Metal Mouth Message Board

I got elastics at my first 6 week appointment and have worn them in some configuration or another for my entire treatment. Wear them as directed and in a couple of days they shouldn't hurt as much. I was advised to remove them for eating, you could probably do the same as long as you put them back ...

Mpkh wrote:I've had elastics since day 1. Elastics use varies on the treatment and what needs to be done. Elastics are a pain but wear them as prescribed and you may shave time off your treatment! Take them out till when you eat.

Good luck!

Thanks for the encouragement

I think I will insist that the frenum be removed. I also still have a tiny gap towards the gum and my Dr says but it's not visible.

Today for the first time my Orthodontist placed elastic from my premolars to my canines both sides. I am in pain especially in my right hand side. Eating is difficult . I thought that elastics comes when all gaps are closed. I still have big gaps between canines and 4 front teeth on both sides. Is i...

my front gap is now closed and my frenum is more visible. My Orthodontist now says it is not necessary to do the frenectomy. He said the frenum will redistribute but still few months later it is still very much visible and the Dr is not bordered. Should I be worried by this frenum?

Aw thanks guys! I had my second adjustment 2 weeks ago and took some pictures the day after - they moved me to a bigger wire on top and had to put these plastic wedge things by my bottom front teeth because they're being so stubborn! Wow your upper teeth improved....looking great. Please keep updat...

MetalMouth77 wrote:Have you tried sugar free chewing gum? Chewing gum can alleviate the same stress as nail biting (without the risk of warts!).

A soft gum like Trident works for me.
Hope this helps.

I will give that a try as well. I do chew sugar free gum but not when stressing

They help speed up treatment in that you can have your top and bottom braces on at the same time with a deep bite, and less likely that you will break off a lower bracket, which would slow down treatment. Generally, they are left on as long as needed to prevent the upper teeth from hitting the lowe...

Last week my Ortho placed my bottom brackets. And decided to also place two bite blockers on my lower back molars each side. Apparently these are placed to speed up teeth movement and as a result speed up the whole treatment. Did it work to speed up your treatment?

Thats one of the things I am looking forward to! Hoping it stops me nail biting!! My husbands despairs at me, I think he would cough up all this just to stop me biting my nails!! :lol: It's really difficult to bite nails with braces but hey this habit is so strong I keep trying to bite them when st...

I chose ice kit bracket.....They are clear. I did not want it to be obvious from a distance that I have braces. It matters a lot for me how I look.

Here's the way I stopped biting my nails. I read that if you wear lots of rings it draws attention to your fingers so people will look. This forces you to take better care of your nails and soon you'll be filing instead of biting. I know this sounds crazy but it worked for me, not to say my fingers...

I don't see how it would damage your brackets or effect your treatment; you only have so much nail to chew on, so it's not like thumb-sucking where the pressure is frequent and constant. That said, now is as good a time as any to kick the habit; my wife couldn't kick it until she had warts that sta...

I am going for installations of my bottom teeth braces nextweek. I wonder how uncomfortable it will be to have mouth full of wires as both upper and lower teeth will be on braces.

I eat lots of porridge, rice, pap, chicken livers, salmon, pumpkin and mash potatoes. I like spinach but leaves gets stuked in the wires.