Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi

After lots of research and consultations, I decided to go with lingual (Incognito - think Europe equivalent of IBraces) and ceramic lowers. Found an orthodontist who is enthusatic about lingual. He spent lots of time with me at initial consultation, and when taking models. Booked to have work done on 9th April.

Was happy with my choice, until spoke to my regular dentist today. He was positive about treatment plan, results, and the practice I choose, but told me braces take a lot of perservence and 2 patients recently had them removed after just a few days, and several extractions, as they couldn't put up with the discomfort. But skeptical about lingual, on basis of comfort, but told me he hadn't any experience of patients with this. Get used to eating mush, speech problems and mouth ulcers (canker sores)!

Rang orthodontist, will put brackets on before extractions, which won't be the same as having wire in, but is something. Told me to carry on normal activities, with pain killers if necessary and most people adapt well with lingual upper. Nurse suggested I could collect wax and silicone ahead of time if I wanted to, and ring if I have problems adapting as she may be able to help.

I wasn't expecting a walk in the park, but was anticipating surving the experience! How bad is it? Are we talking take over the counter pain killers or more than this? Am very worried about speech - how long to adapt? I can eat mush for a few weeks, but might get fed up after two years! Booked 5 days off work after having it all fitted - is this enough?

Looking forward to getting some advice from people who have survived this!

I can say personally, I feel no pain at ALL with linguals, but I cant imagine being in enough pain to require such a drastic measure, such as removal. The end result is far too worth it. Unless the braces were improperly put on or the person is entirely overreacting, I cant imagine being in that much pain. That is lack of willpower IMHO. Those are probably the same people that fall off a diet because they "cant" eat nutritiously. Lets call it what it is, you CAN, you just don't really want to. Of course I dont believe that to be everyones case, but I imagine it to be a few! So I don't mean to offend!

Other than appointments every 8 weeks, my life is no different than it was before linguals. Speech is 100%. The cuts I used to get on my tongue the first couple weeks are gone, never to return. And they were no where NEAR unbearable. I eat exactly the same now as I did before (minus chewy candy and ice)...burgers, all meats, veggies, snacks, etc. I ate no "mush", lol. First couple days was pasta, mashed potatoes, soup, etc but after that it was business as usual.

Also, I had brackets put on first, then the wire. There was no diffrence in feeling....and again no pain at all. I imagine most people may have some soreness, but I wasn't one of them. And I mean ZERO pain......I didn't even know they were on my teeth.


I looked at it like this. 85% of my friends in 7th grade (what...13 years old?) had braces, for 3, 4, and 5 years.....NONE of them had theirs removed before there treatment was over. If they can deal with it for that long....I, a 26 year old, absolutely can deal with it for 12 months!! I had mine put on and went to work afterwards. And just for some comparison, I'm SUCH a baby, I need to take 3 Valiums just to get my blood pressure checked.


At 5 weeks in, I am 1,000% satisfied with my experience thus far!!!

After my friends saw them on me......even if they didn't think they needed ortho work, they are thinking about linguals to correct minor issues because they are so freaking neat!

I'd second that! Had mine on for 15 months now and they've been fine. Have also spoken to my ortho about keeping them on until my teeth have settled... instead of having to wear a removable retainer 24hrs a day for 3 months. I'd rather keep these on!

One thing to note is that for me at least, they are far more comfaortable with the wire than without so if you're having brackets put on without the wire then i'd bare in mind that it's only likely to get better once you have the wire put in!

I never really understand why some orthos put the brackets on a while before the wire though!??

Good luck with it... if you've made the decision to go for it.. then that's pretty much the hard part over with!

Dave

One thing to note is that for me at least, they are far more comfaortable with the wire than without so if you're having brackets put on without the wire then i'd bare in mind that it's only likely to get better once you have the wire put in!

Agreed. I think the wire helps to "smooth out" the rough edges of the brackets a bit.

My ortho did the brackets first because I'm usually very tight on time when I visit him. Seperating it into 2 visits was easier. However I must say, the brackets AND the wire went on exceptionally quick! The entire process was under 30 minutes.

I think many orthos may do it so people get used to the feeling of the braces before going "all the way" so to speak.


I thought I would be spending 30 minutes in the bathroom after each meal picking things out, but it's not the case. I just drink a LOT of water with each meach and try to swish secretly after each bite

Hey Rolo,

Welcome. You can definitely do this. I totally agree with davey boy that the hardest part is making the decision to do it. I was nervous the day my upper brace was bonded, mainly because whatever anyone tells you, it is the first time for you personally, and you have to get through it for yourself. For me, the bonding process was fast and painless. There is nothing in the process of fitting the brace that can hurt you, well unless your Ortho is really clumsy and drops the tools in your mouth I suppose. It is just not an invasive procedure. I had no time to think about changing my mind before the brackets were on and the wire was in. When I felt the brace for the first time, I was relieved it felt so small and unobtrusive. I guess I had been expecting the hardware to feel really bulky. I have STb brackets. Now, I even forget I have a brace except when eating when I have to remember not to swish my tongue along the brackets. Go for it, Rolo, you will look back and wonder why you were worried. I know I did.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I feel so much better now. It's great to know that there are people out there who are doing well with linguals! I am deterimined to convert my dentist to a fan of linguals at my next check up!

