Metal Mouth Message Board

I have a bite plate and it's kinda a pain in the rear. At first it wasn't bad and then it started diggin into my gums behind my bottom teeth. i'm going to the ortho on friday for my first adjustment and hopefully they will be able to fix the bite plate. i don't have to wear it all the time anymore, i've gotten used to not closing my mouth all the way. I wear it at night and when i eat and it's alright.

Good Luck for Friday Lea72104!

I just had a second consult with my ortho and she wants to put metal brackets on my tops and lowers. Only problem is I have a deep overbite which she says will make me likely to bite off my lower brackets.

Since she does not intend correcting my overbite, I got the feeling that catching my top teeth on my lower brackets would be a problem throughout the whole of my treatment. She did say that she would put dental cement on my back jaw to hold my bit open slightly - again for two years? I'm not sure can go ahead with this...

I am trying to get a consult with an invisalign dentist to see if that would sort the problem, but right now it all looks a bit bleak.

Thanks Meryaten! I'll have a proper read through that when I get a moment.

I'm not quite sure why she did not want to address my overbite. She said that she did not feel it would do any good to correct it - at least not proportionally to how much time/ effort it would take to correct it. Currently my bite does not cause me any problems and so maybe that is why? She also said that it would almost certainly lengthen my face, which for someone as tall and skinny as me would not be a good look.

I am not bothered about correcting it insofar as it does not cause me problems and I do not want my face shape to change, but equally I don't want to be foolish about it if it needs doing. What are the dangers of not fixing an overbite, and what are the benefits of fixing it?

I think I need a consult with another ortho!

I just got the bite plate/braces yesterday. It's cemented in...technical name is Nance Appliance. It's miserable for me. Can't speak well, can't eat. Painless, but miserable! The ortho warned me it would be bad, so at least I knew to expect it.
Cally

same thing with me..my ortho put occlusal pads on my molars...now i have rubbers that keep my upper teeth from hitting my lower brackets.

Meryaten wrote:Saki - do you have an overjet as well?

I am asking the same. I have deepbite and overjet, both are "called" overbite. My deepbite will be fixed. I am not so sure about overjet, though. It does not bother me, and it will propably get smaller.

Meryaten,
as I understand it I do not have an overjet (which is where the front teeth are too prominent?). My upper front teeth pretty much completely cover my lower at the front but they do not stick out at an angle at all - they just sit in front of the lower ones.

My lower ones are pretty messed up though - crowded and all over the place, so maybe if they lined up it would change my bite - the orthodontist didn't say anything about that.

I am trying to learn the terminology but have to admit I am a little confused by it all, so if I have misunderstood it sorry!

Thanks! That has cleared things up for me a lot!

I am waiting to hear back from the invisalign dentist but in the meantime I will try and get back in touch with my ortho to find out what's going on! Thanks for all your time and help!

Ok, this has got to be the biggest pain in the rear for me since getting bracedon 4/19/07. I can't chew anything. My top teeth keep hitting my bottom brackets and what a pain!! I went back to my ortho this past Monday and he said the only real thing he could do would be to build up my back teeth until things started to shift into place. He said he really didn't want to do that because once things start to shift, everything will be fine. He also did not want to put anything over the brackets on the bottom (i.e. cushion) because he said it was just something extra to cause friction and rub against the brackets and could add to the chance I'd break a bracket off. He said to just be careful and try to deal with it for a few weeks and things would start to move. I don't know what to do. I am still only eating soft foods but I read where one girl here ate a daggone cheeseburger her first week - no fair Any suggestions? My teeth are not sore, I think I'm just paranoid at this point.

Metalchic, I have the same problem with chewing. I was given a biteplate to prevent me from chewing off my bottom brackets, and consequently NONE of my teeth come close to meeting when I try to chew. Only one crooked lower tooth can contact the bite plate even at this point so you can see, chances for chewing ANYTHING is ZERO. I've not eaten anything more substantial than mushed mac and cheese since Tuesday because I just can't chew and have swallowing problems due to a medical condition. I'm very hungry for Mexican food and will be ordering the biggest PLATTER ever when things start moving and I can finally chew again.

In any case, you're not alone with your problem.

Cally

CALLY:

I have a bite plate as well. And in the beginning only one tooth touchhed it. But I learned quite quickly to eat meat etc.

I got braces on yesterday and i have the blue lumps on the back molars to prevent biting down on a lower front bracket. Its quite upsetting not being able to chew tho probably for the best since the teeth hurt so much if touched.
The thing i dont understand is how this is fixed? As far as i know i dont have any kind of overbite and the only way i can see to stop the top fronts from hitting the lower brackets is to specifically create an overbite so they miss. Its all confusing to me and thats whats affecting me most. I would have thought that the upper tooth and the lower tooth bracket thats being hit were 2 of the rare teeth in my head that were actually in their proper positions to begin with.

Anyway, nice to be here and hello all

Meryaten wrote: Shrike, my guess is that maybe you have a deep bite? That is to say that (without the molar build-ups) your upper front teeth hide quite a lot of your lower front teeth when your close your teeth entirely? ....

Thanks for the info Meryaten. Now i think about it i think youd be correct in thinking its a deep bite, althought i dont think it was ever mentioned by my ortho. My assessment says that when i bite, my front upper and lowers have a good relationship and i have normal verticle overlap (overbite).
On closer inspection in relation to your info there, i notice that the 2 teeth that are hitting (upper no1 tooth and lower no1 bracket) are each slightly heightened and produce a slight kink in the wire. So hopefully thats all thats really needed to fix this issue. Youve helped take a weight off my mind

Holy mother of pearl. Today, I had metal brackets put on my lowers and I'm really feeling it. Even just after an hour, I started feeling some pretty intense pressure on the front 6 teeth. OWWW!!

I popped a few pain killers but they don't seem to be helping much and since I don't tolerate medication too well, I really can't go over 400mg of ibuprofen at a time each day or twice a day at the most. The upper two front teeth are definitely hitting a few of the bottom brackets in the front and I literally cannot chew anything!! Because my teeth simply don't even hit each other in the back, or anywhere else for that matter.

I'm eating soup with absolutely no chunks and smoothies that have been blended thoroughly. My doctor put these clear rubber protectors on two of the teeth on my bottom and I know it's going to help protect the brackets but they prevent me from chewing even more. Gosh, I really don't know what to do at this point. Everyone at my doctor's office said that my bottom 6 should start to move pretty quickly but in the meantime, are liquids the only option I have as far as eating?? My teeth hurt and on top of that I can't chew anything.