Metal Mouth Message Board

I've had braces for a little over a year. For the first year I had a herbst appliance. That was finally removed two weeks ago. I had brackets put on my upper and lower back teeth to replace the metal caps from the herbst. Two weeks later I still find it hard to close my jaw all the way. Also there ...

Hello... I maybe a little late in responding. I have had a herbst for almost a year now. It's due to come off in about 8 weeks. I can move my mouth from side to side not as much as I could before the herbst but it doesn't bother me. I think my speech was a little affected (although my ortho said it ...

Nachos or just chips and dip is what I miss the most.

Also:
Salads, cereal, hard candy, carmel.

Shoot I miss just not having to think about what I'm eatting.

It's too early to tell yet. I'm supposed to wear it for a year and it's only been four months. Others on this board have used it with good results. I don't remember the age however. It is very uncomfortable compared to just braces. A month ago I had it removed because my cheek was infected and I was...

Someone tell me the truth. Do you ever get fully used to having braces? I want to get to the point where I don't think about them anymore. It's been 3 months since I got braces and the herbst appliance. They don't hurt any longer and I can mostly eat. I find that I think about the braces all the tim...

Hmm....did I just say that my ortho wasn't aggresive. Silly me. I should have waited until after my first appointment before I posted. I change my opinion. I just got back from first adjustment. He went up on the size of the wire signifcantly and put in something called an A wire on my top teeth. Ou...

I think some doctor's are more agressive than others. Mine isn't very agressive. I respect him wanting to take it slow due to the pain factor but still.... I've been fully braced since the beginning of March and haven't seen any movement yet either. My first adjustment isn't until tomorrow. It's fru...

How are you doing now?

I have a herbst appliance but haven't experienced any jaw pain. I've had the appliance for 4 - 6 weeks and go for my first adjustment this week.

Use of an appliece in an adult may have very slight movement, superficial in just stretching the muscle or relaxing it more so that when the teeth close they don't try to pull back. I think the age up to 23 there is still a chance to use it. I certainly hope this isn't the case. I'm 39 got a herbst...

Thanks Sallymonster. (love the screen name btw) I wish I had be around when you were going through this so that I could have offered some commiseration. I have to admit that I'm repressing the urge to open my mouth to see if I could make it get stuck. Does that sound crazy? I find myself curious abo...

The day finally came and I got the whole contraption in. So far it's not THAT bad. It's only been an hour however. Mainly the sliding noise of the bars going back and forth is bothering me. It also seems like I'm bitting on of the bars but my ortho tells me this is not the case. I'll have to get use...

utmegs, Wow. That was a horrible experience. How strange that it broke twice. At this point I still haven't gotten the full Herbst yet. I just have the metal spacers and the wire that goes behind my teeth. I'm anxious to have the whole thing in so I can see just how bad it's going to be. What else i...

Grinandbearit,

How goes it with the Herbst? Are you able to eat now?

I have 1/2 of the Herbst installed yesterday. I can't shut my jaws all the way and my cheeks are killing me.

Can you give me some hope?

Just got the herbst today. Well part of it anyway. They put in the top and bottom parts but not the bar that hooks them together. I think my dentist is trying to let me get used to the thing gradually. I respect this but in a way I would rather just get the whole thing over with all at once. Right n...

Thanks again you two. I really appreciate the advice. It's nice to have a little insight before I venture down this road. That way I'm not totally in shock and know what to expect. I'm getting the herbst a week from today. Right now the spacers don't hurt any longer and I'm able to eat normally. Not...