Metal Mouth Message Board

As I'm closing in on debanding, I'm concerned my dentist extracted teeth unneccesarily. I now now only see six upper teeth when I smile. Is that narrower than most people? How many upper teeth are visible when you smile? I know ten is "ideal", but is 6 abnormal?

My dentist has said the same thing to me. I don't like it. It seems as though "as good as it gets" is kinda a defeatest attitude. I think you should keep them on until it's perfect.

I don't know if that's right, but it's better than what my dentist did. He brought all teeth together first, then tried to straigten them. He now can't straigten without reopening spaces over and over again. I'm now at 36 months and counting as a result.

My dentist wants to wait 6 months after the teeth are in place. He said he wants to use the braces as a retainer to make sure the teeth don't relapse. Is this unusual? Shouldn't the retainers do their job?

There have been times when I've noticed a lot of movement w/in 24 hours and then nothing for three weeks. I think that's typical. As is the case with braces in general, it takes a lot longer to retain then it does to move. Even if something moves .5 mm it's great for progress but not visible to the ...

It's possible but it depends on what needs done. My uppers have been straight for a year or so, but my bite still needs aligned which requires braces on both.

I say go ahead with the braces and marriage. There will always be a reaon to not get braced. I think a lot of people would view you as confident, so comfortable with yourself that braces don't even matter. I got married at 22 with crooked teeth. Not sure I like that. Definitely don't like the pictur...

Sorry about all the problems, that's gotta suck. Are you sure there's nothing else you can do? I'm going on 36 months now and not stopping until it's done right.

My dentist is going to whiten, file to make then even, and cosmetically fill any small gaps that might be left. He's pretty good about this kinda stuff.

The saga continues... I called 12 orthodontists and none of them will take transfers. I few of them told me no one in my town will. They have some type of pact so they don't offend their fellow-orthos. My only hope now is to talk to my dentist at my appointment tomorrow and convince him to refer me....

Thanks for the input. NikkiB, I'm not ortho but I'm wondering if your treatment is too aggressive. Too much pressure can cause problems.

I say go with the morning breath. It will be a vicarious revenge for me and my dental assistant's smoker breath. I'm pretty sure she lights up right before every one of my appointments.

I know, at first he said only bonded on the bottom. At my last appointment he said bonded for both. Does anyone know if that is a bad decision?

I'm curious to know how everyone's orthodontist chooses to close large gaps made by tooth extractions. Mine has been using closing coils and power thread for three years with little success.

How do I know which retainer option is best for me? I don't trust my doctor. He wants to put in the built-in-behind-the-teeth things, but I don't understand what keeps the teeth from gapping again. They don't connect to the molars. I'll get a second opinion for sure, but how can I make an educated d...