Metal Mouth Message Board

OK, this completely blew me away... The most painful part of my ordeal with braces was actually getting the whitening. I opted for the in-office whitening, which was more expensive than the home whitening, but I thought, "Hey, let's bring it on!" I had an appointment for a cleaning first, ...

OK, I'll ask my orthodontist for their pictures :) I was stunned, my bite was awful when I first went in! What a big difference! Taking the brackets off wasn't a big deal, but the grinding to remove the cement... that was unpleasant, and it hurt. I don't want to have to go through that again, so tha...

After a while, having braces will become very routine. It will feel like you've always had them, and then you'll start to think that you always will. I was sentenced to 18 months in braces, but it was extended to 22 months, 1 week, and 2 days. On Tuesday of this week my orthodontist said, "OK, ...

OK... today is the day! 22 months, 1 week, and 2 days, according to my little turtle time line!! The braces come off today! I'll schedule an appointment with my general dentist for whitening and bonding (to fill in the gaps), and then the orthodontist will give me a second set of retainers. The end ...

OK, I'm getting excited - my general dentist said he's happy with everything, and he suggested that I ask for a "bonded retainer."

Now, just a few more tweaks, and I can schedule the appointment for the braces to come off.

Believe me, you're not alone, and what you're going through is typical for nearly every adult with braces. Three days, and yes, you start to wonder, "What the heck did I do?" I didn't get braces until I was nearly 49, and at the three-day mark I was starting to flip out. I stuck it out, an...

Seems that my orthodontist did "low ball" the estimate for when I'd be out of braces. The original estimate was 16 to 18 months, but it looks like it will be 23 months at the minimum. Now he just wants my dentist to sign off (my dentist will do some bonding work afterwards), and they just ...

Congratulations on taking the big step! You'll love how your smile looks when you're done. "Braces make for beautiful faces"

Well I had my appointment today! They removed my blue bites, (either that or they shorted out some electrical wires in my mouth, because it smelled like burning insulation when they were doing it). Then they gave me elastics, and now I look like an adult walrus. They said they'll see how thing are g...

Everyone, I REALLY appreciate the responses :) I have my next appointment on Thursday, so I guess I have a few questions for them. Like, they put in "blue bites" just before Thanksgiving, and told me I would only need those for two months... and I still have them. I hated them at first, bu...

I was told that I would be in braces for 18 months, and as of today it has been 18 months. My 16 year old daughter said two months ago, "If they haven't given you elastics yet, there's no way you'll be done when they said." I realize that every patient is different, but roughly - how long ...

Hi Jen, TMJ pain is... well, a real pain. Unfortunately, it's not something you can ignore, though the treatment could be surprisingly simple. My daughter had braces from age 11-14 (3 years), and then after a year she started to develop TMJ pain. Long story short, we bounced between specialists, and...

Arrrrrrrggggghhhhh!!! OK... I guess I'm going through another one of those stages of adult braces. I'm in the frustration stage. Things haven't gone perfectly smoothly, but I was just informed that I'll have the braces on for at least (at least?) four months longer than originally planned. My daught...

Well, there is an up side to having to give up sweets. I lost 15 pounds in six months without even trying :-) OK, I've actually gotten used to the blue bites. When they take them out, it looks like my front teeth are going to start smashing into each other. Perhaps they can just leave them in? :-*

To be honest, I was stunned by the behavior of the orthodontists with regards to my daughter. They seemed to be talking about "professional ethics," which is fine - but you'd think that they MIGHT have some concern as well with my daughter. And yes, it did seem to be a bit of an ego problem.