Metal Mouth Message Board

Well i'm due to get upper lingual braces (actually called incognito braces) fitted in a few weeks & I was really looking forward to getting them.

I'm now starting to have serious doubts about them & wondering if i've made a bad choice becuase all I seem to keep reading is about problems with speech. I'm really worried about this.

I can't cancel now i've paid £1000 already & had my moulds taken now.

Can anyone help put my mind at ease & tell me how wonderful they are & that they had no problems with them lol????

Thanks x

Best encouragement that I can give is that I've been at uni 3 weeks now, and nobody has commented on my speech at all.

upthebracket wrote:Best encouragement that I can give is that I've been at uni 3 weeks now, and nobody has commented on my speech at all.

Thanks for that. Could that just be because they don't want to be rude though?

Has your speech been affected at all? How have you found them? Any regrets?

lu lu wrote:

upthebracket wrote:Best encouragement that I can give is that I've been at uni 3 weeks now, and nobody has commented on my speech at all.

Thanks for that. Could that just be because they don't want to be rude though?

Has your speech been affected at all? How have you found them? Any regrets?

Well, they don't know about the races so they'd probably just ask why, if they thought i was talking significantly differently. Speech has been affected somewhat, but it's very minor as long as I have wax in the right places. Probably has encouraged me to talk slightly less than normal, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The first week or so was very bad speechwise, but it improved very quickly from then on.

Occasionally when my tongue is particularly sore I get annoyed with them, but I still think they were the best option for me, and will hopefully begin to see some movement soon which will be fun.

Have a read of the post in this forum called:
lingual or ceramic on bottom?
Hopefully that will put your mind at ease I'm SO glad I went lingual!

Thanks Clare

I've asked for some info off you on 1 of my other posts regards speech etc. just could do with some more info if poss pls.

The lingual forum seems to be slow with posters.

thanks

Hey lulu,

I was in exactly the same mindset before I got my upper linguals on - to the point where I was terrified when I went to get the put on and told my ortho about all the horror stories I'd read about online! What you have to remember is that when treatment is going well for someone they're a lot less likely to write about it than if they're having a bad time.

Yes your speech will be affected in the short term - for me I struggled with my 's' sounds for a week or so. I actually made up a story that I'd bitten my tongue to my colleagues as I'd gone straight back to work after getting it fitted!

However - the good part is that after a few weeks you should be pretty much word perfect and after a month or so you'll forget it's there most of the time - I'm about 10 months into treatment now and I am so happy I went for it, it really is no hassle AT ALL!

Stick with the short term pain, the long term gain is awesome!!

Best thing I can recommend re the speech issue is to experiment with your tongue - letting it rest habitually at the roof of your mouth rather than at the bottom will really help with those 's'es!

Good luck

jessicamay - thanks so much for the reply.

I really appreciate that & it has put my mind at ease.

All I seem to read is about speech problems & was wondering if I had made a mistake. I never found this site until after i'd signed my contract so didn't know about all these 'problems'.

Just read your new thread & it sounds like you've had an amazing journey so far. Hope mine is the same.

I'm hoping I won't need elastics. I've not been told & seems pointless paying the extra for lingual braces if you'll be able to see the elastics anyway Plus they sound tricky to put on - i'm no good at things like that. Very clumsy lol

Thanks again x

Hey,

No problem happy to put your mind at rest!

Yeah the elastics thing took me by surprise a bit - but he said it's often hard to predict at the beginning of treatment as to exactly how long / what kind of adjustments they need to do. If I'm honest I can only really see them if I properly open my mouth - talking, laughing etc they're not visible as they're hooked up inside the roof of my mouth - I spent a good 10 mins practicing in the mirror this morning!

I found that actually the ceramic caused more trouble than the linguals when they were put on as I seem to have a particular problem with them cutting into my lower lip - my ortho even commented on the little bumps that have built up inside my lip and said that wasn't usual.

Take care and good luck!!

Hi, I had upper linguals put on five weeks ago - at first I was lisping & drooling & my tongue was very sore - but this only lasted a couple of weeks (I just told people I'd had some root treatment & my mouth was sore - & no-one commented!!). I've now got a VERY slight lisp - but I think it's me hearing it - the people that are "in the know" say they can't hear it at all.
Some of my teeth have moved already (hooray!!) & I am really pleased - only problem is I keep looking in the mirror!!
I was very excited when I had mine put in - it was the first time I'd ever looked forward to going to the dentist!!
Only a few weeks in - but sooooo glad I've done it.

Thanks for that Trixie.

Only 11 days to go. What type of lingual brace have you got?
I'm getting incognito.

I'm dreading the lisp that's all oh & having 2 more extractions!!

X

Hi, I've got an Incognito brace. Fortunately I didn't have to have any extractions - but I've got to have some "tooth slenderising" - which sounded horrid - but according to some on this forum isn't too bad...!!! So we'll see...

Good luck for 11 days time!!! I'm sure you won't regret it!!

Hi lu lu

I have had incognito uppers and lowers on for a few months now and I am sooooo pleased with the results so far. My teeth moved really quickly and I had noticable results within a couple of weeks.

Here is a link to my braces story where I have put some pics
http://archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.p ... 629#358629

I had a teeny lisp when I firt got my uppers on but it was only really noticible to me. It was worse when I got drunk - I found it hilarious.

No one has noticed I have got braces and they have all been amazed when I tell them. It is the best money I have ever spent you will not regret it. Remember that when you first get them on as it will probably hurt your tongue a lot for a few days. Use alcohol free mouthwash to help it heal like Cordosyl.

And do not try and ignore your ortho's advice and eat hard or crunchy foods like nuts! Your brackets will come off. I had a few brackets come off in the first couple of months but have not had any off (touch wood) since I stoppped eating stupidly

Your tongue will want to poke about at the brackets but try and stop yourself from doing it as that is when it gets really sore!!

Hope this is helpful.

Good luck xx

TDiamond - Thanks so much

Just checked your story & piccies & WOW your teeth look fantastic.
I bet you are so chuffed

Your teeth weren't that bad to begin with unlike mine - but saying that my top teeth which I'll be having the incognito brace on aren't as bad as bottom so hopefully it won't take too long for me to start to see movement.

How long did they estimate treatment time for you?

I'm having extractions. I see you have too. Looks like it was your frist premolars. Am I right? That's what i've got to have out too.

I was wondering if treatment is prelonged with lingual braces & if it takes longer. I was thinking I wouldn't see movement for ages if that was the case xx

Thanks lulu. My teeth weren't that bad but I've had braces on before when I was 14 but my dentist took them off as soon as they were straight so that was them moved back. These teeth run in my family and if you saw my 87 year old granda's teeth you'd know why I did it!!

My orthodontist estimated 12 to 18 months with braces, then I'll get essix retainers to wear for most of the day, gradually reducing to a few nights a week. Definitely want to keep these babies straight once they get there!

I had my upper first pre molars and lower seconds extracted. I don't even think about it anymore actually I only notice when I see photos where my head's slightly side on so I always try and look square on to camera haha.

I believe lingual braces are actually quicker than normal ones, I can't remember where I heard that though. Don't worry about it after the initial shock to the system you forget they're there most of the time