Metal Mouth Message Board

It does take a little while for your lips to figure out where to go. I find I have a hard time keeping my mouth closed all the time now, as opposed to walking around with the ever attractive gaping-mouth look. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I find my lips are stuck over my braces but other ...

I am less than 2 weeks in and it's trouble already! Ok so yesterday the whole day the teeth on the bottom right of my mouth were sore, like I couldn't even really chew. Then last night as I was getting ready for bed I noticed a considerable (1/4" approx) amount of wire slack between the back br...

I just got braces (see ticker) and will have to have my wisdom teeth out sometime in braces. I think when is up to me, my ortho didn't seem concerned that it needed to be done at a certain point during treatment. I have never had them out because they were never an issue, but I am braced because of ...

'Professional' doesn't mean dull and boring! You can look and act professional and still be colorful. I work in a pretty stringent business environment and no one has said word one about my alternating hot pink/black ligs. I don't even have to have them, I choose to! What I mean is that my braces do...

Keep in mind that orthodontists go to a TON of school to get where they are. Thus, they know what they are doing. I have given myself near anxiety attacks researching medical stuff before I had it done on google--perhaps it's not the best idea. My ortho likes to make adjustments gradually to make th...

Yes, it is called 'decalcification', go to Google and check it out. From what I gather it is a result of poor oral hygeine while in braces, so as long as you are brushing and flossing when and how they tell you it should be ok. I am worried about that too but it's something I have control over so I ...

Generally, the ortho does not do dental cleanings. I have read that it is a good idea to go to the dentist for a bi-annual cleaning before you get your braces put on. I had spacers and tried to do this but got cancelled at the last minute, so I got braces right before I had my 6 month checkup/cleani...

Oh man I won't be able to keep my mouth shut around my coworkers and family when the time comes! Perhaps it's because it's more obvious to see teeth with metal on them and more ordinary to see them without braces so that's why they didn't notice? Bummer, but congrats!

Thank you Sparkles for such an informed response. Do you know which brand names are good saccharin sweetners, or is it just in a box labeled 'saccharin' near the sugar? I am in the US by the way. I realize there is much controversy over the effects artificial sweetners have on your body, as far as b...

Does anyone know about Splenda? My ortho told me to swish with water if nothing else if/when I eat something super sugary 'like Cinnabon'. Do sugar substitutes count--aspartame, Splenda, Equal, etc? I drink a lot of Crystal Light/Lipton 'to go' type things that you mix in with your water bottle. I k...

If I were in your shoes I would either wait until he gets older for the Invisalign or, if you're set on bracing him now, go with metal. If you are willing to spend the money on braces you want to be sure you get results, you probably don't want him to have the option to take them off. Unless you hav...

I just got my braces last week and so far I haven't been told by anyone (other than uninformed guessers on Yahoo Answers) that I need to take it out. I can see why a labret could be a problem but perhaps there is also an alternative solution. PTFE (Teflon) could be a viable option. My ortho and dent...