Metal Mouth Message Board

I had a dental implant fail. After it failed, we started looking at my mouth and realized I had a bite issue. Before I try an implant for the second time, we decided to fix my bite. I do have a lot of people ask why I got braces and I just explain what I just wrote.

When I asked the assistants at my ortho's office about whitening toothpaste, they recommend I not use it. I've been learning that a majority of toothpastes now having whitening in them. Not always easy to find a non-whitening toothpaste.

Flossing does get easier. I also had tight teeth when I began and three months later, it is much easier to get the floss between my teeth. I use the floss with the threater already attached. It makes it much easier. I have yet to figure out how to floss with the band's on my molars, therefore, I use...

Only one of my second molars is banded and that is because I'm missing the first molar and the second molar needs to be up righted in order to put in an implant once treatment is finished. It's my understanding that second molars are banded later in treatment.

I also grind my teeth and wore a night guard prior to being braced. I mentioned my concern about grinding to my ortho when I got braced and she gave me one of the sports guards to wear at night. The sports guards are two pieces--one for upper and another for lower. She cut the two pieces apart and h...

I've been in braces for over two months now and have noticed some gaps from treatment. Do orthos typically wait until the end of treatment to close the gaps or do they work on the gaps at different times during treatment?

I would call your ortho since the cleats are probably there for a reason. When I had my braces put on, they took the cleats off of the bottom bands but kept them on the top bands though they did push them down in order to keep me from having an issue. It may be as simple as having the ortho go in an...

I eat out as well. As a matter of fact, I was at a wedding just this weekend, at a table where I only knew one person, and was only able to pick my main course (I opted for the fish rather than prime rib due to the braces). When we were done with dinner, I just excused myself and went into the bathr...

I've been in braces for six weeks now. The reason for my braces is to fix a bite. I was not aware of having a bite issue until recently but in the past ten years, I've cracked four molars and have had to have crowns put on them. In fact, one tooth got so bad that I had to have it removed and have an...

My first adjustment is on Thursday. Any words of wisdom on what to expect?

Check the language on their website. If it says a firm number, which is lower than your cost, rather than a range or something like "starting at", in the US, you could have a claim for false advertising. Not sure what British law would say but you might want to look into a possible false a...

Maybe they can give you a guard to help during the night. I grind at night and had a night guard from my dentist prior to getting braces. I mentioned to my ortho that I was concerned about the grinding and the possibility that it might hurt my treatment by pushing the teeth in the wrong directions. ...

If you opt for alcohol-free, make sure the mouthwash doesn't contain Cetyl Pyridinium Chloride which is infamous for staining teeth brown. I learned my lesson the hard way using Crest Pro-health. The brown stains can be removed with a dental cleaning but still, it's not worth it. My teeth looked pr...

I"ve had my braces on for four weeks and my ortho recommended using the clear ligs. I have been carefully with what I have been eating and using straws when I drink anything other than water to try and prevent staining. Honestly, I've only noticed a little staining in the back and nothing in th...

I was braced with ceramic top and bottom on September 1 and so far not too bad. However, I still have a lisp and am having a hard time flossing around the metal brackets on my molars. Any suggestions on how to improve and/or eliminate the lisp? Can anyone recommend a technique for flossing around th...