Metal Mouth Message Board

Halfway through my treatment I had brackets added to my third molars to fix an open bite caused by the initial treatment. She also used a "Propel" treatment and placed a blob of blue stuff on the lower 3rd molars. After 3 months the open bite went away. It was no big deal, but I did not li...

Hi 3Stars, I had an orthodontist convince me to go with Invisalign for a tough case. Had them for 18 months and it did a poor job. Three years later I ended up with bad TMJ problems and had to get full braces, metal on the bottom and ceramic on the top, for three years to fix everything correctly. M...

Hi Grant, If you search the board you will find a lot of negative options on SMS. SMS is offered by general dentists who take a weekend course to learn how it's done. Orthodontists have 3 years of post graduate training and board certified ones have passed a rigorous certification exam as well. I di...

Welcome jamierm! Your question is a perennial one, you will find lots of opinions on this board. I had Damon brand self ligating braces for three years, ceramic ones on the top and metal on the bottom, making a comparison easy. If you have bite problems, particularly an overbite, your ortho will lik...

Buy yourself a WaterPik, the plug in kind, not a battery operated one. It makes life so much easier! Three minutes with the water pic and then brush and you are all set. Worth every penny.

Congrats they look great! I received the same instructions form my ortho, that I needed to wear the retainers at night only unless things seemed to be going awry. 9 months since debracing and all is still good.

Now I understand your frustration. Once I got power chains my small gaps closed up in 2 months. I have seen some others on the board that have had some rather stubborn teeth, usually they got them into place but it was slow going. Overall my estimated 24 month treatment turned into 36.5 months, so I...

Diana: Been there, I started at 58 and finished at 62, just over 3 years. I had bite turbos behind my upper two central incisors which serve largely the same purpose as the bit build-ups. My molars did not touch for nearly two years. There is no magic solution to the chewing problem, but you do find...

Your ortho is probably not actively trying to close the gap at the moment. As they move teeth around they need some space. Typically the small gaps are closed up with power chains towards the end of the treatment. I did not have my gaps closed until 2.5 years into a 3 year treatment. Usually once th...

1. I think a reference section would be helpful. Twice during my 3 year stint in braces I had Propel treatments. I had to look 'round the web to find out what that was all about (not fun if you are wondering!). You could have a Reference database section that had descriptions and useful links for or...

Get a consult or two, they usually are free. In the middle picture you seem to have a cross bite where your lower left canine and lateral incisor are in front of your upper left lateral incisor. Among other things I had a similar cross bite and waited way too long to get it fixed. I think seeking a ...

For most people the first few days or weeks after getting braces is when brackets come loose, wires pop out, or the ends poke you, or all of the above. These things happened to me too, so I'd suggesting waiting until your return home. I had self ligating brackets for three years, metal on the bottom...

Hi Wendy, I had brackets on my two upper wisdom teeth for the duration of my treatment. The wisdom teeth were tilted inward and one needed to be intruded and the other extruded in order to level out my bite. My ortho mentioned her having to bracket wisdom teeth is infrequent, but not unusual in the ...

Thank you everyone! It was a long road, but it was definitely worth the time an effort, I am quite happy with the end result.

The cleat is there to attach cross bite elastics, it is not necessary for removal of the band. I had the same problem with it tearing up my tongue. The doc can bend the cleat in a bit so it is smooth. Alternatively they can add a blob of glue to cover the cleat if you do not have a rubber band attac...