Metal Mouth Message Board

You MUST wear retainers. Certain fibers that are needed to hold teeth in place don't mature for 12-14 months after the teeth have moved to their final positions. Without added retention, teeth are prone to move. Retainers may apply the needed pressure to cause your teeth to move back towards their f...

Similar to the other thread about 'how long til straight teeth'.... how long does it take/is it taking to fix a deep bite ? I have a 90% deep bite and was hoping it won't take too long to fix once my teeth are in a position to move on to that stage. As you're learning, it's unique for everybody. A ...

I would still love to know - once they are straight how much more work has to be done and how much longer does it take? The goal is not just to straighten the teeth, but to straighten them and hold them (hence retainers) so that the periodontal fibers can regenerate and keep the teeth straight. Cir...

Is there any rhyme or reason to the order in which teeth move during treatment? Absolutely. The movement is an equation of the force applied to each tooth, along with the density of bone and tissue that the tooth has to move through. Greater force + less bone/tissue = greater movement. It's importa...

It's perfectly acceptable to use a mouthwash in the morning (or various times during the day) and a flouride rinse in the evening. Listerine is great, but I also recommended Crest ProHealth and Biotene to my patients. With the flouride rinse, remember to make it the final thing you do. No eating or ...

well ive been in braces now coming on a year. The thing is since day one ive always had this small gap between my top front teeth,the bottom of my top front teeth sit together where as the top part are spaced out so i kinda have this V shaped gap in my front teeth(if this makes sense). That "g...

For what it's worth, most of the calculus (hardened plaque) build-up is usually seen on the tongue side of the bottom front teeth. Unless you have lingual braces, it's easy for a hygienist to access this area regardless of whether or not your are braced. Getting to other areas is probably a bit toug...

The above poster was correct--teeth don't touch at rest. In fact, teeth don't even really touch unless you are griding them. Even when chewing food, there is typically food between the teeth.

Nice! I got mine placed on Wednesday! I'll be in them for about 6 months.

As of yet the ortho says I'll just need a retainer after I get the braces off. Not too bad. And as of now I plan to wear the retainer faithfully, because I didn't pay for all this treatment just to have my teeth go crooked again! VERY good call. Teeth only need 5 grams of applied force to move. The...

and then have all my metal fillings replaced with ceramics to match my new tooth color. It's your decision, of course, but if those silver fillings are holding up okay (which your dentist can tell you), then I'd leave them be. That's assuming they don't really show when you smile. You never know wh...

I've extracted many molars with root canals. They are brittle and sometimes tend to break off into pieces, but I've always done them with the usual local anesthesia.

It's certainly not impossible, and more than likely just up to the preferences of the OS.

I had indirect bonding done yesterday on upper and lowers. The entire process took 30 minutes and I have no complaints!

I also wanted to add that canine teeth sometimes need to have an occlusal adjustment (be ground down), but typically don't. It all depends on your bite. It's OKAY for them to be longer than your other teeth--they are supposed to be in a nice dentition.

To answer your question, the gumlines won't always be the same for each person. It isn't at all unnatural for the gumlines to not be level. Where there is more tooth structure, such as with canines, the gumline will be higher.