Metal Mouth Message Board

You're not alone... I, too have become obsessed with keeping my mouth clean. I try to brush gently since I brush four or five times a day. I use my water pik every day as well. I hate how my mouth never feels clean, and I only have uppers right now - I'm not looking forward to when I get lowers as w...

I would ask your ortho about why you have molar bands - different people need them for different reasons. I currently have four (I only have uppers right now), and will be getting four more on the lowers in a few months. I was told that I need them b/c I'm going to have surgery, and they need "...

Jex, try to hang in there. It's only been three days, right? My cleats were really bad at first, too. It felt like my tounge was been assaulted by a cheese grater! I discovered, in a happy accident, around my 4th day that the vodka in my martini made my mouth feel much better. And it continued to im...

Thanks for the info, Meryaten!

Does anyone out there have any horror stories that were a result of drinking soda? If not, then I'm popping a can first thing in the morning! I've been trying to be really good since I got my braces last week, but I think I just might lose my mind if I go much longer without my Diet Mountain Dew. I ...

You are soooo right about the eating thing. I used to love to eat, and now it is just a pain. Not only is it more difficult to actually eat, but I am so hung up on trying to keep my teeth clean. I feel like I could spend 20 minutes cleaning my teeth after every meal, and they still don't feel clean ...

I had bi-lateral tmj arthroplasy several years ago after being treated unsuccessfully by a dozen doctors over the preceeding five years. For me, the surgery was a lifesaver! I would say that 95% of my symptoms disappeared within 6 weeks, and it stayed that way for probably three years. I have been e...

Sorry for the confusion... I have the self-ligating metal brackets, and the hooks are not on the wire, they are on the brackets - I have "normal" brackets on my front two teeth, and all the other teeth have brackets with hooks. The technician even double-checked with the ortho, because I g...

Okay, it's my turn to whine! I just got my upper braces. Lower braces to come in 6 months, and upper & lower jaw surgery in a year or so. Quite to my surprise, my ortho decided that this would be a good time to install all the hooks they would need for surgery. Talk about advance-planning, here ...

I don't know what to tell you to do to make it better, but I am having the same problem. I only got my braces yesterday, and my teeth don't really hurt, but my molars are suddenly really sensitive to hot & cold. So... if you figure out what to do to remedy the situation, please let me know!

I got spacers on Tuesday. Not so bad at first, but now I am ready for it to all be over! I was prepared for them to be uncomfortable (which they are), but what I was not prepared for was how much they would alter my bite. Everything was fine until I woke up yesterday morning, and when I closed my mo...