Metal Mouth Message Board

I was so happy on my last adjustment...the new retracting archwire was finally placed! That meant that my teeth moved and aligned enough for this new archwire and now it would start closing the gaps. I was so happy...and then I felt and saw the loops.

I'm still thinking that I won't be able to get used to these things! I have four HUGE loops on my archwire, one at each side of my upper canines. The first time I smiled on the very same ortho office my upper lip got caught by these hideous loops and I had to use my fingers to get it out!!!

And later...the pain started. OMG this is the worst pain I had so far. And the wire isn't activated yet!!! I guess the pain is caused by the thickness of the archwire. This thing is really thick and square, if you want to see it here is a link: (I will post a pic later on my journal) http://www.ghwire.com/orstore/s10.aspx
My archwire is the 4 Keyhole loop. I totally hate it. My canines are on fire since last friday and I'm taking ibuprofen. And I thought that I had really raised my pain threshold so far...

Food gets stuck there as I never saw it. I think I look really ugly with these things, I feel like they stand out so much..."Unsmiling" is the most annoying task, I get so conscious about it that I don't want to smile wide. Wax doesn't help much, because these loops are so big...
I needed to vent a little, sorry about my complains.

I hope I can get used to this because this archwire will be here for a loooong time. Has anyone of you had a similar archwire? Is it really hard to get used to it? I don't want to think about the upcoming pain when this thing gets activated...

I had closing loops and I guess I was lucky, I was only in bad pain for the first week I think. It actually hurt more to have them removed than to have them activated! I think it depends on what movement you are trying to do also. I was sweating when they put that archwire on too. It was uncomfortable.

I only had two closing loops. Maybe they will work quickly for you. One gap closed up within a few hours for me ( now it's starting to gap a little from elastics). Hope you feel better. If your gums become irritated (which is what happened to me as they got tighter) try rinsing with peroxyl. There is also a numbing type of product I used once - sorry I don't remember the name but it will alleviate some discomfort on the gums if they are sore.

What seems to work for me for pain is to take a 10mL dose of mouthwash and add 3-4 drops of the liquid Anbesol (you can get it at Target stores in hazy brown vials) and just do your usual mouthwash. DO NOT SWALLOW it. This will leave your mouth thankfully numb for about 10-15 minutes and give you a brief break from the pain that is most welcome!

Thank you KK for your kind words. I'm feeling better today, as I'm learning to live with these new friends of mine. I think I will name them soon. That way I can laugh about the things the lovely loops make me go through instead of crying out loud!
Salt water rinses are really good, I use them when I need to heal from a poking wire, but I will start again tonight.

Thanks a lot fins I can believe how fast your gaps closed! I surely can tell this archwire is really strong. I'm fascinated by the simple mechanic system used here...but I really don't like these loops standing out so much. Thanks Katiara for the info. I remember now that product (here in Argentina has another name, but similar results). I completely forgot about it, my mom used to give me that when I was a child. I will go to the pharmacy soon...

I had those same types of wires, and no, it was not fun at all. The loops looked and felt gigantic! I hated them so much. I had to wear them for about 4 months, but they closed all my extraction gaps so it was well worth it. Boy, did it hurt though! My ortho activated them as soon as she put them in so it was almost 2 solid weeks of pain. Aside from extraction complications, it was the most painful part of braces so far. I definitely feel your pain, but hang in there. It IS worth it!

Okay... my sister has that wire right now I think. She uses it with her elastics if I am thinking correctly. I havent had that, at my last adustment he said that my teeth were doing so well that I could skip the loop wire. I wasnt sure what it was until now. Did your ortho tell you what it was for??

Hi Samantha! These loops on my archwire are there for closing the gaps. I also need to move my canines in a specific way, that is why I have four loops instead of two. I'm still annoyed at these things but I'm slowly getting used to them. I ended up getting used to the buttons and sharp molar cleats, so I hope I can get used to these thing up until the point I can't remember they are there...

tictac, you had them only for 4 months? I envy you! I hope I can have these things out in four months too...and my gaps closed!!!

What annoys me more besides the unsmiling thing is that I had already perfected a way to eat and almost no leave any traces of food in my front grill...now with these lovely thingies all the food gets stuck there...and I can't get it out without having to go to the bathroom!!!

Here is a pic of my brand new loops:

Those are the exact kind I had, except I had two on top, two on bottom. Don't you love how all your food gets wedged behind those lovely little gadgets? Hopefully they will work as well for you as they did for me. Good luck!

Geez, mine were up so high on the gums I still have an indent from one. I rather like the placement of yours but I know what you mean about them.