Metal Mouth Message Board

just a few questions, many thanks in advance! got ceramic uppers yesterday. (estimated to be 6 months originally, then said 9 months after palate expansion finished)
My teeth are relatively straight just upper arch is a V shape instead of a U shape (due to thumb sucking when younger). Few questions:
1) My arch wire seems quite straight, thought there would be loads of bends because i figured thats how they move the teeth????
2) I haven't got brackets on last teeth on either side, is this normal?
3) Popped a bracket off before (last one holding arch wire in place) is this normal? Going tomorrow to get it back on.
4) My ortho said i cant floss when have braces on, but everyones seems to floss on here so how come mine said that? bit worried about that one
5) How do you heat the wax up? Do you just rub it into the brace? dont really undertsand sorry! And what do you do with a salt water rinse? Just swish round mouth? What does it do?

So sorry for all these questions but ortho didnt really speak at all when doing it and i couldnt really talk cos of all stuff in mouth!!!
Thanks in advance for your responses!
Really hope you can help, dont know what i do without this site!!!

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

1) Wire bends happen during the detailing phase of treatment, not initially.

2) Some orthodontist choose not to place brackets on the last set of molars. Also, some place them on later on in treatment. You should ask your orthodontist what he plans regarding that.

3) Sometimes brackets pop-off soon after they are initially placed, usually due to a bonding issue. Not a problem...just let your ortho know promptly so they can bond it back on.

4) You can definitely floss with braces on! Some orthodontist aren't huge advocates of it bc some believe you just push the food/bacteria deeper into your gums. Those orthodontists would rather see you brush more thoroughly.

5) Just take a little bit of the wax and roll it btwn your thumb and index finger into a ball and place it on the area that is bothering you.


Add a tablespoon of salt to a 16.9 oz bottle of water and shake it up. You can even keep it handy in your bathroom for easy access. It helps promote faster healing and toughening of the tissues in your mouth. I highly recommend it:)

SuzyQ! wrote:just a few questions, many thanks in advance! got ceramic uppers yesterday. (estimated to be 6 months originally, then said 9 months after palate expansion finished)
My teeth are relatively straight just upper arch is a V shape instead of a U shape (due to thumb sucking when younger). Few questions:
1) My arch wire seems quite straight, thought there would be loads of bends because i figured thats how they move the teeth????
2) I haven't got brackets on last teeth on either side, is this normal?
3) Popped a bracket off before (last one holding arch wire in place) is this normal? Going tomorrow to get it back on.
4) My ortho said i cant floss when have braces on, but everyones seems to floss on here so how come mine said that? bit worried about that one
5) How do you heat the wax up? Do you just rub it into the brace? dont really undertsand sorry! And what do you do with a salt water rinse? Just swish round mouth? What does it do?

So sorry for all these questions but ortho didnt really speak at all when doing it and i couldnt really talk cos of all stuff in mouth!!!
Thanks in advance for your responses!
Really hope you can help, dont know what i do without this site!!!

The fact that the archwire seems straight doesn't mean it's not working. Bends in the wire do move teeth, but that usually comes later down the track.

If your back teeth are not in the treatment plan, they won't be bracketed. Alternatively, they may be bracketed at a later stage (mine were).

Popping brackets is part and parcel of the process!

Of course you can - and must - floss! Perhaps he meant you can't floss in the normal way. I use Oral B Superfloss threads which you slip behind the wire and then pull down or up between teeth to floss.

With the wax, just break off a bit and roll it around with your fingers into a ball. Then stick it onto the bracket. There is no need to heat it.

Salt water rinses are great for avoiding canker sores. Mix 1 teaspoon of salt to a large tumbler of warm water. Swish around the mouth for a few seconds then spit out. Repeat a few times a day for as long as you need to. Some people do it every day as a matter of course.

thanks for replies!
Good to see someone else with similar arch to me and how to went to a U shape! Looks great now! Do you have any forward looking photos? before and after? How long did you have braces on for?
Not sure why my treatment time is so short, maybe because not crossed as such just wrong shape of arch!

Hi Suzy,

I've just read your questions and replies which have been really helpful. I'm getting ceramic uppers today and I'm really scared. All of my top teeth are straight bar one and I've finally decided I want it fixed. How are you finding your brace now - day 3 is it? Our work Christmas party is on Saturday and I've said I'll go but am a bit afraid I won't be able to eat or anything. I know certain foodstuffs are out but can you eat reasonbly ok?

Re. flossing, I went to my Hygienist last week and she showed me how to use Oral B Superfloss. She says it's very important to floss while in braces. She also recommended the little blue "Tepe" brushes to use around the sides of the brackets. They come in packs of 10 I think and you can get them at any pharmacy. Additionally, she recommended using Colgate Flour-Gard while in braces for the added flouride. I hadn't heard about the salt water rinse before I came on here but I'm going to start using that.

Where do you get the wax? Does the Orthodontist supply it? Is there a particular brand name?

Any helpful hints greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Meryaten

Many thanks for the advice, most grateful. However, you won't believe this but when I went to my appointment the first thing my Ortho said was she wasn't going to put the braces on today! It's a long story but I went before and couldn't go through with it. So she was a bit surprised to see me back and wanted to do an up-dated exam etc. I've now got a new fitting date of Jan 5.

I came home a bit annoyed as I had phoned last week to make sure that I was definitely having my fitting today and not just another consultation - the receptionist confirmed this but didn't check it out with the Ortho! Now I'm just very disappointed as I'd built myself up for it and had prepared time off work, lots of soft foods in the fridge, etc. On the bright side though I can eat and drink what I like at the Christmas party on Saturday

But thanks again for the advice and I'll be on this site quite a bit between now and Jan 5 so I'll find the answers to any more questions between now and then.