Metal Mouth Message Board

Wearing the trays "half-time" basically means wearing them at night as retainers. When I had my first consultation, the ortho said that I would have to wear a retainer "for life." The ortho seems to think that my final set of trays will last a long time as retainers. At some poin...

Hi all, I finished 20/20 U&L trays in June, waited about four weeks for five sets of refinement trays, and finished the refinement trays yesterday. The initial series of 20 trays worked well but my ortho wanted to push the "spooky" front tooth a little bit more to make sure it fell per...

Four weeks to the day for me.

I've had the trays out for 3+ hours at one time for special occassions such as anniversary dinners; special here means 4 or 5 times during nine months of treatment. My ortho said give yourself a break on special occasions as long as you are disciplined the rest of the time.

Hi all, I finished 20/20 U&L just over four weeks ago and am happy to report all has gone well so far. Yesterday, I started 1/5 refinement trays U&L. I wish it were easier to post photos so I could share the progress. There's not much left to do. I think my ortho is very careful in planning ...

I spent the first two weeks salivating like a dog on a hot summer day. I had a sore throat from all the swallowing. But by the second set of trays things got better.

I got over the lisping in about a day but I have noticed an ongoing challenge when I talk to large groups. I'm on 16/20 U&L and have given a few presentations, without a mic, in the past month to groups of about 150. I have had to be much more careful not to trip over my words than in my pre-ali...

I alternate between a Braun electric toothbrush and the sonic cleaner from Dentakit.com, the firm that advertises on this site. Both seem to work fairly well at cleaning the white gunk that collects in my aligners, especially the parts that cover the molars. The Sonic Brite cost me about $30 plus th...

Congratulations "Ihaveniceteeth"!

Lunch is definitely the trickiest meal to work around. Luckily, at work, I have an office with a real door. I floss in the office then do a very quick teeth-brushing and rinsing of the trays in a public restroom. I'll go back to the office to reinsert the trays. It is nasty and gets a few looks if t...

Mine are pretty visible...and I'm a little disappointed. Like many, I was eased into treatment with no attachments during the first two trays. I'm now in the middle of 3/20 trays upper and lower. The attachments were added yesterday. I have four upper and three lower. They are square or rectangular ...

Hi all, If you have been missing your morning cup(s) of coffee, and happen to live by a Japanese or international supermarket, I would recommend checking out some Japanese bottled coffees. There are several brands and all seem to sell for about $3.79 for a 30oz/900ml bottle in Northern California. T...

Hi all, I'm just finishing week one on my first of twenty trays upper and lower. So far, I haven't had any pain at all (but I don't get my attachments until tray 3). I have read a few posts from others saying the excessive salivation goes away as the mouth becomes accustomed to the trays. But I'm st...