Metal Mouth Message Board

i think several people have those hooks on the inside of their bands I for one do. My bite plate is hooked on to them. They have many uses ask your ortho about them. ALso wax helps alot and salt water rinses. Try the wax wax not the silcon wax. it stays better in "high trafic" areas. hope that helps

I am pretty sure that is a silcon based wax you might try walgreens or walmart and buy some of the GUM wax it is just wax. I have both types and use them for different things. the trick to getting the silcon wax to stay put is making sure the area is really dry. not easy to do in the back of your mouth so in those areas i use the regular wax. Good Luck!

rage31, hi, i just got my braces on last friday and i got the same things u have , then they use those inside hooks to put my TPA, that is why i felt soooooooooooo annoying the first two days, but then i was okay starting yesterday, it is really quick for me to get used to it. I already eat noodles, meat, pizza, all kinds of food that is not too hard and crunchy. Good luck.
Po

Rage they're called lingual cleats, and I have them on all eight of my molar bands (as well as hooks for powerchains/elastics on the outside of every molar band, plus buccal tubes (usually used for headgear I think) on the outside of two of the upper bands . Sometimes I wonder how there's room for my tongue and food in there as well!) Meryaten posted a good pic of them on another thread somewhere. If you do a search for 'cleats' in the metal mouth forum you should get a few listings.

Your ortho should be able to tell you if you will be needing the cleats; sometimes they're not required for your particular treatment. Depending on what other appliances your treatment will involve, your ortho may say he/she won't need to use them, if so you can ask him/her to either;

1) push the cleats hard against the molar band so they don't irritate your tongue as much, or

2) clip the cleats off the molar bands and grind the remaining 'stub' down so your molar band is smooth against your tongue, or

3) place a blob of cement over the cleat so it's not as sharp/doesn't catch on your tongue, or

4) put ligs on the cleats to minimise the irritation on your tongue.

They're also used sometimes with elastics (for crossbites and flared molars I think). Some people have posted having had elastics hooked to the lingual cleat on one tooth, going to the outer hook on another tooth. I think Clo has had several of these configurations.

Otherwise the salt water rinses can be your best friend, followed possbily a close second by wax. The salt water rinse definitely helps heal the irritated tongue as well as keeping the rest of your mouth fighting fit to fend off the brackets, etc. If you're having trouble getting wax to stay on, try drying the area before placing a blob of wax on, then lick your finger (yes, a bit gross but trust me) and position/mould the wax. Wetting your finger prevents the wax from sticking to your finger rather than your braces/teeth so you can get a better seal.

Good luck, so far my ortho hasn't done anything about my cleats

My molar bands have hooks on both the inside and outside edge. The outside edge is for elastics I will get in the future. The inside edge connects a large metal arc across the roof of my mouth. This arc is to rotate my second molars outward.

Everything I eat gets stuck between the roof of my mouth and that metal arc.......

Cheers,

Ice

Hi,

my first ortho used molar bands like yours. That is a band that has all
'extras' on them, in case they may be needed. Mine have inside cleats
with a little hook for an elastic and outside tubes and hook. The inside was
used for a TPA I had for 6 months. The outside is ... used since some
days for my headgear. So, some orthos place these complete molar bands.
My second ortho did install a band of a different brand. That is just a band
with a little hook and tube on the outside. All things extra needed are
welded onto that band. My ortho welded a little hook on the inside as an
anchor for an elastic. This option is more comfy, what is not needed is not
there ... to annoy your mouth. But I think it has a disadvantage though.
When 'suddenly' something extra is needed, the ortho needs to take out
this 'naked' band to weld something onto it.
Anyway, normally your tongue should have been used to this if you have
your braces for now about a month. My cleats are quite sharp, but did
only hurt my tongue for about 10 days. I would certainly mention this
when you see your ortho.

No worries Rage, good luck with your treatment, hope all goes well for you.

Btw, I found myself counting hooks the other day (I'm obviously quite busy at work!); 28 in all, including the little 'spikes' on canines for elastics (plus the buccal tubes I'm hoping my ortho doesn't intend on utilising).

Who says torture went out with the middle ages?