Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi, I just got braced today and I'm VERY VERY unhappy. I got top and bottom porcelain brackets ($1.2K extra), but the ones my orthodontist used have such high profile that they look like soccer cleets on my teeth. When I talk my bottom arch looks like it has an extra row of teeth since the braces (profile) are as high as the depth of my teeth. None of the braces I saw online while I was doing my research look like that. I think my ortho never learned how to use the new low profile braces. He obviously knew that cosmetics are very important to me, so I feel he should've warned me about this. I can't even go in public with these. I want them off ASAP! He allowed me to split the entire balance over the treatment period, so I didn't make a large down payment, but I'm wondering what he might hold me responsible for. I don't know what my rights are in this case. Perhaps I need to speek with a lawyer. I'd just rather get on with my life and go to someone else. I don't need any extra drama. I'm also wondering if removing the brackets so soon might damage the teeth (after all the etching done for brackets placement). Has anyone had their brackets removed and new ones put on immediately afterwards? I don't know if I can even trust him to remove them after I have this conversation with him. Maybe I should just go to someone else? I can't believe I have such bad luck.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Well, give it a few days or weeks and see how it goes. It's a big adjustment. Anything on your teeth is going to look bigger than you thought it would- pictures are very deceiving, and the sales sites are going to present their brackets in as flattering a view as possible. The metals are definitely smaller, but the trade off is that they are not clear. Clear has to be a bit bigger. I doubt it has to do with old vs new- why wouldn't an ortho use the newest possible?

Give it some time then call your ortho and ask if there are smaller brackets and if so, why weren't they used on you. I wouldn't call in a lawyer just yet!

Mine are also ceramic and I think they are pretty big. I am used to them now and I appreciate their clearness, but I still wish they were the size of metals. Oh well. My teeth stick out a lot, too, and the brackets make that look a lot worse. They often feel like an extra row of clown teeth in there that stick straight out the front between my lips- then I look in the mirror and I can barely see them. In my internal image of them they are ENORMOUS. I'm sure you will relax when you realize that nobody notices but you, and the drama just isn't there after all.

Keep the end in mind, and focus on how great you will look after treatment, not on the visuals during treatment.

Hi Elle

Sorry to hear that you are so unhappy. I don't have porcelain brackets, I have metal, but I know that at first braces feel huge and look huge. I hope you can give it a few days to used to them and hopefully they won't seem so bad. It is initially a shock to the system.

Regards
Joney

I have crystal brackets on top and metal on the bottom. In the beginning I thought that they were so big too and that it was hard to even keep my lip over them. Now my mouth is relaxed and used to them. Give yourself sometime. Maybe ask another orthodontist if they are normal sized brackets before you do anything drastic.

The day after I was braced, if my ortho had been open, would have been the day I became brace free. After the weekend, they had magically grown to a smaller size and I'd settled into some form of uneasy truce. About a month into it, I started seeing some progress and I became happy with my choice.

I'm now seven months into a 24-36 month treatment window. I'm okay with it, if not excited. Before you abandon treatment ask yourself what you hope to achieve in treatment. My ortho asked that question during my consult. Its a question everyone who considers this needs to answer before they start treatment. If not before, as soon as possible. If you define your objectives and braces are the best way to achieve those objectives, hopefully you'll realize this is just a process you need to go through to achieve your goals.

Give yourself a week, if you still hate them talk to your ortho. During that time your mouth will get used to them and you'll be stunned by th number of people who don't notice them.

Good luck....this can be fun.

Mike

Hello Elle! I can sure relate to your problem. I have the In-Ovation C braces which are quite clear but do stick out from the teeth. When I first had them put on over 6 months ago......I was in an absolute state of panic. I actually went RIGHT back to the ortho's office within that first hour and told him to take them off. I was so close to crying, it was just aweful. He sent me home to do some thinking, and sure enough here I am and happy that I went through with it. I thought I would try them out knowing I could have them taken off at any time. Time did pass, and the changes that you see with your teeth are very exciting. My first day was the worst. I went to the store, talked to a few people, and realized no one really cares if you're wearing braces or not. It's the topic of conversation for all of a minute, then it's over. Also, I too wanted to exchange these ones for the flat completely clear ones I saw in the ads. I would say give it a week, then see how you feel. You really do get used to them. The biggest problem is adjusting to them mentally, then the rest falls into place.

