Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey! I've got linguals on top and bottom. It's early days since the lowers were bonded but so far I'm finding the lowers much harder to get used to than the uppers. This could be due to the fact that not all the lower teeth have brackets (too crooked at the moment to fit them), and so the wire is in...

Hey, it does get easier. Oddly enough, I found that my speech improved when I stopped trying so hard. The harder I tried, the worse it was (I have upper linguals). Then I realised that in my anxiety to get the words out clearly I was pressing my tongue too firmly against my teeth (and brackets) and ...

Hi Sonicare, Since you've obviously already got the electric toothbrush, try to use it effectively. The advice I had was to brush above the brackets along the gumline (but don't press too hard, let the toothbrush do the work!) and then brush everything else! I know exactly what you mean about the ti...

Hey! Welcome and don't worry, your speech will recover. It is usual to have some speech issues in the first few days and weeks, but it does get better. See my earlier posts for my experiences! Try not to feel discouraged, you will soon start to see results and at that stage I am sure you will feel t...

Hey! I used the wax at the start on a couple of brackets - my upper arch is quite narrow. After the first month, I found that I didn't need the wax any more. Your teeth (and brackets) will move and this may help. How comfortable it all feels depends on so many individual factors, but your tongue wil...

Hey Rolo! Great to hear that you survived. I thought to myself that you were taking a lot on in one day, but you made it. It sounds as though you are doing really well for the first few hours, and that has to be one of the hardest adjustment times when everything is new and alien! Your comment about...

Hey! If my experience is anything to go by, you will need to work on some sounds but after a few weeks it will be very much business as usual. I can't comment on relative differences between Ibraces or other types and the STb linguals (which I have) but my impression from comments on this forum is t...

can "second" that. Looking back to the "moment of truth" when I felt my upper linguals for the first time, my first impression was that my tongue's habitat had just become a little smaller and a little less comfortable (there were some definite "no go areas"). I couldn'...

I can "second" that. Looking back to the "moment of truth" when I felt my upper linguals for the first time, my first impression was that my tongue's habitat had just become a little smaller and a little less comfortable (there were some definite "no go areas"). I could...

Hey Sonja! I have the STb linguals, and within a few weeks I got to the point where they were just part of my life and mostly I forgot about them. Although these brackets are small, from my experience the brackets alone are just the starting point. The final "feel" of the lingual brace as ...

Yes, thanks. Well apart from the fact that I still have a little under 23 months to go!

Maybe I spoke too soon. My ortho DID drop the pliers in my mouth at the last appointment. So I guess it can happen! Luckily no teeth were chipped. I smiled to myself at the time, thinking about my earlier post. Watch out everyone!

Hi Jay Tea, the ligatures fasten the archwire to the brackets. When the archwire is held securely against the bracket, it applies a controlled force to the tooth via the bracket, to move the tooth in the desired way. It is possible the archwire could still be doing this if it is still in contact wit...

The glue can be really annoying, I've been there! I've still got some glue on a tooth where my tongue makes regular contact, and it's been a bit annoying. At the moment, I think my tooth is more likely to fall out, than the glue come off, so I'll be asking my ortho to do something about that (the gl...

Hey, I've got my keyboard back under control, I've had to label the new keys just to find them each time. :computer: Now its just a question of getting my teeth where they need to be ... if only that were so simple! I can't really complain though, I find that the sensation of my teeth moving comes a...