I'm offically a lingual wearer now!!!!!!

[lu lu]

Well i've had my top lingual brace (incognito) fitted for about an hour now.

It's much bigger on my front teeth than I expected. I think he called it 'padding'. I'm really lisping bad & I hate it

s's are defo the worst & i'm dreading going to work tomorrow. I'm constantly on the phones & each time I answer a call I greet the customer by saying morning / afternoon & the company name which ends in an s & sounds awful

I've recorded myself on my phone & I don't sound like i've got a lisp or at least I can't hear it anyway. So i'm not sure if I have a speech problem or not to other people yet

I'm going to get practing on the rainbow passage I think it's called & record myself doing it - sad I know

[jaffa]

hey lu lu, congrats on starting your lingual journey. I'm half a step behind you, getting uppers and lowers on tomorrow (in about twelve hours )

Hope your lisp goes away soon, I'm really worried about that too. It sounds like you don't have too bad a one if you can't really hear it after an hour. Lowers are supposed to be worse for speech right? I'm hoping I won't be one of the unlucky ones who lisps for aaaages...

haha recording your voice is a great idea, I'm going to do that now so I can compare tomorrow

[lu lu]

Thanks Jaffa

I haven't started properly yet. I've just had the brackets put on but no wire until I have my 2 upper first premolars out. Wire won't be fitted until 23rd Dec just before Xmas

Once I've got that on then i'll have started my lingual journey properly. Until then no movement So you'll probs end up being ahead of me.

Good luck for later on. It's really not that bad. I thought it was going to be an awful experience couldn't see how they'd do it. It wasn't too bad at all.
You have your tongue strapped up in a plastic tube so it doesn't get in the way of what they are doing & took about 30 mins to do my uppers. They used a Cherry flavoured water I think too mmmmm

I thought lowers were the worst for speech but I've read mixed reviews on this & think it might be the uppers.

To be honest I don't think the lowers would really produce a lisp (although I can't comment as I have a ceramic on the lowers) but your tongue always hits the roof of your mouth when talking especially on sounds with s's. The brackets on my 2 central incisors feel so big & that's whats causing the problem. I read they were small

I'm hoping your right about my lisp. I asked my dad if I had 1 & it was a couple of hours after I had it fitted & he said I had a slight lisp.

My boyfriend says I haven't this morning but his probs being polite. He got me to say sausages lol. I can still hear it sometimes but not all the time. I've got wax covering the front 2 central incisors & i've found it's helped a lot with the lisp so try that if you struggle.

So far at work I haven't had to repeat myself to any customers on the phone, they seem to be understanding me (before I had my lingual brace I was always having to repeat myself, I talk very fast lol)

Good luck & let me know how you get on.

Any questions just ask x

[Tilly Minto]

Welcome to the world of linguals, LuLu.
It sounds like your lisp isn't too bad, but keep your wax/silicone to hand and keep talking (reading anything out loud, not just the boring rainbow passage!). I find my lisp comes back when I'm tired, have had a drink or if my tongue is sore. I had trouble with s sounds and worse trouble with st sounds - try saying station, lol!
Jaffa in my experience the uppers cause lisping etc, the lowers didn't BUT were much harder to get used to and left my tongue very sore for several days. At the time it feels awful, like it's going to go on for ever but in reality you get usedto the braces pretty quickly.
Good luck to both of you. I'm a few months ahead but remember exactly what you're going through.
If you're in the UK ask the chemist for stuff for mouth ulcers that forms a skin, I don't think I can mention names on here but this stuff was my life saver!

[lu lu]

Tilly Minto - Thanks for stopping by.

Feeling fed up now. I'm at work & i'm fed up of talking my tongue is so sore & i'm tired & feel my lisp is starting to show because of it.

I've had to wear wax as it makes me sound better but took it off at lunch time & tried talking once I was on my own & I don't think my lisp will ever go because the problem is the size of the brackets. Every few words especially s's & station would be 1 too my tongue can't move away from the brackets as there isn't much room in my mouth so i'm now really scared it'll be with me the whole time

I'm now having doubts about linguals

I hope I adapt to them & not wasted my money!!

