Metal Mouth Message Board

I went in for a wire change and the ortho said I was ready to receive brackets on all my rear molars. Great! So, with some difficulty, that was done. (I have a really, really small mouth and it's really hard to get all the way in the back).

I mentioned to the ortho that for the last few months I've been driven nuts by what I referred to as "Gumby teeth" (two lower central incisors that, once straightened, resembled the top of Gumby's head because of uneven wear caused by not being straight. Before the teeth were straightened, the tops looked even). The ortho got a kick out of my calling them "Gumby teeth." I asked him if I needed to wait til later in my treatment to have the tops evened out, and he said he could take care of it right then and there. So it was done with just a bit of quick contouring, and the difference is dramatic! I told him that made my day, and he said making my day made his day, lol!

Finally, I asked him how much more we can widen my arches (which have already widened a lot) by the time my treatment is complete. I told him that ultimately I want the widest, broadest smile I can have with my little bitty mouth. His response was, "You haven't seen anything yet. You won't believe how much wider your smile is going to be. It will make this look like nothing!"

I'm lovin' it!

ingyandbert wrote: I told him that made my day, and he said making my day made his day, lol!

That is SO sweet of him to say

Sounds like your ortho is a great person

Your adjustment seems to have gone really well. I want my ortho to do a "contour" of my eye teeth as well...I know he mentioned doing this at the end...but I'd love to get it done now...I'll make sure to ask

Isn't it nice to get *good* surprises at adjustments

I was just wondering what kind of appliances you have in your mouth... I too have a very small mouth with and especially narrow bottom arch.
I'd love to have a beautiful wide smile.
I was wondering if you had a pallet expander, or just tradition brackets?
did you have extractions?

That's enough questions for now

I'm glad that your adjustment went so great for you! Good luck with heaps of more progress!

I have Damon braces. No extractions, no expander, no appliances -- just a really good ortho! I hope you'll be as happy with your treatment as I've been with mine. In the 4 months I've had braces, my teeth look nothing like they did in the beginning.

That is fantastic....I hope all continues to go really well for you and your treatment.

ingyandbert wrote:I have Damon braces. No extractions, no expander, no appliances -- just a really good ortho! I hope you'll be as happy with your treatment as I've been with mine. In the 4 months I've had braces, my teeth look nothing like they did in the beginning.

I'm already pretty happy with the way my teeth are looking, I'd just like my bottom arch to widen alot more. I think I will ask my ortho at my next adjustment.

Are Damon braces better than traditional braces for widdening arches?

Raspberry wrote:

ingyandbert wrote: Are Damon braces better than traditional braces for widdening arches?

From everything I hear, that seems to be the case. I believe it was common before Damons came out to straighten teeth by using extractions rather than arch-widening. I was initially told I'd need extractions because I had crowding and a very small mouth. But after Damons hit the market, I was told I wouldn't need extractions because my arches could be widened. And, in fact, that is working beautifully.

I've already had 4 extractions
Guess I'm stuck with narrow arches.

Great to hear about your happy adjustment! Are having all your molars included uncommon? My ortho plans to give me 8 bracets across the front and at least 3 molar bands on each side, possibly 4 later as it is a plan to keep my wisdom teeth. Also great to hear about your ortho saying your arch is going to get wider.. I also want the absolute broadest smile possible. Even though my ortho doesn't plan to use an expander, I plan to bring it up that I wouldn't be opposed to it if it could give me a better smile. As for the gumby thing, thats actually one of my nicknames at work(can tell I work in a loving enviroment eh?).

My research on the subject of 'arch widening', plus questions asked of a few orthos, indicate it's the archwire that does the work, as it's the archwire that is the shape to move your teeth. Remember the most important component in this journey is your orthos skill ... the brackets are a tool he uses to get the desired results.

I completely agree with you KK. The ortho's skill is the most important. Brackets are just objects used by the ortho...everything is determined by the doctor.

Raspberry wrote:I've already had 4 extractions
Guess I'm stuck with narrow arches.

Not necessarily. Talk to your ortho and ask him what can be done to give you broader arches. If you've already had extractions, your teeth ought to spread nicely. So it may not be that difficult.

Thanks for the replies guys!
I am going in on tuesday for my next adjusment and I will ask him what can be done to widen my bottom arch. Maybe it's already part of his plan

Rasberry, I'm in suspense . . . what did you find out at your appt? Can your arch be widened without an expander?

what do you mean by gumby?on my teeth (two front the gum on on tooth is higher than the other.)When the one that is high was coming in as a child it hurt so of course i tootk my nail and pushed on the gum. i have a small mouth also (i want mine as wide as possible,i have an expander in,he locked it two visits ago but the wire he locked it with was rubbing me toung BAD,so he took it out (the wire not expander.)How is your ortho widning your smile?I have very small lips also With a pig nose ROFL.