Small mouth and Damon braces...were you happy with result?

[scotto7]

Hey all

I have a smallish mouth, and metaphorically a *big* mouth ;-)

I'm getting Damon Clear in 2 weeks, and it's going to fix a jutting out upper incisor, jutting out canine, correct a 3mm crossbite, do some work on a small overbite, and generally align and straighten my upper teeth as much as possible (It is also doing lower arch work, but you can see those teeth when I smile anyway!).

When I smile you an see about three quarters of the surface of my front upper teeth. Horizontally, you can see the front 4 teeth (Though they are a little crowded), the canines start to turn the corner and you can just about make out the 8th teeth.

I'm hoping that with this work the widening of my upper arch will help to present more of the surface of the canines and beyond. The jutting out canine does make it almost impossible to see beyond it so that will obviously help when it is pushed in.

Has anyone had this kind of work done and been happy with the result?
S

[chichi]

Welcome, scotto!

The Damon system is supposed to help give you a wider arch, meaning you'll show more teeth when you smile and have less of the dark triangles in the corners of your mouth. And braces in general will round out your arch so you won't have that "corner" at your canines.

Good luck getting braced and keep us updated on your progress

[scotto7]

Thanks Chichi

How have you found your first 6-8 weeks?

Seen any changes ;-)??

[chichi]

So far, so good. I just threw the link to my story into my signature, although I'm not sure you'll be able to see the pictures yet (might have to wait til you have 7 posts).

I'm eating relatively normally (still no biting into things) and I see a few small changes, so I really can't complain

[Marigold]

I have a small mouth (also metaphorically big, lol) and mild crowding. My arch is most definitely wider now.

[scotto7]

Thanks for the responses so far folks.

Chichi, interesting you say that you still aren't biting into things yet. I asked my ortho's nurse how long it would take before I could chew normally, and she said about 2-3 weeks (used herself as a reference). I asked this because I am on my annual 2 week SUN holiday in October (6 weeks on) and didn't; want any significant chewing issues.

But you say you're still not really biting into things at the 6 week stage. I suppose I don't eat a lot of red meat which takes lots of chewing, but I like bacon from time to time ;-)

I'm trying to figure out what these turbo's will actually *be* like and how long they stay in for. The ortho don't respond every day so it's taking a while to get a clear picture of things!

[chichi]

Thanks for the responses so far folks.

Chichi, interesting you say that you still aren't biting into things yet. I asked my ortho's nurse how long it would take before I could chew normally, and she said about 2-3 weeks (used herself as a reference). I asked this because I am on my annual 2 week SUN holiday in October (6 weeks on) and didn't; want any significant chewing issues.

But you say you're still not really biting into things at the 6 week stage. I suppose I don't eat a lot of red meat which takes lots of chewing, but I like bacon from time to time

I'm trying to figure out what these turbo's will actually *be* like and how long they stay in for. The ortho don't respond every day so it's taking a while to get a clear picture of things!

When I say I'm not biting into things, I mean with my front teeth. I can't bite into a piece of fruit or a sandwich, but I can cut everything up and chew in the back just fine. Bacon has been more difficult because I prefer it on the crispy side and every so often I'll have a day where it hurts to chew anything that's a little hard/tough (but I still eat bacon, no worries).

I have molar buildups (they were a surprise... ortho didn't mention them until he was putting the stuff in my mouth), which I thought I would never get used to... but in reality, it only took me a week or two to figure out how to eat with them. I really don't even notice them anymore.

[scotto7]

Is it an either\or between turbo's and molar build-ups then, cos my dental assessment says I will get turbo's?

I also like bacon crispy.....num num num.

[scotto7]

For anyone interested, here is an image of my upper arch.

As you look at the picture:

-I am hoping for the left incisor to be pushed back and into line
-The right canine to be pushed back and into line
- The right incisor to be pulled from behind the front tooth and into prominence
- The left and right arches where the molars are to be widened so that the canine and first molar are more prominent
- Pretty much everything straightened up as much as I can and with a wider smile hopefully.

