Metal Mouth Message Board

oh my, I had my braces removed on 3/28 and I still can not believe it.
My teeth look great - it has been such a long journey.
It was completely worth it.

But I am REALLY glad that it is over....

Well, the main reason that I posted here rather than the Metal Mouth Forum is that I am interested in hearing from folks that have had this type of retention after the braces are removed. It made me nervous that I had a loss of the leveling when I was still wearing braces & stopped elastics. It ...

Hi All, I obtained an excellent bite from elastics. For a couple of months, my ortho had me eliminate the elastics and I noticed that my bite degraded significantly - mainly due to a degradation in the levelling. Now that I have resumed elastics (& my excellent bite), I am was interested in whet...

I have ceramic on top & metal on the bottom. For me, this has been an excellent choice. Yes, the ceramic braces are visible. However, they are not quite as visible as metal -- and for me that is a good thing. For example, they are virtually invisible in photographs. And for me, that is a good th...

Thanks! I really do hope things settle down soon.
My bite seems really out of whack as opposed to how it was with elastics.
I'm really wondering if they were halted too soon.

Good point!
I overheard my ortho explain why an essix retainer was better for a teenaged client.
It would be good to know if there is also reason that it would be more appropriate for an adult.

I have worn elastics for 2 months - triangle on the right & class 2 on the left. My ortho had me stop wearing them two days ago and I have been incredibly sore ever since. The elastics created a very good bite and now it seems as if they are migrating back to their original position. Has this ha...

This topic brought up a memory from my early "just braced days". It was incredible how much pain that I felt during those first long days after I was braced. I was seriously considering paging my ortho to get some stronger meds. It was that bad. Friends helped me work through that.... Enco...

hey ~ I'm getting my braces off in dec and getting an Essix retainer on top that will need to be worn 24x7 for 1 year. My gut instinct is that I should request a Hawley retainer instead. This is because it seems like an Essix retainer is slightly visible ~ The uneducated public will wonder what is g...

My teeth were pretty straight except for a gap between the front teeth.
This led to many comments and questions.
It seemed to be all OK once the TMJ pain was mentioned.

[quote="meryaten"]But do you really think that your class II and triangle are very visible? I felt that class II elastics are pretty inconspicuous for the most part.[/quote] I would say that the triangle is definitely visible b/c it is running canine to canine. The class II is less visible...

Right now I have class 2 configuration on one side & triangle on the other side. Both are "Bill". For me, wearing elastics has been one of the more difficult aspects of this journey b/c I feel like such a DORK when I am wearing them. :oops: I have seen many adults in braces, but not on...

Oh, yes, this was me 8 months ago...... I obtained my orthodontic consultation with this very goal in mind... Given the prognosis of 6-9 months in braces, I happily entered my journey... Now, 8 months in, and much wiser, I recognize that 18 months is a much more realistic "sentence". The g...

that little bit of self consciousness that seems to permeate each and every little interaction...
It is a bit like running with ankle weights.....

I am so-o-o excited! At today's adjustment, I had my tpa removed! It is somewhat unreal, but it is so nice to have it removed. It seemed like forever -- I was really trying not to think about it -- afraid that at the appointment there would be a reason to continue the tpa... But it is very sweet now...