Nervous Newbie

[Nelly13]

So I'm getting my braces on this Friday. I currently have 12 spacers in my teeth and I have been really sore from this. I am getting self ligating metals with ceramic on the top front 6. I can handle all of that. What concerns me is getting upper and lower lingual arches (inside arch wires). Anyone experienced these babies!? I'm worried about the pain and how I'll speak. Thanks for any help

[jaime]

There is a whole board dedicated to lingual braces

http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=12

[Nelly13]

Aren't lingual braces the braces that are on the inside of the teeth? That isn't what I was asking about - this is a wire that goes over the roof of my mouth with braces on the outside. Not sure if there is a name for it.

[jaime]

Ohh, you're referring to a transpalatal arch wire (TPA). There are actually 2 current threads right now about them.

http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 13&t=47680
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtop ... 13&t=46811

I actually have one, too. It's not painful or difficult to speak in my experience, anyway. It'll take some getting used to but it's not a big deal at all.

[arciedee]

Are you referring to lingual arches or transpalatal wires? THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR. THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR. THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR. THIS IS SPAM PLEASE REPORT IT TO THE ADMINISTRATOR., lingual arches are wires that run along the inside of the teeth, not across the palate. I had a lower lingual arch when I had my Carriere distalizers. It was attached to molar bands on my first molars and was designed to keep my lower teeth from shifting while those molars were used as the anchor point for my elastics.

It wasn't the most fun I've had in orthodontia, that's for sure, but it might be because of how mine fit. I was under the impression (sorry for the bad pun) that they were supposed to pretty much run along the inside surface of the teeth, but mine had a gap of a couple millimeters between the wire and the teeth and it made speech challenging. It certainly improved as I got used to having it there, but I never felt that my speech was particularly clear while I had it. It also caught a lot of food and was occasionally challenging to clean around. I didn't find it painful, however, just annoying.

Hope your experience goes well!