Metal Mouth Message Board

My teeth look noticably whiter when I get wires & ligs changed - darker after a week or so. I think it's the braces.

I have thought the same exact thing this week. I feel like they look brownish in spite of my vigilant brushing!

AHopewell wrote:I have thought the same exact thing this week. I feel like they look brownish in spite of my vigilant brushing!

This is exactly my problem! I didn't have porcelain white teeth to begin with, but sheesh they are looking so dingy lately I can barely stand it!!

Mine are too! I get my ligs changed on October 2nd, hoping they look a bit brighter after that!

My 1st adjustment is this coming Tuesday, the 8th, so I thought I would stop in and post a quick update. I thought I wasn't seeing much movement, but I took an up-angle picture tonight and compared it with one from Week 1, and can see some definite progress. I will upload the comparison, so you all can take a peek and let me know what you think. I am anxious about what the adjustment will bring, and still contemplating ligature colors. I am leaning towards pink, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month for October. What do you guys think about color on top, and silver on bottom? Or should I go all-out and do color on top & bottom? Bottom wire and brackets aren't pretty -- lots of roller coast ups and downs, so I'm not sure if I want to draw a lot of attention there just yet.

I'll pop back in on Tuesday and let you know how it went! Feel free to comment on the pic, as I want to see if you all can see any changes. (I apologize for the difference in angle and lighting, but you get the drift). Thanks!

I'm with you guys on the teeth looking dirty. I only have braces on the top and my bottom teeth are soooo much whiter so it has to be the braces. I get pearl ligs and they do make them look better the first week. Luckily I have adjustments every 4 weeks.

I can't believe how yellow my teeth look since I got braces! I think it is yucky! After reading on the forum, apparently it is quite common, but still.... <ick!><sigh>

I survived my 1st adjustment! It didn't take long, and was relatively painless. I started out by having my wires removed, then I was off to see my regular dentist for my cleaning (as you may remember, I wasn't able to get one before my install). Let me tell you something about having the wires off for an hour and a half -- SO WEIRD FEELING! My teeth felt unstable and tender, and all I could think about was getting them back on! It's crazy how you become sort of dependent on your wire, and miss it when it's off. Not sure if anyone gets the same feeling by having it off for the short time during an adjustment. But having it off for so long was completely noticeable and foreign. So strange! So the cleaning went well -- my dentist really got in all the nooks and crannies and around all the brackets. She also did sealant on my molars, which is new for me but I figured why not. Then, back over to the ortho. The Dr checked out my teeth, had me bite down several times during the exam and then told the assistant what to do. He bumped my wire up to a 14 from a 12 and then they talked about "distal" and "proximal" which I'm assuming had to do with my lower lateral incisors. I think they were talking about how the ligs were on those two before, and how they were going to put them on now. This time, they did not wrap the ligs around the whole bracket for the lower lateral incisors, just the one outside post of the bracket. I think this will give those teeth some turn, yes? Anyways, I did end up going with the dark pink ligs, which I am actually really liking. The silver just made my smile too dark. I think I will start having fun with colors from here on out. The only pain I felt was what she removed the wire from my upper and lower incisors, as well as when she reattached the new wire to the same teeth. It seems like the problem teeth are the most painful, probably for obvious reasons.
All in all, it was done in a matter of minutes and pretty much what I expected. So glad to be past this milestone, and looking forward to the changes ahead!

PaisleyGrrl81 wrote:My 1st adjustment is this coming Tuesday, the 8th, so I thought I would stop in and post a quick update. I thought I wasn't seeing much movement, but I took an up-angle picture tonight and compared it with one from Week 1, and can see some definite progress. I will upload the comparison, so you all can take a peek and let me know what you think. I am anxious about what the adjustment will bring, and still contemplating ligature colors. I am leaning towards pink, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month for October. What do you guys think about color on top, and silver on bottom? Or should I go all-out and do color on top & bottom? Bottom wire and brackets aren't pretty -- lots of roller coast ups and downs, so I'm not sure if I want to draw a lot of attention there just yet.

I'll pop back in on Tuesday and let you know how it went! Feel free to comment on the pic, as I want to see if you all can see any changes. (I apologize for the difference in angle and lighting, but you get the drift). Thanks!

wow, I can't believe that progress in only 39 days. awesome! I hope I see some fast changes too. I know it'll do wonders for my motivation!

It is so exciting to see movement isn't it? I keep waiting to see some kind of progress on the bottom, so far, all they have been is annoying. I continue to see progress on my top tho.

Here is my week 7 picture, and 1 week after my first adjustment. I'm definitely seeing some progress on the uppers now. The lowers are slower going, but they are sore this week so hopefully that is a good sign!

I can already tell, with the little bit of movement I have experienced and getting a sneak-peak into what it might look like at the end of this... that this is by far one of the best decisions I have ever made. Any doubts I had before treatment were completely unfounded. Like most of you, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner! And I'm totally loving the metal braces... imagine that!

Hi there! I got braced a few days before you. 8/23 and 24 months sentence. Hope to follow your post and share our progress.

PaisleyGrrl81 wrote:Here is my week 7 picture, and 1 week after my first adjustment. I'm definitely seeing some progress on the uppers now. The lowers are slower going, but they are sore this week so hopefully that is a good sign!

I can already tell, with the little bit of movement I have experienced and getting a sneak-peak into what it might look like at the end of this... that this is by far one of the best decisions I have ever made. Any doubts I had before treatment were completely unfounded. Like most of you, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner! And I'm totally loving the metal braces... imagine that!

Your teeth looks awesome! So much progress already!!

I feel the same way about the wait. I've gone so long now without braces, but I've finally talked myself into them and I want them on NOW!

I made it through my 2nd adjustment! My top wire was upgraded to a stainless steel 16. However, I am still in a 14 on bottom, as the teeth in that arch are still a bit too tender and unstable to be able to upgrade the wire. I chose "Tiffany"-like teal ligs this time, but am not sure I like them as well as the pink. Would love to hear what you guys think of the progress so far!