Metal Mouth Message Board

Just to add that my ortho told me the two retainers do different things - the permanent ones stop gaps opening up between your teeth if they decide to try to move sideways, whereas the removable temporary ones are to stop your teeth tilting forward or backwards or rotating, whilst your bone and gums...

Reading your original post was like looking into my mind a couple of years ago. I had braces put on when I was 27 after resenting my teeth for years. Like you I had developed a terrible relationship with them and blamed my teeth for my general low self-image. Also like you I had somehow started this...

I've just had permanent retainers put on top and bottom. I was really freaking out that it was going to be like having braces inside my teeth and that my mouth would never be my own again. I hadn't read all the negative stories on here, I had just imagined this all myself. However I have to say that...

I had serious pain for about three weeks after my braces came off. It felt like when you have an abcess that needs a root canal, but it was the whole of the back bottom of my jaw that hurt, not one particular tooth. I was at the dentist, ortho and hygenist multiple times a week trying to figure out ...

The lisp will suddenly go away without you realising. I was debraced a month ago and have upper and lower hawley retainers for full time wear. The first three weeks I cursed them constantly. Then today I realised they haven't bothered me for a week and I can talk properly. Hang in there!

Thanks for the advice, maybe there's something in that logic thing after all :shock: The good news is, a week later and I'm back to normal (or as normal as I ever am in traintracks) so it was obviously just a passing thing linked to the last adjustment. Oh and the other good news is, this is hopeful...

I'm certainly aware that I clench but neither the ortho or the dentist have ever suggested that I look like I grind! I do take painkillers before I go to bed (Bayer PM) which help me get to sleep but don't help me STAY asleep!

I just had my penultimate adjustment and have on the thickest arch wire imaginable - its for levelling my arch apparently. Weirdly, it hurts like crazy all night, so I'm waking up around once every 45 minutes and having a hard time getting back to sleep. It then hurts for the first few hours I'm up,...

I went through a period of about 4 months where I was using wax like my life depended on it, and was very conscious of it like you are. At about the 18 month mark, I suddenly stopped using it and now have an arsenal of the stuff that looks like it won't get used! It just goes in phases, don't feel b...

I'm in the UK too. I'd agree that braces are a better idea than veneers. You'll have to have a chat with an Ortho though because some problems can only be sorted by certain braces. I wanted Invisalign but they were no good for the problems I had so I went for the full-on Ugly Betty look. Best of luc...

ha ha ha that reminded me of the odd looks I got from a lady I had to share a table with the other day when at Subway! Her look on her face said 'I can't believe you are sat there eating a sub with a knife & fork'!! I get funny looks firstly when I ask for cutlery in McDonalds, and secondly whe...

I have to say I still eat almost everything, as long as I can cut it up! As others have said I miss being able to take a bite out of something, as it is really just too uncomfortable even with really soft food. I put on another post that I am looking forward to having fajita wraps when my braces co...

I'm noticing this too, especially when I'm contorting my face all the time to get elastics in and out. I've bought some (very expensive) face serum that I'm plastering on those lines night and day and its slowly plumping them back out again. I'm not even 30 and don't want to fix my teeth but gain wr...

After seeing some of the other posts I asked a friend in USA to send me some Supersmile toothpaste and its patiently waiting for when I get de-braced, hopefully early in the new year!

Thanks for the tips, I will get a heat pad. I have been drinking copious amounts of tea as the warmth seems to help a bit. I must admit I am currently resorting to codeine to ease the pain, although I now feel sick and shaky instead LOL