Metal Mouth Message Board

musicluver wrote:I would like some INVISIBLE wires!! I'm almost a year into it; clear on top and metal on the bottom and those top ones are driving me crazy! They really do cut up your lip! I have to wear wax every day. Today is another adjustment, so hopefully he's going to start moving the uppers back so they will stop cutting me up. What gets me is how people say, "you'll get use to them..." One year and they're still bothering the crap out of me?? Is that just because we're adults and our teeth move slower?

Hmmmm, maybe it depends on the person because I barely notice the braces anymore. I have the pain from adjustments, but the brackets don't bug me anymore at all.

I love my ceramics, and I'm so glad I went with them for my upper teeth. Compared to what several other ceramic wearers say about staining the ligatures, I really haven't ran into any real staining issues yet and I eat/drink pretty much everything and anything (within the limits of what won't hurt my brackets). I have also never had any problems with them cutting up the inside of my lips. Mine are almost the same size and have the same feel as my lower metal brackets. There are several different brands of ceramic brackets though, so this may all vary depending upon which kind your Orthodontist provides.

Well I am back from my "do-over" appointment! Bless my orthodontist for being so understanding. Removal of the Inspire set was not too bad...only discomfort I felt was from the cold water and shots of air around my gums which are very sensitive at this point.

I now have a full set of the metal Damon braces and I can honestly say they are sooo much more comfortable than the Inspire brackets.
The Damon brackets are smaller too which also makes me happy. No rubber bands to deal with either. Can't wait to have a cup of coffee tomorrow morning!

Every individual's mileage will vary when it comes to the choice of brackets. For me, the Damon version seems to be the right choice. I am very satisfied right now...except that there seems to be some residual glue around a few teeth but I hope that will dissolve in a few days. I don't want to call my ortho back just yet...I think they've heard enough from me in the past 3 days - ha!

I'm having a celebratory bowl of ice cream at the moment. This counts as a soft food, right?! And yes, I will be brushing my teeth immediately after.
Goodness, I have never brushed so much in my life! But it's a good thing


____________
Got "spaced out" 8/1/11 Ouch!!
Fully braced with Inspire Brackets 8/8/11
Fully braced a second time with Damon metal brackets 8/10/11
No extractions

I'm so glad that you're happy with your new brackets! Not worrying about staining is a very BIG plus with regard to the Damon metals. And YES... ice cream definitely counts as a soft food. I bought a whole bunch of it when I started my braces. That's why some of us (ME!!) actually gain weight, instead of losing weight, while braced.

Thank you for the feedback on the bracket removal. I know exactly what you mean about the cold water and air on sensitive teeth, so I'll be prepared for that. Actually, by that time, I'll pretty much put up with anything since they'll be OFF! I also have residual glue on some of my brackets, but was afraid to ask them to scrape it off, in case they accidentally take off my bracket, too.

I had HORRIBLE oral hygiene before braces. Embarrassing to say - sometimes I only brushed once a day in the mornings, and almost never flossed. Now, I brush 3 times a day... still don't floss every day, but a few times a week, definitely.

Can't wait for pics!
-Cathy

Glad your change of brackets went well. I got Damon braces myself on Monday and they're not bad. A little rubbing on my bottom lips at the front of my mouth but overall comfortable. Hope everything goes well for you from here on out.

I'm going back to my Ortho today to have this residual glue scraped off. It looks horrible. My braces look bad enough!

Kind of annoyed that they let me leave their office this way in the first place. It looks like every one of my brackets is "leaking". Ugh! Not nice...

I don't blame you. I'm a total perfectionist. Maybe I should become an orthodontist.

Did he scrape off the extra glue? I remember worrying about that exact thing before being braced. Then when my ortho was glueing the brackets I could feel him scraping around each one, then wiping the glue onto a towel. I've seen some pictures of extra glue around the brackets, and it's always stained. Hope you got it taken care of.

Oh no poor you, I felt like that too but I have metal ones I am on day 4 of wearing them and have been using lots of wax but finding it so hard to eat my teeth are so tender on the plus side I might loose some weight!! I hope you feel slighttly better with the meatal ones. To everyone who has been wearing braces for months now does the eating get better and you pretty much eat as you use to.

ashesgap wrote:Did he scrape off the extra glue? I remember worrying about that exact thing before being braced. Then when my ortho was glueing the brackets I could feel him scraping around each one, then wiping the glue onto a towel. I've seen some pictures of extra glue around the brackets, and it's always stained. Hope you got it taken care of.

Hi Ashesgap!

Yes I did have SOME of the residual glue scraped off on Friday but much to my dismay it had to be done by the Ortho assistant because the Ortho was out of the office. Slightly annoying since I was told he would be there. And since he was not, the assistant was only able to use a handheld tool and could only do so much. There is still some left BUT it is 95% better than what it was prior. She told me to come back when the Ortho was back in the office so he could use the electric tool. I think it's called a "Burr".

So for now there are still very small amounts of glue left. I'm not thrilled but it is very close to the brackets so no one can really see, except me of course since I look at my teeth about every ten minutes

When the bands were put on my molars, there was some glue residue. On one tooth it was a glop that also stuck to the next tooth. I couldn't floss at all between those teeth. I used toothpicks to get between those teeth and one day popped that bit of glue off. Very strange feeling...

I like my metal brackets. I liked the clear better in terms of appearance, but I have a mouth full of rotated teeth. The ortho felt that clear brackets would have a lot of breakage and would take longer. So I chose metal. I do wish I could have gotten damon brackets, because while I like the colors I get every six weeks, I'd also like to just have the brackets themselves.

I agree with it all is a matter of preference. I went with ceramic on top and couldn't stand them, subsequently had them taken off 3 days later to opt for the metal. I am very happy with them!! They still cut up the inside of my mouth at times, but I have decided that this will be an intermittent problem for the next two years. Not sure what everyone is so "wigged" about....do what you like!! So I have decided to have some fun with them and have pink bands!! Will change colors to blue and orange for GATOR football season....