I have no idea what your talking about with that stuff from the chemist.
You'll have to try & spell it out with spaces if you can.

Do you get ulcers then from the lingual brace? Or does it help with your tongue?

x

[Tilly Minto]

LuLu don't panic! I felt the same when I got my upper linguals fitted, the brackets felt huge and intrusive. It probably is a bit harder as you don't gave a wire yet so you can feel the individual brackets more. I promise it will get better!
It's almost the weekend. As soon as you are off work I'd recommend removing the wax you are using just to help your speech and get talking as much as possible with people who know about your braces, read aloud and sing. Practice really really helps.
My linguals have given me ulcers on my tongue (especially the lower linguals, ouch!!) so the ulcer stuff really really helps. I'll see if I can send you a private message.
Good luck. If you have any other questions, fire away. I have had my linguals for 3.5 months (uppers) and 3 months (lowers) so I'm still a relative newbie but have got over the initial hurdles

[lingo]

Yo lu lu, don't get stressed! Put things in proportion you're only 1 day in

I 'm now 3 months in with the same linguals (incognito/iBraces) on both upper and lower (I think me & Tilly started roughly at the same time).

Similar to yourself, I was bracketed on the upper but wasn't wired as I had a premolar extraction to perform, so I was only wired 1.5 months later.

At first I think I had a pretty noticeable lisp, which improved with time, but I remember at one point thought I had reached "the best state" my speech is ever going to be with braces and accepted it (though nobody actually noticed, they just thought I sounded sick like I had the flu or something ), can't put the finger exactly on timelines but I remember that on my 2nd appt when my upper was wired (1.5 mo.) I wasn't lisping at all!

It took me about 2/2.5 months to REALLY feel comfortable with the braces, at first my tongue was sore all the time, my mouth produced too much saliva, speaking was very tiring and eating wasn't a pleasant experience at all... (this is mainly due to the LOWER linguals, I also believed my speech problems came from the lowers but I don't know for sure).

What I'm saying is just GIVE IT TIME, use the wax until you don't need it anymore (I still use wax on the lowers) and just talk to yourself a lot or sing in the shower

b.t.w
I completely understand the urge of getting wired on the upper, I was anxious to get started “properly” too, at the first week I swallowed the last molar bracket and since it has that hook thinkg at the end I was worried they won’t be able to wire me without it (which turned out to be wrong)

[ShySmile]

Hey LuLu- well you know my story just stopping by to say a big congrats!

Also wanted you to know that i have now had my upper lingual brackets on for 16 days and my lisp has pretty much gone. If my mouth is feeling a little dry it can appear. I too talk all day on the phone so i make sure i have water at all times.

Like the others say, time will improve everything. I do however hope than when the actuall wire is fitted next week that the lisp doesnt reappear!
Goodluck, you may need some wax for the first week. Havent used any for at least 6 day now.

[lu lu]

Thanks every1 for stopping by & giving me advice

I really appreciate it & it's helped reassure me a bit.

I just can't see how this lisp will go no matter how much I practice because I produce alot of saliva & always have done (too much info I know) so it's rattling around my brackets when I speak making a lisping sound when I talk & my tongue can't get away from these huge brackets becuase there is nowhere else to put it so I don't see how it will improve It seems to be getting worse. I was doing ok & was managing to kind of just tickle the brackets when I spoke. It has come & gone but slowly getting worse I think.

At work again with my wax again but I sound worse

I took my wax off last night for a few hours before bed. Have to sleep in it though to give my toungue a break. I'll try go all weekend without it but I don't know if my tongue will be able to take it for too long.

Also will my tounge toughen up? At the moment its sore from my front brackets & the BIG hook on the last tooth is constantly sticking in the side of my tongue. I don't see how it will get used to it? So painful.

I've also discovered I can't floss anymore. I guess the glue is stuck between my teeth. My floss can only get halfway up my tooth if that & then breaks the more force I use & then I struggle to get it out. Tried using a tooth pick & that snapped

Rang my ortho's office today & the girl on the desk said it was probs the stuff they use to bond the brackets on with but that I shouldn't be using floss now & conentrate on using my interdental brushes but I can't see this doing a good enough job under my gums I don't want to get gum disease. Had a mild case many years ago before it actually turned to gum disease & suffer from bleeding gums if I don't floss.

