Metal Mouth Message Board

Chillin--sorry, I wasn't referring to your spaces in my previous post, I was talking to Belle. I edited my post to make more sense. Powerchain does work well to close spaces. Extracting teeth does not make the jaw narrower. The jaw stays the same width, it's the position of the teeth within the jaw ...

Chillin--sorry to hear about your frustrations with that tooth. Remember it's a process and sometimes it appears that things are getting out of whack. Something like a tooth slipping a little bit will probably not effect the length or quality of your treatment. Things like that happen all of the tim...

The white color during healing is completely normal. It is fibrin (a connective tissue) that is one of the first tissues to establish after the surgery.

Higgy, there aren't any reasons to not do a bonded retainer to a root canal treated tooth, although if you are getting a crown on that tooth down the line, your dentist and orthodontist should coordinate. It's really their call, as there are lots of options for retention in your case. Make sure your...

Hi Ocean, I think your smile looks great! It takes a bit of time to get used to your smile. Everyone has slightly different arches and the muscles and shape of your mouth all play a role in how the shape of your smile appears. I think everything looks super and your orthodontist did a great job. Con...

I don't think that bonded retainers have to go past extraction sites, but there is a risk of space relapsing if they don't. I almost never carry a retainer past the canines, so I don't necessarily follow my own advice. I tend to prefer spring retainers or clear retainers in extraction cases even if ...

Hi there, Retainers area highly personal preference, so I worry about stepping on toes here. My current retainers of choice for patients is a bonded lower and clear upper retainer. I choose these most of the time, not because they are the best, but because they fit into my treatment style and I'm mo...

mary. wrote:I feel so much better.
I really appreciate your help!
Have a great week

You're welcome, glad to help. Have a great week, too.

Hi Mary, Being that you have had your braces on only a few weeks, it's not abnormal to see the teeth move around abit in some unusual ways. When there is a lot of mis-alignment to start, it can take several months before the teeth start "shaping up". I usually tell patients (especially adu...

There isn't any evidence that having more teeth in one arch than the other would predispose you to TMJ problems. The occlusion of the teeth (the way they come together when you bite) is important, but healthy, functional occlusion is possible in your scenario. If you have a professional who is addre...

Typically your bite and the muscles of your cheeks and lips will prevent that from happening. I believe you mentioned that you had extractions. If the boneded retainer is not carried across the extraction site, there is some risk of space opening there. Usually the bonded retainer incorporates the f...

I have upper and lower bonded retainers on myself, no other retainers. It's not uncommon to do this. Although some will back it up with a removable retainer for a short bit after braces are taken off.

Gums can recede for a number of reasons such as genetics, overzealous brushing, and most notably gum disease. It's hard to pin down exactly why gums recede. However, I'm not aware of any link between length of time in braces and recession.

Hi JoviFan, Sounds like what you are going through is very standard. When we bond the lower arch up, it is so hard to get things to meet properly and brackets invariably get in the way. There are a couple of tricks that we have up our sleeves that we use in some cases. Build-ups can be put on the mo...

Hi JoviFan, Sounds like what you are going through is very standard. When we bond the lower arch up, it is so hard to get things to meet properly and brackets invariably get in the way. There are a couple of tricks that we have up our sleeves that we use in some cases. Build-ups can be put on the mo...