Metal Mouth Message Board

Ugh! :evil: Don't you just hate it when dentists and orthos mess things up and you end up having to suffer the consequences? But take heart! Remember, you made it through the first time! So now you know that you will make it through again. When we go through it all the first time, it's so hard becau...

I think the ortho would probably prefer that you have any dental work done first. At least that's what I was told before I got mine. When the braces are on, it makes it harder for the dentist to do what needs to be done, since they can be in the way. Sometimes the dentist will even remove part of th...

Yes, I agree! And a big "Thank you" to KK from me as well!

Thank you everyone. That's all really helpful advice! Xero: Thanks for the pic of the hooks. I've never seen those before. Attagirl2: I tried your advice about hooking the molar side of the band first. It wasn't all that easy, but then I realized why. An assistant had bent the hook on the molar band...

A hook! That sounds like a great idea! I have to go back to the ortho's office in about a week anyway to get my wire clipped because the assistant forgot to clip it after installing a new one during my adjustment. I'll ask if they have those there.

Yesterday was the day of my 3rd adjustment. I've been braced 6 months now. They've given me elastics to use 16 hours per day. They gave me 2 sizes of bands: a medium sized kind to use for the first 3 weeks, and then smaller ones to use til my next adjustment. The assistant showed me how to put them ...

Good question! I just had my 3rd adjustment yesterday at the 6 month period, and they put my on elastics for the first time. I thought elastics were only used to put on the "finishing touches" at the end of treatment. Apparently not. I have to wear them 16 hours a day for at least the next...

I guess I can live with things as they are for now. I hope I won't have to be in elastics for a whole year to correct the problem though!

I've been in braces for 4 months now, and increasingly, my teeth don't come together when I bite down. Only the ones in back with the molar bands come together, but the rest don't. That makes it hard to chew up food all the way like I should. Talking isn't as easy as before either. At what stage of ...

YES! It happened to me immediately after my first adjustment. I went back out to the waiting room to drink from the water fountain there and to take a Tylenol, and one of my lower teeth hurt like nothing I've ever felt before! I too thought about root or nerve damage. Fortunately, that wasn't the ca...

I've been biting my cheeks ever since I got braced, which was 4 months ago. I have permanent scars where I've been biting. I just got a longer archwire that reaches to my rear molar bands, so hopefully that will cause those rear molars to angle back inward again.

For closing gaps? I don't really have gaps where they put the chains before. And now they've got 2 long chains covering every tooth in my mouth. There are a few gaps though, and they have closed up nicely so far.

Just had my second adjustment yesterday, exactly 4 months since being braced. Not quite as painful as the 1st time, but it still hurt. They put in a longer wire that reaches back to my rear molars rather than just the first ones. So now ALL of my teeth are involved in the process, which is good beca...

It seems strange to me that a waterjet should cost either $30 or $100. All it is is a motorized water squirter! I'm surprised the companies can't make something that's so simple last for as long as it should. I have devices around the house that are far more complicated mechanically that last for ma...

Ok, I've been reading alot here about how peoples' water jet devices are dying on them after 3 months or 9 months, but it doesn't seem right. Are there ANY water jets that last longer than that? I have a Con Air Interplak and I've been in braces about 4 months now, and I need it to keep working for ...