Metal Mouth Message Board

Hmmm....I guess it's an individual thing. I only drink a half glass of OJ for breakfast and another half glass at night.

Looks great--even the first pic!

Wow! Your teeth looked pretty good from the first pic, and now are even better after one adjustment! Looks like you won't have to be in braces for very long!

Just a few days ago was my very first adjustment. It was quite painful on my teeth when the assistant was removing and putting new ties on. Then the ortho came over and asked me about my cleats because I called ahead and inquired whether or not he thought I'd be needing them. They had been causing a...

You mean drinking orange juice can be a problem that way? How is that? I drink orange juice, but I don't see how it could be aggravating it.

I also had 4 bi-cuspids taken out before I got braced. I have severe overcrowding, so it was necessary to create room to put my overlapping eye teeth where they belong. The gaps are closing up nicely and it didn't change my profile that I could notice.

Well, that does it for me! I'll go back to Act! Thank you for that info. It's going to save me alot of money and/or worry!

I actually asked the assistant about option #3, and she said "no". I put in a call to the ortho's office for them to ask the ortho himself about removing them during my 1st adjustment appointment on April 5th. I think I'll ask him directly about the cement or the lig at that time.

I'm certainly no professional, but as a patient, I have an interest in what is meant when a dentist or ortho diagnoses problems I have. That's how I get familiar with all those terms. Of course, there are alot of ones I don't know---which are the ones I've never have applied to me! :P An overbite is...

JumptheDitch: Yes, those hooks you describe are the cleats. I have just as many as you do. I think they are for attaching rubber bands to if necessary. I wanted to get them taken out, but the assistant wouldn't do it. They are such a pain in the butt (the cleats AND the assistants, that is!) If they...

CLAmom: That's something I was a little worried about: that there would be sharp edges left over after they ground off the cleats, making things even worse. I've had my cleats scraping my tongue for 2 months hoping to get used to it, but they kind of stick out along the bottom edges and hold my tong...

The cleats on the inside of my molar bands have been bugging me for the past 2 months when they were first put on. They tear up the back of my tongue and make it hard to talk clearly. The ortho assistant bent them down but wouldn't take them off because "they might be needed later on". I'v...

DarkAngel: You know what? I just checked the bottle of ACT (actually the Wal Mart store brand equivalent) and it says on the bottle "Alcohol free". So does that mean that it's really the same stuff as Phos Flur for only a small fraction of the price? I paid over $11 for Phos Flur and only ...

I haven't had any irritation yet. I've used ACT at night for a long time, and I use Listerine in the morning. Sure, it stings some, but I always thought that meant it was "working".

trentb: That you for the info. abou ACT and Phos Flur! Now it sounds like I'll be going back to ACT and start saving money again! I kind of wonder why dentists and orthos recommend the expensive stuff even when it is no better than what's more readily available and cheaper!?!? As for the alcohol con...