Metal Mouth Message Board

I had the same problem when I first got braced. On one side whenever I tried to eat, while chewing I'd chop down on the side of my mouth instead of the piece of food. Ouch! I finally learned to chew on THAT side only and always keep a wad of food there when chewing so the inside of my mouth couldn't...

Wow, there are so many questions to ask, but basically I'd suggest the following: How long? How much? Payment plans? What types of braces, hardware are you looking at? (ask to see models -- that often helps) Are nasty things like expanders or headgear in your future at all? If you have an emergency ...

Welcome to the club, Josh. I'm not too sure about your first two questions, but as for chewing, if you don't hurt, don't be afraid to chew. As Jennifer said, just stay away from the real hard, crunchy or sticky stuff -- that includes hard raw vegies like carrot sticks, tortilla chips, ribs and the l...

oops, there's another thing to ask at that consult -- can I see your complete school transcripts? LOL

We all have to whine about this and there's no better place than here. I wonder how many marriages this site has saved? lol It does get better, really. I've had the tops on for two months and just got the bottoms put on this week. I'm barely aware that the tops are there. Now the bottoms, that's a d...

You're paying for their student loans. Here's what the American Assn of Orthodontics says: "Orthodontists are qualified dentists, who after graduating from dental school, go on to additional full-time university-based education in an accredited orthodontic residency program supervised by orthod...

I'd be afraid of doing damage to gums, bone, teeth by going that quickly. Meryaten is right -- if you look at a lot of photos posted here, you'll see some big straightening results in the first six months or so, but those people are still having to wear braces for another year or so to get everythin...

I'm guessing that whether or not you can eat before extractions might have to do with whatever they give you to kill the pain or sedate you??

Mine get really tingly and sort of throbby -- it's right on the border of pain but not quite. Someone here explained it once, and I think it has something to do with the nerves in your gums just getting used to things, plus you've got increased blood flow to the area. Am I remembering that right? At...

That's crazy. How is it an illegal substance if I have a legal prescription for it? I'm pretty sure all they really care about though is narcotics and such. (and don't care your social security card with you in case your wallet gets stolen -- all the fun stuff we have to worry about now!) On my firs...

Chocolate chip cookie dough.



OK, so this really isn't a healthy "food" but it is soft and you could just let the chips melt on your tongue...

I've only used over-the-counter stuff -- ibuprofen or tylenol. They've worked good enough to take the edge off.

I use Arm&Hammer PeroxiCare toothpaste and love it. Along with an electric toothbrush, my teeth have never felt so clean!

I've also got the line of chairs, but everyone in the office is very nice and I feel comfortable asking questions. Plus I use the time to spy a bit and learn about what's happening to other people and what might be in store for me. Today there was this poor little 13 year old girl who has to wear wh...

I had to endure some rough bracket placement because my teeth didn't move like they thought they would. Yep -- the spacers are there so there's room around your teeth for them to put the bands on -- and when you're sitting in that chair with that wonderful lip expander thing while they're pushing b...