Metal Mouth Message Board

My ortho said this would reduce treatment time by several months... teeth move where he wants them to, as opposed to the pre-shaped wires that tend to move everything into the standard direction and working less precise. He said he went from the bended wires to the pre-shaped spring wires back to a...

I had upper 1st bicuspid extractions in August of 2006 and my ortho is still working to close the gap on the left side. We're almost there (it's been slow but steady progress) but I'm guessing it will still take him another month or two before that part of my treatment is complete. Gaps of 4 mm are,...

At my last adjustment, my ortho said that it wouldn't happen if I was 10 years older (I'm 35). I don't understand why your ortho would say that. I'm 52 and I've found my canine teeth to be the most sensitive of all my teeth (I am one of those "no pain, no movement" ortho patients). Earlie...

to me it looks like your ortho placed your brackets on "an isle" of glue. A huge blob of glue and on top of it a bracket. Elle, I'm also seeing what Clo is seeing - something does seem "off" about your brackets. I also have ceramics but the glue holding them is barely visible an...

I had my upper bicuspids removed in August 2006. Earlier this year my ortho switched from powerchains to springs; so far, the right extraction gap is down to about 1.5 mm; however, the one on the left is way behind -- about 4 mm. Although my ortho tells me this is not unusual, it is still frustratin...

Have you tried calling your ortho's office? Hopefully you will hear a message that tells you what to do in emergencies when the office is closed (my ortho gives out his cell phone number so he can be reached directly).

Betty, that's a great point - sometimes seemingly innocuous mouth rinses can do harm, especially if they're overused. I don't use rinses of any kind in my mouth (that includes salt water) and have had no problem with canker sores either. I did ask my ortho about using a fluoride rinse when I got bra...

amd, My ortho did mention the possibility of root exposure causing the pain but, fortunately for me, that was not the case. I had my braces on for about ten months before I ever encountered the problem and it vanished as quickly as it came (great advice though for people with root exposure issues). ...

akireamil, I had this experience myself a few weeks ago with one of my canines. I was drinking some cold milk in our work cafeteria and all of a sudden felt like my mouth had been shocked by electricity - almost fell out of my seat! This sensitivity to cold lasted several days, then the tooth became...

happytoday1, your experience with braces sounds very similar to mine. I got braces last March at the age of 50 (I'm one of those adult relapse cases) and have almost always had a fair amount of pain (that's PAIN, not discomfort) between adjustments (I've had powerchains since my first adjustment). A...

I developed a sensitivity problem with one of my canines a few weeks ago. It began as extreme sensitivity to cold - it was like the tooth was getting an electric shock. At first I wasn't too concerned because I've always had pain between adjustments, although not like that. Eventually though it prog...

And there are times when coming in sooner will really just be "spinning your wheels" and gaining you nothing. Personally I like the idea of being seen by my orthodontist at fairly frequent intervals - I think the longest I've gone between appointments since starting treatment has been abo...

But even with traditional brackets the span between adjustments has gotten longer because of the memory wire. SEeing the ortho more frequently will NOT make the process go faster. That all depends on what is happening with your teeth at any given time. I have ceramics/metal and have been going for ...

Destor, like your ortho, mine also charges the same for ceramic, conventional, and Damons and which ones he uses depends on individual patient circumstances. So why do some orthos push Damons? Because those brackets are easier/less time consuming for the orthodontist to use. They don't require all t...

Joual, it is absolutely not the case that you always need to remove bottom teeth if you remove upper ones. I'm also being treated for an overbite. My orthodontist initially was thinking I would need two bicuspids removed from each arch but has since changed his mind. He is now hoping to avoid lower ...