I have full ICE brackets. Yes, they are bulky and no I didn't expect them to be quite what they are when I decided on them but.......as others have said here, no one really gives a rip and you do get used to them! I actually found they look better to me with a thicker wire rather than the thinnner wires used more at the beginning. The thicker wires plus power chains make the brackets look less bulky. Give yourself a few weeks/months. It's all a shock at the beginning. You are feeling something that is normal I think!

I can't really add much to what the othes have said. I really think that it's always a bit of a shock to anyone when they first get their braces on. I agree that the best thing to do is to give it a little time. Right now you seem in a bit of a panic so give it a few days.

First of all, thank you all for such great support. Everyone on this board is so wonderful and I hate to bother your with my issues, but I'm certainly glad that there are people I can share this awful experience with.

Mmmmuuaa, I think your braces look awesome. I'd love to have those!

I understand that a lot of you have had similar reactions when you first saw your braces, however, I really believe that my brackets are a lot different than most people's porcelain brackets. Everything I've read and seen on porcelain brackets says that the footprint is larger than metal, but the profile is lower. Well, the footprint on mine is about the same as the metal ones (I have metal on my second premolars), but the profile is noticeably higher. The base that adheres to the teeth on metals is very very thin and on the porcelain ones, it's a huge square, that's at least twice as thick as the metal ones. The top part is about the size of a metal bracket he uses. Now, bare in mind, neither the porcelan nor the metal brackets he uses are like the ones I've seen on other people. Most metal brackets look like two upright rail-shaped bars attached to a metal base with wire runing accros them. Mine is one solid bar, which has a higher profile than the ones I've seen elsewhere. The top part on the porcelains has the same shape (one solid bar that sticks out like an extra tooth). My ortho mentioned that this base on the porcelain brackets he uses is plastic so they are easier to remove. Perhaps this is why they are so large. Not that his sloppy job with the adhesive helps. There's glue left on some of my teeth. When it comes to braces millimeters count. Trust me, I am not an unreasonable person. I am not freaking out for no reason. Even my husband why had all metal braces himself was shocked when he saw these. His metals were much smaller years ago. My friends had the same reaction. The dentist doesn't use any of the well known companies that produce this type of brackets. At my insisting he mentioned the name of the company that makes them and said they manufacture them for him. Please! I should have got up right then and left. I should have got up when I saw his rusted tools. I don't know what I was thinking.

Have any of you ever had to move shortly after getting the braces on? What did they end up charging you for? There is nothing in my contract on this subject. The only thing that's mentioned is the total charges which will be divided in equal payments over the treatment period until payed in full. I understand that a large portion of this charge is for the brackets and the work involved to get them on (entire hour).

Maybe, I'll try to get some good photos so you can all see what I mean.

I've spent most of the day yesterday crying and it takes a lot to make me cry. I just feel so helpless and so upset that I was charged so much for something that is not up to standard.

Arghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm curious to see what they look like...my ortho had models for me to look at on a big desk stuck to plaster teeth. The ceramics he had didn't look that much bigger to me...so this makes me even more curious to look at yours.

(Mine don't go on until Thursday, so I'm on the clueless side as far as giving advice goes, but I can give some 'mean' internet hugs...)

I'm so sorry, but I know exactly how you feel. I don't have porcelain, but I do have ceramics on top. I'm very happy with those, because lots of people don't even realize I have braces unless I make a comment about them or they get up close. Still, I remember when I first got them how they HUGE they looked and felt! I was afraid to open my mouth and when I had to speak, I curled my lips around my teeth to hide them. My husband finally told me that I drew more attention to my mouth that way than if I just spoke normally. Now, a year into my treatment, I am totally fine with how they look and feel.

