Metal Mouth Message Board

1) My ortho told me that I may need one extraction of a bottom front tooth, but it all depends on my top teeth moving forward (I only have braces on the top so far).

2) I have had discomfort with my braces sticking out. My canine teeth stuck out farther than the rest of my teeth, so I get chapped skin a lot. But at least my upper lip doesn't get stuck on my braces anymore!

3) I don't know what "sticky door" is, but my ortho couldn't close one of the doors when I first got braced.

4) I think I'm happy with choosing Damons. I was going to get ceramic, but the ceramic bracets are bigger and I have some small teeth!

i would have liked to have had color options

Me too! I would love to get to pick out colors and change them at every appointment.

Very happy to have found this forum, and even more specifically, this thread!!

I just went for my very first ortho consultation yesterday. The ortho I went to strictly does Damon braces. They are something I had never heard of before and am brand new to this whole 'braces' thing, so I really didn't/don't know much about them to begin with.
My brother's girlfriend works at this clinic, and she was the one who started telling me about them and had me come in for the appointment; this is why I chose this clinic, as I didn't have a current dentist (long story).

Next week, I go in for a checkup, cleaning, and they are going to do all the pre-braces work to get me all set up. This is something I have wanted for a very, very long time (I'm 22), and you have no idea how unbelievably excited I am for this.

My health benefits don't cover the cost of braces, but I'm ok with that. The clinic is going to cut me a deal and the boyfriend is putting money into it.

I was hoping to find a forum like this, where I could talk to other people who have Damon braces, instead of just relying on the brochures and pamphlets.


I notice no one said they regretted their decision. Does that mean everyone here is happy with their Damons?
Anyone wish they had gone with a different kind??

Thanks!! I'm pretty nervous/excited about it.

I nearly teared up when talking to the ortho yesterday about my teeth.

When I was 2 years old, I tripped and fell on concrete and hit my face; this killed my four front teeth and turned the front of them black. My four front teeth looked like someone had cut tiny strips of black electrical tape and place them over top the front of each tooth. It looked like I could peel/pick the black front off, instead of just the whole tooth being black. I would get teased relentlessly and my older siblings called me "poopteeth".

The day before Halloween when I was 8, I had to have all 4 of them removed at once. I was told that I'd most likely need braces once the teeth came in.
It took nearly 6 months for the front two teeth to start growing in. They came in very far apart. Because of that, the two on either side came in high and I looked ridiculous.
Long story short, both my parents have serious health problems and they could no longer afford to send me to the dentist, so I never did get braces.

Luckily, my teeth somewhat straightened out on there own, compared to what they used to be. But they still aren't straight.

I am so looking forward to having nice teeth for the first time in my memory. Most people at least have childhood pictures where they have the cute little kid teeth; I don't even have that.

No one even notices now that they are crooked and my co-worker thinks I don't even need them. But as much as they straightened out on their own, I just really want to take that one final step to get them exactly how I want them!

Are Damon's really that quick to install?

I have read that several people have had them done in an hour or less. Is that for both arches

I am gettting my Damon's put on Mar 22. The appointment is scheduled for 1 hour but I don't know if that is for one arch or both. I am not getting spacers or any other appliances, so I am hoping both arches are done at that appointment so I can get this started.

I have ceramics on top metals on bottom and it took less than an hour-I dont think it matters the type of bracket..its the ortho or person putting them on your teeth who either is quick or takes their time.

1) Had anyone been told that they can avoid extractions by putting damons and had also successfully done so?

i had 6 extractions before my braces went on. 4 wisdom teeth and 2 in the front. it was unavoidable though due to the wisdoms being impacted and painful at times, and the fronts were "missing teeth" one baby and one peg lateral.

2) As damons have a higher profile (stick out more than the trad kind of brackets) does this pose any problems for u?

ive never had any other type of braces, so i dont really notice a difference and ive gotten used to them fairly quickly.

3) Do most of us encounter the "Sticky door" problem? Is it very painful/serious as the years go by? (I have yet to encounter this but there are 2 years to go!)

not yet??

4) In general, do you regret choosing this or not requesting for another kind of brackets before treatment?

no, these seem to be working out really well. im waiting on the gaps to close in the front, but am on the lightest wire and waiting for my first adjustment in a couple weeks. my bottom teeth straightened out perfectly within just a couple weeks! it really helped see such fast results. hopefully the rest will go by fast too!

It's been 2 months since I've been braced with Damon3 something. < I have to ask which ones at my first adjustment beginning of April <10>.

