Metal Mouth Message Board

I think the media would only be interested in the most severe cases ... severe injury or death.

I think a malpractice lawsuit is the way to go.

I think the easiest way to floss around banded molars is to use a floss threader and drive it between the teeth at the gumline. When I first got my braces I was unable to pull the floss toward the gums between my banded first molars and unbanded seconds, that's when I acquired the technique above. I...

I had started a thread weeks ago ... my orthodontist had given me elastics to wear in the front to close my open bite. That evening I decided I didn't want to wear them because I don't want my lower teeth to be pulled up or my upper teeth to be pulled down any more than they already are, for aesthet...

Your bite likely changes during treatment and that can easily cause changes in the position of your mandible, including causing it to be dropped down a bit more. I also wonder about the shape of the lips, especially the upper lip. If you had a constricted upper arch and now it's more rounded, that c...

You could phrase it as an inquiry ... "Why aren't you doing a wire tie ?"

I had wire ties on my rotated teeth, btw. They were very effective. Hurt like heck, but they worked !

Wow ! You have made a lot of progress !!! That's great !

You have very minor issues. I don't think you really need to have anything done, but if you're hating your teeth then you should take action. :-) I'll bet you won't need braces for very long. Go get a consult ASAP and make a decision. Don't delay ! I wish I would have gotten my braces on 7 years ago...

Eric, my orthodontist mentioned the possibility of IPR when I had my consultation, but it ends up I don't need it, my teeth are aligned now and there was enough room for all without any slenderizing.

I did say I would be willing to use headgear, and in fact it's a very similar issue and will come up later when my orthodontist asks me to use elastics to reduce my overjet. I like the idea of pulling my uppers back by pulling against my head and not disturbing the lowers. But even then I kind of li...

Denise, before I saw your reply I decided that I will call my orthodontist on Monday and if she wants to wait to talk to me about it til my appt then we will wait. So good idea ! :-) smile2006, interesting that you mentioned bended wires, because my orthodontist did that at my last appt and I forgot...

Talk about stray elastics ... I feel this way about bits of wax !!! I use wax almost every night on certain sections of my braces. I feel like I'm careful to dispose of it properly when I remove it, and yet I find globs stuck to my bathroom floor, with other remnant globs all over the place caused n...

Btw, want to add here that I believe Gwen Stefani had her braces removed early, she got the cosmetic alignment she desired but did not proceed with the later phases of treatment. People DO do this.

Eric, I'm on your side about you wanting to do just what you want to do. If you don't want to go through the later phases of treatment to correct your bite, then by all means find an orthodontist who is willing to correct just the alignment and be happy with your straight teeth. I did not have time ...

OK, you experienced people tell me if I'm all wrong about this ... My first phase of braces is done, my teeth are aligned now, arches look good. Because my teeth are all upright now, my bite has opened. I used to have a slight (1+ mm) overlap in the front as you can see by my picture, now it's 0mm a...

To those who have six plates .... where the heck are they, and how can they fit six plates along relatively short 2 cut lines ???? I'm not doubting so much as I'm super curious ! I have the old school wire loops, just two on each side, at middle of the Le Fort I cut, and close to the nasal orbit. (M...