And then get the teeth whitened a bit. The lowers are not soo bad, but need work. I'm hoping there can be some serious improvement in that gawky row of teeth

[chichi]

Is it an either\or between turbo's and molar build-ups then, cos my dental assessment says I will get turbo's?

I also like bacon crispy.....num num num.

A lot of people seem to have either turbos or buildups, but I don't know if it's always either/or. If your assessment says turbos then I would imagine no buildups for you, but the only way to know for sure is to ask your ortho... or wait and find out when they do whatever it is they're going to do

[coreym95]

I have Damon brackets and I am very happy with the results so far.

[mapleleafman888]

"Small mouth and Damon braces...were you happy with result?"

I am glad to have found this post, arch expansion will be part of my treatment. Thank good-ness most damon cases don't require those crazy looking RPE's. Not looking forward to the turbos though! Glad there's a tonne of info on here and alot of people do seem to have turbos.

Best wishes dude.

[TMJJill]

Tomorrow is my 2 year braceversary. (Can I make up my own word here?)

I've had the Damon clears on top. According to my orthodontist, my upper arch has gone from twin size to king size. Really, I've had some very nice arch development. When I smiled before, you saw about 6 teeth. Now, you see fully the front 8 and a bit of 9 & 10. And no, it isn't just the teeth being pushed out. I actually had pretty straight teeth when I started my treatment. My issue was TMJD and a bite that was off-kilter.

Once my upper arch was developed, I got my lowers on. This was at the 11 month mark. I have the metal Damons on the bottom. I didn't need as much arch development there. I did need to erupt and align teeth into a correct bite position. I will get my braces off in 19 days.

Yes, I'm very happy with my treatment. I'd choose the Damon's again.

I started my journey with moderate hearing loss, ear stuffiness, significant ear pain, ear ringing, neck and shoulder pain. All because my discs had slipped and my jaw was pushing back into my ear. I am now pain free and have arrested my hearing loss. If you knew how severe my issues had been, you would understand the significance of my statement. The Damons and the skill/training of my Orthodontist have made a huge improvement in the quality of my life.

BTW, no turbos or build-ups here. I did have a lower mandibular repositioning splint throughout my first 11 months of upper braces though.

When you get your braces on, watch the archwire even more than you do your teeth. It is amazing how fast it seems to straighten during the early months. It really is programmed to align your teeth into that nice wide 'U' shape.

[fosterp]

For anyone interested, here is an image of my upper arch.

As you look at the picture:

-I am hoping for the left incisor to be pushed back and into line
-The right canine to be pushed back and into line
- The right incisor to be pulled from behind the front tooth and into prominence
- The left and right arches where the molars are to be widened so that the canine and first molar are more prominent
- Pretty much everything straightened up as much as I can and with a wider smile hopefully.

And then get the teeth whitened a bit. The lowers are not soo bad, but need work. I'm hoping there can be some serious improvement in that gawky row of teeth

Check out my signature for an example of the kind of arch development you can expect with braces.

What should be said though is the widening of your arch from RPE and widening with just wires is a distinctively different and will achieve a different aesthetic result. RPE widens your arch by moving the underlying bone - the teeth will follow the bone - and your teeth aren't really moving within the alveolar bone. Widening your arch with wires will move the teeth a small amount at the roots to the outer limit of the alveolar bone, and the rest of the arch expansion will be through tipping the teeth outwards.

The end result is a wider smile in either case, but in general the non-surgical approach will have your teeth tipped more vertically (or even tipping outwards slightly while teeth generally tip inwards naturally. Both ways usually end up looking good, but I've seen a fair share of examples of people unhappy with the way their teeth kind of tip outwards at the end of treatment.

In your case, based on the photo you posted, it would seem that your premolars are already tipped a bit more vertically, so I would think that you only have limited potential for arch expansion. Thats not to say that your smile won't appear to widen, as the reason things look so narrow is due to the crowding and misalignment of your front 6. Once the arch is rounded out, the smile will be more aesthetic because your premolars won't be hiding behind your front teeth that are tipped outwards.