Metal Mouth Message Board

I've been braced for 4.5 months. I had 4 extractions, and my gaps are almost all closed now. The only thing is that when my teeth shifted to close the gaps, my gums seem to have changed shape, too. On some of my bicuspids, my gums now appear to touch my brackets on three sides (i.e. every side of my...

Have any of you completed or know that you will complete your ortho treatment in less time than originally estimated?

I got braces to treat an open bite problem. Before starting treatment, all of my teeth behind my canines touched each other when I bit down, but my canines and all teeth in front of my canines didn't touch. I had to have 4 teeth extracted right before I got my braces put on. Now, after nearly 4 mont...

Hi everyone, I just got my third adjustment yesterday. My first two adjustments were done by the same ortho assistant, and both were very easy. I had almost no pain or soreness afterwards. But yesterday, a different ortho assistant took care of my third adjustment. And this time I am in a lot of pos...

Hi everyone, The ends of my wires are sharp and are scraping up the inside of my cheeks. I know that when the wires poke you, you can get them trimmed – but in this case, the wires aren’t poking. They are just very sharp. (I’m rapidly using up my dental wax in the meantime because it’s very ...

I just got braced last Friday, and I could feel differences in my bite within a couple of days. I have a few areas in my mouth where I can floss a lot easier, too - also within just a couple of days.

Hi everyone, I got braced last Friday. For both my upper and lower, my ortho put brackets on my front two teeth, skipped the next teeth out, and then put brackets on my canines. The result of this is that my wires loop out from my front two teeth to my canines... and since the wires loop out, the wi...

Hi all, I have an open bite. To treat it, my ortho is going to extract four molars (2 on top, 2 on the bottom), and my braces are supposed to pull my front teeth back so that my bite lines up correctly. My question is this: In undergoing this kind of treatment, my mouth is obviously going to get sma...

Hi all, I am getting lower braces put on next week. Next month I am getting four bicuspids extracted and my upper braces put on. I was wondering how long I should expect to be on a liquid/soft-food diet after getting my braces on/the extractions done? I ask because soon after I am going to a wedding...

My ortho has suggested extracting my front bicuspids. Does anyone know why they choose the front ones? Is it possible to get the back bicuspids extracted instead? Or is there a reason not to? (The front ones are so visible! )

Hi all,

I have an open bite and crowding, and my ortho suggested that I get all of my front bicuspids extracted as part of the treatment. I am freaking out at the thought of having visibly missing teeth for months on end! Has anyone else gone through this? How did you deal with it?