One thing I do want to point out though is that when you see advertisements for various types of braces, the models all have perfectly straight, gleeming white teeth. Braces are going to look tons better on someone like that. Heck, spinach in caught in teeth like that even looks better! I don't have crooked teeth, but my teeth were very gapped and I had an overbite. In short, they were splayed. When I first got my braces put on, the dental assistant told me that because of my overbite and the fact that my teeth were kind of jutting out, the braces would make my lips look like fish lips when I closed my mouth and she was right. But with the help of chains, movement began almost immediately and the puffy lip look was soon gone as well as my overbite.

Hang in there and give them a chance to work their magic!

The dentist doesn't use any of the well known companies that produce this type of brackets. At my insisting he mentioned the name of the company that makes them and said they manufacture them for him. Please! I should have got up right then and left. I should have got up when I saw his rusted tools.

The combination of an unfamiliar product (grudgingly revealed) and rusted tools does give one pause. If I may ask, what was the company's name?

Best of all with any disagreement is to talk openly. Do you feel emotionally up to speaking directly to the actual concerns ("These braces are too big" and "Should this glue be on my teeth?" rather than something like, "You did a bad job on my braces.")

Do you have a Better Business Bureau-type organization to consult about this orthodontist? Attorneys you should see last, if then. And you should shop around more carefully for an attorney even than for an orthodontist. Orthopedics requires more training!

As for getting used to braces of any size, time does help. I, with bright silver brackets that go with none of my outfits, am feeling more reconciled to them even after one month. Porcelain certainly sounds easier to coordinate.

Best wishes on resolving your concerns,

Nancy

Elle15,

I am curious too, please post a picture if possible. Would you be happier with the smaller all metal brackets instead of your bulky clear? It might be possible your current ortho would try a different brand of clear bracket for you. I would call him Monday and express your concerns. Good luck...

Okay, sorry it took so long. I've been trying to get some good pictures, unfortunately photos just don't do justice. Hopefully you can see how much they stand out from my teeth, especially on the canines. I think he added extra glue there since the bracket base is a flat square (not at all curved like metals), so that it can adhere. My lips constantly get stuck over these. I have a monkey mouth with my lips closed. You should also be able to see how much higher the profile is on all porcelain when compared to the metal brackets on my second molars. I know it's hard to see these photo, but wherever you see white spots around the brackets - that's glue. Lots of extra glue sitting on my teeth! He was very sloppy. Also, he covered the entire surface of my teeth with an etching solution, then rubbed it in with some stick and my teeth still look dull and without shine from this. They feel rought when I run my tongue over them. Anyone experienced this?



,

Y'know, I honestly don't think they look any worse than most other white brackets that I've seen. Mine are metal, and they are are smaller, but I have often got the impression that deciding to have 'more invisible' white brackets means having to accept that they're actually larger brackets on the teeth.

It is a shock when you first get braces. No doubt about that. They can be painful, you've got these big things stuck on your teeth that irritate the inside of your lips, your lips stick out, eating can be awkward..
Have you ever seen a picture of a homunculus, which shows which parts of the bosy ae most sensitive?

Hardly surprising that sudden irritation of the lips from new brackets will put you in a bad mood.

I don't blame you for not enjoying the initial braces period. I didn't! All the skin sloughed off the inside of my mouth when I first got mine, probably as a reaction to all the metal, but pulling sheets of skin out of the inside of my mouth was unpleasant
But you do get used to it. I would say that it takes a week or so, but the brackets do stop looking and feelig so huge.

I can only echo what most other people have said, and give it time before making any decision about a change in treatment or brackets. I don't agree that a positive attitude is necessary, because frankly it's nigh-on impossible to be positive, perky, enthusiatic or excited when your teeth hurt and you can no longer eat and speak as you used to. I would agree that a resigned attitude is necessary, i.e. "I will get through this". You don't necessarily have to get through it with a smile on your face - save that for afterwards