Does anybody else just use the interdental brushes?

I use superfloss on my bottom teeth & I will continue to do so.

This is going to be a rough long old ride me thinks.

Gosh shysmile you've adapted so quick. Hope I do too & i'm not 1 of these people who has problems with speech throughout. Was you lisping much to begin with? I don't know if I was really.

Is it easier to talk once the wire is on then guys?

Thanks again xx

[Tilly Minto]

Lulu did you get my private message?
Also I meant to say take the wax off if you have it to help with speech, NOT if it's because you have a sore tongue.
The cement stuff shouldn't be between your teeth! My ortho used floss to make sure my teeth hadn't been bonded together - otherwise they can't move! I would speak to your ortho if you can't get floss between your teeth!
Keep persevering, it will get better!

[lu lu]

Lulu did you get my private message?
Also I meant to say take the wax off if you have it to help with speech, NOT if it's because you have a sore tongue.
The cement stuff shouldn't be between your teeth! My ortho used floss to make sure my teeth hadn't been bonded together - otherwise they can't move! I would speak to your ortho if you can't get floss between your teeth!
Keep persevering, it will get better!

Well I did wonder that to be honest

It's ok at the moment as until i've had my extractions out & until the wire is on they won't be moving so I guess I could bring it up with him at my next appointment which isn't until 23rd Dec Not sure if this is too long?

They don't use floss & when I asked about flossing before I was braced he said I wouldn't be able to & my hygenist said that when I saw her (she's nothing to do with my ortho, she's a seperate company) do these people not have a clue???? luckily I read on here about superfloss & did it myself.

No i never got your msg. can you send it again please?

The wax is for a bit of both. It makes my lisp sound softer & it eases my tongue. As it get sore pretty quickly. going to try the whole weekend though. Probs going to leave a bit of wax on that back hook though that's a killer.

xx

[lu lu]

Well I went without wax for most of the day at work yesterday & going the whole weekend without any now. I'm hoping by monday I'll be sounding pretty normal but I think it's highly unlikely.

I did struggle yesterday at work so

x

[s00102]

Dont worry your lisp will go away! I too spoke okay-ish the first day and then it became worse again. But after a few weeks i was almost 95% lisp free. And now I dont even feel them anymore.

About the teeth being glued together: I had that too and with a lot of effort trying to floss and everything I managed to get everything out. Took me a few weeks until everything was gone. But my teeth have moved nicely now so no problems there! I would try to floss it out, it will probably take some time though. Maybe ask the ortho if she could help with some sort of tool the next appointent?

[lu lu]

s00102 - Thanks for stopping by.

Well I thought I had nailed my speech late afternoon yesterday. It seemed to be sounding pretty good. I was so happy. I then went out & had a few glasses of wine & I couldn't control it. I ended up sounding terrible & my tongue was so sore. I couldn't talk at all in the end. Must of been because I was dehydrated.

Anyway I thought once the wine had worn off today I'd be ok but no back to lisping again.

Seems like I've forgotten where to put my tongue when talking.

Was so happy yesterday when I thought I had finally got the hang of it.

I think the trick is to just tickle the brackets with your tongue.

Hoping I'll nail it pretty soon. Just got to remember what to do with my tongue.

As for my flossing I tried a different type of floss today on my uppers & I managed to get right up under the gum YAY!!! It was a bit harder than it used to be but I managed so looks like I've shifted most the glue.

[upthebracket]

Sounds like you're doing really well given you've only had them on for a few days. In my first week my speech was terrible and my tongue was really really sore, but it soon improved. Wax is useful at the start (and I needed it again after my first adjustment) but now I don't use it and it doesn't hurt at all. You also produce less saliva with time. Your mouth just takes time to adjust. My favourite moment so far was about six weeks in, when I was absent-mindedly running my tongue over the brackets, and was genuinely surprised when I remembered that they hadn't always been there. It was almost like they'd become part of me. (Incidentally I was surprised that you said wine made it worse, since alcohol always seemed to make it better for me!)