier to eat.

wow cool i get to be part of this club too :) just dropped off my 3d xray to the orthodontist hoping to hear back soon about feasibility of moving my canine up. will post up xray pics soon as i can (or is that not advisable for online security/privacy reasons? )

sdavis, it is nice to see someone in a similar situation! Great to hear that your teeth are moving :D

I had my exposure surgery Dec 14th 2017 (3 months ago), and they haven't started pulling on either of my canines yet. Yesterday one of my chains detached from the TPA (wire along the roof of my mouth), which is not a big deal, but I had to go in to get it reattached otherwise the hanging chain would bother me. I thought I was all healed up from my surgery, but when the assistant was reattaching the chain she accidentally tugged on it a little and it hurt SO MUCH. I shed a tear.. which was so embarrassing. But man, it hurt so much and she barely touched it.

I'm supposed to have my chains "activated" at an appointment in mid-April, and I am so nervous that we won't be able to start if it is still this sore. I was in agony for the couple seconds she was pulling on the chain, I can't image having that tightened and a constant pressure on it. Everyone here seems to say the chain tightening was not painful for them. The chain attached to my right-side canine feels fine when tugged on, but on the left definitely not. Has anyone else experienced this much pain 3 months post exposure surgery?

Update! Went to get my canine activated but they said I need my premolar removed in order for the canine to move into place as my mouth is overcrowded. The pain after surgery was 0 and it’s all healed up it’s just ready to be pulled!!

My tooth removal is in 1.5 weeks time and my next orthodontics is in 3 weeks time. I’m hoping it doesn’t hurt and it goes well :)

KarinaJean, good luck! :)

7 weeks post canine exposure
Got my adult tooth ripped out yesterday to make room for the orthodontics to activate the canine next weekend!


In anyone’s experience, did it hurt when they started pulling on it? The site is completely healed and doesn’t hurt what so ever

KarinaJean94 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:47 pm 7 weeks post canine exposure
Got my adult tooth ripped out yesterday to make room for the orthodontics to activate the canine next weekend!


In anyone’s experience, did it hurt when they started pulling on it? The site is completely healed and doesn’t hurt what so ever

I got the chain attached to my canine in January and the pulling never hurt. The only pain I've had has been in the teeth next to when the canine is.

So I got my baby tooth taken out and the canine exposure on 18 January (so pretty much exactly 3 months ago). My ortho waited 3 weeks to do anything so that my stitches were removed and then I've been doing all my wishing to move the tooth.

My tooth has come through and I can now see the chain button that is attached to my tooth really clearly. I don't have an appointment for another 2 weeks and I don't think much will change as the top of the chain is quite rigid so I think it may be holding the tooth in place. But I'm really excited and I feel like I'm getting closer to having a bracket put on it!

Also I took the picture normally so I have no idea why its coming out sideways.

strinder wrote: ↑Sat Apr 21, 2018 4:28 am So I got my baby tooth taken out and the canine exposure on 18 January (so pretty much exactly 3 months ago). My ortho waited 3 weeks to do anything so that my stitches were removed and then I've been doing all my wishing to move the tooth.

My tooth has come through and I can now see the chain button that is attached to my tooth really clearly. I don't have an appointment for another 2 weeks and I don't think much will change as the top of the chain is quite rigid so I think it may be holding the tooth in place. But I'm really excited and I feel like I'm getting closer to having a bracket put on it!

Also I took the picture normally so I have no idea why its coming out sideways.

Omg! How exciting! That was fast! Keep us updated.