Metal Mouth Message Board

I have just had upper lingual braces fitted 2 days ago. So far I have not really suffered from any discomfort from them but I can not speak properly. Will this ever get better? It is so embarassing.

I am also due to get labial braces on my lower teeth in 6 weeks which I am dreading.

Any advice?

The first day was by FAR the toughest. And you immediately think that's how it's going to be forever......far from it. I was fine within a few days and within a couple weeks I was eating everything I was before and speaking problem free!

Search around a bit..a million people have asked this question, you'll find some good advice.

Thanks for this advice. I am beginning to think that I am mad to even get braces in the first place - but too late now. Just hope the end result will be worth it in the end.

Just hope the end result will be worth it in the end.

It will be.

Keep talking, the speech thing will get better.

Did you have or have got lingual braces? How long did it take to adapt to them?

I had linguals on top, a combination of ceramics and metal on the bottom.

It took me a couple of weeks to adapt to the linguals. The main issue was that my tongue was "raw" from contact with the brackets. I used lots of wax at that time. After that, it was pretty much plain sailing.

I have that combination too, welcome to the club! I would agree the speech thing really does get better quickly. I found singing along to music in the car was a great help. I find drinking lots of water helps too.

Ceramics felt odd, but not painful at first, but I'm used to them now (two weeks and two days in). Ceramics didn't affect my speech in anyway.

Good luck, I'm sure you will notice an improvement in your speech over the weekend. Most people find the first few days the difficult, and then things do imrpove. Post again and let us know how you get on.

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 that you did the right thing. If my experience is anything to go by, you will be asking yourself why you didn't start the process sooner, but it's never too late

Good luck on your journey. There will be plenty of people here to offer support and encouragement!

Thanks for all your advice.

At the moment I feel like crying with pain, my tongue is really sore as it is rubbing against the bracket or wire at the back of my mouth. I have covered it in wax but still no joy. Ended up having to email my ortho to find out what to do.

I've had my linguals on for nearly 3 weeks now. I still have a slight lisp but my speech has vastly improved since the first week. They do still sometimes rub my tongue, mainly when I've been talking a lot!

Hang in there, it will get better!

Gold braces, sorry your tongue is sore, it is miserable when that happens. There's a product called Difflam rinse for which is great for general mouth irritation and it helped my sore tongue. It's usually kept in the dispensary in pharmacies, so you have to ask for it, but no prescription is needed in UK. Let us know what your ortho recommends. Hope you feel better soon.

Yes, it will end, just be patient. Your tongue will toughen up and you will be fine.

Lionfish is right, it really does get better. I ate wax for a few days too - it's amazing how much you can get through! Everyone here says the first week is hardest. Hope you feel better soon. I guess you will be noticing some tooth movement before much longer too.

virtually pain free today - 6 days after linguals fitted