Anyway...2 of my teeth on my left are now touching slightly and a few more on my right. I only had 1 back molor touching on the right side at the beginning. And none on my left side..

The only thing I have noticed now is the " bulkyness" in front. My braces were placed lower on my teeth and my lips/mouth doesn't cover.

The pain/discomfort has finally stopped about 2 weeks ago..I'm assuming there not moving anymore.

I hope my ortho will take impressions to see how far along i've come in the 10 week time.

Some of you said you wish that you could have colored ligs. You should ask because one of the orthos i saw said he uses Innovation R which are like damons in that they are self ligating. I said what if I want colored ligs for halloween or something?
He told me I could have ligs if I wanted them but don't need them.

I had a similar problem. I fell off my bike in 4th grade and killed my front left incisor. It didn't turn black but a dark grey. No dentist would touch it not even for a root canal which is what I am being told I need now.
As far as extractions, I need to have my top two wisdom teeth extracted due to impaction. No other extractions are required. I do need that root canal, a cleaning and a few cavities filled before I get braced.

I have been looking at western dental and thinking about using them but have read what Alexis wrote about her ortho just up and quitting. I am scared to death. I found some other orthos I think I would rather use.

Hi Braced4braces! Thanks for posting those questions, as I am getting the damon 3's on my top teeth the 28th and the damon 2's on the bottom. My ortho told me the damon 3s aren't as strong for chewing so they are putting the damon 2's on the bottom. Has anyone else been told this?

WiredforSound wrote:Are Damon's really that quick to install?

I have read that several people have had them done in an hour or less. Is that for both arches

I am gettting my Damon's put on Mar 22. The appointment is scheduled for 1 hour but I don't know if that is for one arch or both. I am not getting spacers or any other appliances, so I am hoping both arches are done at that appointment so I can get this started.

My appointment is also set for 1 hour and thats for the top and bottom. I'm also getting my impressions and everything else done that day as well.

Mine were bonded VERY quickly.

My ortho did indirect bonding of each arch done in 1 mold per arch.

Basically after prepping the tooth with etchent and other things, they slip a mold (like a night guard) over the teeth and shine the UV light on it. Then peal the rubber mold off and the brackets are bonded.

The actual "bonding" of the brackets took about 10 minutes per arch. There was a bit of time spent preparing my teeth before and then more time after bonding to put the wires in and get everything going. Total time would have been about 1 hour had three upper brackets popped off when the wire was being installed. Caused an additional 30 minutes to direct bond new brackets onto those 3 teeth.

If you've not had spacers, you will most likely be getting bonded molar brackets on your back teeth. This will make it go faster.

Good luck to you!

How exciting to be getting the process started!

Jenn

1) Had anyone been told that they can avoid extractions by putting damons and had also successfully done so?

I had my 2 bottom wisdom teeth removed and 2 top pre-molars removed prior to getting my braces
This is to create more room for my teeth to move.

2) As damons have a higher profile (stick out more than the trad kind of brackets) does this pose any problems for u?

Didn't really notice to be honest as I haven't had fixed braces before. I guess I just got used to them.

3) Do most of us encounter the "Sticky door" problem? Is it very painful/serious as the years go by? (I have yet to encounter this but there are 2 years to go!)

I had problems with the doors on my Damon type 2 brackets, so much so when the ortho who dealt with my braces left and I went back to my original ortho, he got so fed up with the Damons he replaced them all with In-ovation. (He did this with his other patients who came over to him after the other ortho left.)
It became painful when my ortho tried to open the doors as he applied more pressure to try and open them causing the whole tooth to hurt.

4) In general, do you regret choosing this or not requesting for another kind of brackets before treatment?

I had no choice in my braces as I have them free on the NHS.
No regrets, just glad to have a chance for my teeth to be straight and underbite to be fixed.

My Damons went on March 1 and took about 45 minutes for both arches. However, I still have four more brackets to go on the back teeth. This will be done at my first adjustment May 16 when I also get a new heavier archwire.

I felt like my mouth was HUGE the first few days. Someone kindly mentioned I looked like I'd been hit in the face with a baseball but now I think I don't really notice the profile of the brackets, nor does anyone else.

I didn't have any extractions, and since I haven't had my first adjustment yet I don't know about the sticky door problem...let's hope for the best.

I haven't really had a lot of discomfort and already am noticing big changes in my bite, even after just 3 weeks. GOOD LUCK!