Metal Mouth Message Board

I was given a molded temporary retainer to wear until I get my Hawley's in two weeks. My ortho said to just wear it when I am at home, but it is soooo uncomfortable. It looks like the mouth gaurds that boxers wear, is impossible to talk in, and it really drys out my mouth and lips. I'll of course we...

Enjoy I can't wait to be brace free too !!

Ellebraced, you're getting close!! Wear those elastics non-stop. I used to change mine 4-5 times a day to keep the pressure on the teeth, and I swear it made a difference.

An "ocean" hahaha I love the censor on here.

I was just chatting with a friend of mine this morning that also happened to have braces removed last month, and she pointed out that one of her incisors sticks out more than her other teeth- I couldn't notice at all. We are our own worst critics, and I think it helps to put things in perspective so...

Your smile reminds me of Scarlett Johansen's. This made me laugh, because people have told me for years, even strangers, that I look like her! It's so funny that you made the same comparison with only seeing my mouth! May I ask if your ortho left you with a very small bit of an overjet (like, 1mm o...

Thanks so much everyone! The last 18 months would have been ten times harder if I hadn't found this message board and all the support here.

Went through the removal process this morning- some of it was a bit painful, but overall it wasn't too bad. I was shocked when I saw my teeth- it's as if they had taken someone else's teeth and inserted them in my mouth! It really weirds me out every time I look in the mirror, but I love them and I ...

You should remember that at six months your teeth were still moving, which is what made them tender. . Good point, I hadn't considered that. I'm almost inclined to say that the "shattering" sound of the ceramic brackets was more uncomfortable than the actual pulling! And yes, that is goin...

Good idea with the painkiller. I'm going to pop a few ibuprofin first, and I was also thinking that my ortho might have a numbing agent if things get really painful. When I had two of my ceramic brackets removed at 6 months, it sounded like my teeth were shattering and it was pretty painful.

I didn't see any real movement for about 3 months, and then things really picked up around 6 months. Give it time.

I think finishing wires are used for refining and torquing individual teeth, so if your teeth are still not aligned, are crowded, or rotated, your ortho is not going to put you in the finishing wire. He/she probably saw that your teeth still needed to be moved into place, so the finishing wire was n...

I want to know this too! When I had a couple of brackets reposistioned, it sounded like my teeth were shattering and was sort of painful. Please let us know how it went!

My arches are much wider after having had braces. It still weirds me out a bit to see current photos of myself, because my smile, even from afar, just looks so different. I now look like I have twice as many teeth as I did before, I love it!

Pictures or it didn't happen. J/K! Congratulations! Do you have to wear some sort of temporary retainer between now and next week?

I should have added this to my original response, but there are a bunch of videos on youtube that show you how to do it.