Great to know you are happy after just 5 weeks Prettyone. Thanks for the tip about drinking lots of water, I was wondering how eating was going to work out. You are right so many teenagers go through this, I can do it. They must be okay if Daveyboy is thinking of wearing them instead of retainers. Will keep in mind that it feels better with the wire in.

Good to know that making the decision is the hardest part anagram, it took me a fair few consultations to get there! I didn't have the option of stB brackets, but great to know they don't feel too big.

Will post and let you know how I get on after my fitting on 9th April. I have brackets and then extractions (yuck) in the morning and wire and temporary tooth fitted (phew! It's near the front of my mouth) in the afternoon. Well, why not make a day of it!

Dude basically anyone (dentist or orthodontist) who isn't really experienced with linguals will be against them. They must have a mental block who knows.

I have ibraces which are the same as incognito just different name. I have upper and lower and they are great (totally invisible). The first 3-4 days they feel wierd and you just have to get used to them.
I think they even felt a little heavy the first few days, just a wierd feeling I guess. As far as comfort the first say 7 days can be painful at times. The first day is the best by far though. Worst days would be third, fourth and fifth for me. Just use the wax mainly at the back molars of each arch as that's where the pain is. I'm not sure about the tongue being all cut up, but you do get a few ulcers which is what the pain is. Speech is probably the worst for the first 7 days.

Your confidence grows as each day passes with braces and therefore so will your speech. You think that your speech will never get better, you will never be able to it and what did you get yourself into but the main thing is that you have to stay positive. After about a week and a half everything just seems to go up and up. The main reasons I can think of with regards to having difficulty eating is that your teeth will be sore after they are bonded on due to pressure (unless you just get brackets bonded on), also ulcers may give you a little grief and just overall getting used to chewing with them. Once this period is over it's all downhill from there.

If you want to know if 5 days is enough, my opinion is that 5 days is too many as you have to gain confidence with them by talking to people and being in a busy normal environment so that you get fully used to them. I think that 3 days would be enough. My last comment is that I felt that the lowers were more painful then the uppers. This would probably be because the tongue sits more on the lower, but more speech problems come because of the uppers.

Good luck,
Jay Tea

Not sure why dentists and orthos with no experience of linguals would be so skeptical, I guess like any applicance they have their pros and cons and are not for everyone, but so many people on this forum love them. I feel happy with my choice of lingual uppers.

Booked 5 days off work, but was hoping to help at a youth camp for teenagers during that time. Although I counted myself as an extra person, partly due to braces, but mainly because I have a tolder, and want to get home at some point for some cuddles! So I could miss some of this if I'm into much discomfort, but that would be disappointing, I'm hoping with painkillers and wax I will be okay. Lots of the teenagers and one other leader have braces, so I should be in good company.

Having lower ceramics, so less tongue pain, although no doubt they will rub somewhere. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement.

Anyone have any ideas on flossing? went to hygenist today and she recommended tepe, tiny brushes for between teeth. Not sure I could do as good a job with them as floss, the spaces between my teeth are very tight due to crowding, any ideas? Also how often does everyone see the hygenist, is it more regular once you have braces?

Thanks again

I had my first adjustment (wire change) this past Saturday and he said my hygiene was perfect. I don't need any special tools or gadgets. Just brush 2-3 times and day and floss with regular floss. I also invested (a whopping $8! haha ) in a set of basic dental tools from the drugstore. The scaler, pick, and mirror to help with stubborn things I can't see or get out!!

You DEFINITELY need to stop stressing about pain.....it's zero to minimal at the very most You'll soon find, as with most things, that the anxiety you are causing yourself now will be far worse than the actual procedure itself! I used wax on the back brackets the first 3 days or so because of my tongue, but after that it was no longer needed.

Hey Rolo,

I find the interdental brushes (the ones you called tepe) are really handy. Sometimes flossing can be difficult if not downright impossible either because some teeth are just too tightly packed, or because the floss gets shredded by the wire-brackets during the process. When you get started, you might decide like me that it makes sense to see the hygienist more frequently, say every 3 months, just to be on the safe side. The only thing I bought that I haven't used is the Waterpik. The water just goes everywhere, and I don't like the sensation of the jet on my gums, but I know a lot of people really rate this product, so maybe try that as well!

Thanks again for your advice. Great to know what works for other people with linguals, will post again after I get them!

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!

Bad luck! The chances of that happening must be pretty low! Other than that was everything okay?

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