Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello Everyone!

I haven't been on here for absolutely ages..... mainly as everything has been going fine with my teeth, and i've been busy moving house, new job, new car... the whole lot!

Thought i'd post a quick update to how i've been getting on, and what i've still got left

The is my teeth a week after brackets went on:
Uppers:

Lowers:


This is me just over a year later..... really pleased so far!!!

Uppers:

Lowers:


I've had a few brackets pop off every now and again, but apart from that I can honestly say that it's been the best decision i've made for ages. Eating isn't really a problem... I can eat everything that I would normally eat.... the only difference maybe being that I don't snack as often as I used to!

I get on really well with my ortho and her assistant and this is something that i'd definately recommend as being very important. I used to be pretty hung up about the make of bracket etc that was going to be used, but having changed between several different makes over the last few months, they're all pretty much the same once your mouth is used to it. You may notice that my front upper brackets are now "raised" on blocks.... not quite sure why we did this, but I didn't really notice any difference to how they felt!

So what have I got left to do............ Lower Surgery! Yikes!!
I've got to have a BSSO in about 2 months to move my lower jaw forwards, but I guess I just need to get on with it. If the last few months are anything to go by, then i'll be writing a "And they're off" post before I know it!

I'm hoping to be a bit more active on the forum from now on, as I found it very useful when I was deciding whether to go for treatment. So a big thankyou to those that helped back then.... and it's good to see a lot of familiar people on the boards still now!

See ya'll!
Dave

Good to hear from you daveyboy.

Your changes are huge. Amazing, in fact.

Good luck with the surgery.

so jealous!!!!!!!! wish my teeth looked like that already!!! They look amazing DaveyboY!

My teeth sort of have the same crowding that yours do, except I kind of also have the fang teeth. After one year, your teeth look great! How long do you have to wear them and just wondering how your speech is?

I have gone for a consultation and the ortho advised the invisalign, although I am more interested in the linguals, since I don't know if I will be diligent enough to wear them 18 + hours a day. I guess the one good thing about the invisalign is that you can always take it out. Although, I hear it isn't exactly easy.

Daveyboy,

what are those green things on the lower back brackets?

Suedeness.... the thing on the back bracket is probably some cement that the ortho put over to make it smooth. Every now and again i'll find that the back brackets/wire annoys my tongue so the ortho simply covers it up so it's nice and smooth!

I've actually got this on all 4 back brackets at the mo as I had lower jaw surgery last week. I asked my ortho to put some on all of them as I was concerned about my tongue getting swollen and rubbing against the brackets more than normal.... although i'm now over a week post-op and things seem to be fine!

Cheers
Dave

Ahhh, I wish my ortho had the same thing for me. Wax does not really cut it. I'll have to ask about it at the next appointment.

Good luck with the post-op.

hi daveboy! i just had a look at your pictures!! very nice.. there are some massive changes you must be really happy with it.
looking at your braces they look the same as the ones my ortho showed me. i will be getting them in around 5 weeks. when he showed me them i was however concerned becuase the profile is a lot larger than i imagined and they are not the moulded gold type i was thinking of..
i guess i just want to know how you find them... mostly in regards to speach??
Sonja

Sonja seriously don't worry about your speech. You will have a lisp but it goes away around 1-2 weeks depending on how quickly your tongue heals and how quickly you can get used to them as everyone adapts to them differently. There may be some embarrassing moments during this adjustment period but no doubt you will get through it. You may find it painful as the braces create ulcers which hurt. You really just have to stick the pain out. Also you probably will have pain in your teeth from the new force of the braces and this may take a while to go away and doesn't help in the eating department so you may feel hungry in the first week from time to time as you wont be able to eat anything real solid. This is the hardest part of treatment this adjustment phase so i suggest to you to just tough it out and stay positive.

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 couldn't really say that it was the brackets, or the archwire, that was more or less annoying. For me, the main concern at the start was the molar build-ups which came as a total surprise and were a bit difficult to get used to, but hunger soon overcame that. I think if I had been warned that the build-ups might be necessary, it might have helped, but then not all parts of the process can be mapped out at the start and I've come to the view that I'll deal with things as and when they happen. I think it is inevitable that in the early stage the focus is very much on the detail, particularly when B day is approaching. I have found that since then, although I maintain a keen interest in the process, I tend not to think actively about it except when an adjustment is coming up when I reflect on where I am and where I'd like to be!


Hope this helps.

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't really say that it was the brackets, or the archwire, that was more or less annoying. For me, the main concern at the start was the molar build-ups which came as a total surprise and were a bit difficult to get used to, but hunger soon overcame that. I think if I had been warned that the build-ups might be necessary, it might have helped, but then not all parts of the process can be mapped out at the start and I've come to the view that I'll deal with things as and when they happen. I think it is inevitable that in the early stage the focus is very much on the detail, particularly when B day is approaching. I have found that since then, although I maintain a keen interest in the process, I tend not to think actively about it except when an adjustment is coming up when I reflect on where I am and where I'd like to be!


Hope this helps.

Yes yes molar buildups... thanks for telling me about them doc!