Metal Mouth Message Board

In addition to powerchains (attached horizontally to the archwire), and elastics (attached in many, many different configurations to brackets), your orthodontist may also crimp your archwire to rotate a tooth. (I'm not sure what the criteria is for using elastics and/or powerchains versus crimping t...

Gondi.

Meryaten, is there something I can say to change your mind? Your dedication to this site and kindness to its members seems to indicate that you consider it to be an avocation - certainly not just "something to do." And you're so good at it: Wow, Meryaten, I'm consistently impressed how on-...

Good luck, honey. Let us know how she does. Take care.

I can still remember my orthodontist telling the tech cheerfully that I was, "ready for my first set of steels," and smiling at me like it was good news! :) (Turns out it was good news, but the idea of "steels" in my mouth did not sound like a good time to me.) The use of a steel...

I found some links discussing allergies to braces, but the symptoms described don't seem to match those you've described - mostly related to skin-based reactions, even asthma (stomach problems can be related to anaphylaxis, but I think if your daughter was having an anaphylactic reaction, there woul...

In your situation, I think you may want to try to avoid eating certain foods. You hit on one of the biggest offenders: spinach (along with any other type of lettuce, and/or leafy greens); nuts; turkey/chicken; rice (to name a few). You probably have a good idea of what types of foods are the most ch...

Let your laptop do the talking - write your friend an anonymous note. You still have to think about how to write it tactfully (and hopefully, with love), but a note will: get the message across; let your friend react privately (minimizing embarrassment); and lets you off the hook. However, if your f...

Sounds like you dodged a bullet. $15K sounds like an unbelievable amount of money for the work you mentioned. It also kind of sounds like the dentist you went to fancies himself to be not just a dentist, but an oral surgeon, endodontist, periodontist, and orthodontist. (Perhaps you have encountered ...

32withbraces wrote:I think the top are afraid of the bottoms.

Dude, that's hilarious.

I don't think it's anything you're doing either, Lavender. We're basically in the same boat. At my last check-up, my dentist asked if I'd been using a Waterpik. I told him I hadn't, and asked him if I should be. He said, "No, your gums look great - I can't believe you're not using a Waterpik.&q...

Hey Lavender - My orthodontist was more in the "they don't grow back" camp, but my dentist told me it's possible. Based on my own experience of seeing one of my black triangles shrink significantly, I'm going with my dentist's idea that it's possible. (Even people in the same field can hav...

I've got some gum recession too. My dentist told me it's possible my gums will come back - so it's not exactly hopeless. I've noticed that an area on the bottom has closed considerably, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the gums on top will follow suit. I just had my teeth cleaned, and my denti...

I'm in SmartClips, and the technique used to open/close is key. There are a few techs in my doctor's office who are so talented they should establish a bracket management COE. (I wonder if they'd have to use real patients for demo purposes, or if they could use the fake teeth that have the brackets ...

Hi Jessica - You didn't mention when you last saw and/or spoke to your dentist, however, if you're in that much pain, I'd give your dentist a call (contact his service). If he won't prescribe antibiotics, you should ask him to explain his reasoning, e.g., ask him how the infection will clear without...