A reason why I worry about bracket TYPE

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#1 Post by **beth1966** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:42 pm

I forgot to mention that with all the talk about brackets and not being hung up on which ones your ortho uses from an esthetic point of view - - - it is posts like THIS one I found regarding the type of bracket the ortho I have been meeting with uses, that FREAKS ME OUT! Yeah - I really want piss colored looking teeth! LOL!

"Invu braces are less visble but they can still be seen, also, the ligs stain which means you teeth look a piss coloured yellow most of the time, especially after a few pints. They do work though, my teeth movement has been noticable but if i was to do it again i probably would just get metal because they will be seen so its not worth the extra money. "

And please don't suggest I go with colored ligs - cuz that just isn't me!

#2 Post by **platinum** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:34 pm

Well, i guess you can find posts complaining that mouth full of metal looks like an iron mine etc.

My first lig were clear (on my ceramic brackets) and they did turn to yellow very fast. Silver ones were better. I found that grey ligs do not stain and they are also quite invisible. I like lavender ligs, because they do not stain and they blend in with lips and gums.

#3 Post by **browneyedgrl** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:55 pm

Hi Beth,

Why don't you ask your ortho if he can use wire ties on your ceramics. I didn't even think about it during my consultation, but at my banding appointment the assistant grabbed clear ligs and I mentioned to her that I drink a lot of coffee and she asked the ortho if she could do wire ties and at 2.5 months later, I still have them and no staining. I heard that pearl and smoke ligs don't stain.

Good luck with your decision. I have pics on page 8. Click on my www below and check them out.

B

#4 Post by **TigerLily** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:48 pm

It's all very subjective.

I had wire ties at my banding, had been all geared up to look at lig colours after reading here pre-banding, however, did not get the chance as my ortho had put wire ties on. When I saw no ligs when she showed me my new braces in the mirror and asked about it, she said ligs stain so she always uses wire ties with adult patients.

I have since had two clear ligs due to positioning on my teeth (off after they moved) and currently have a clear power chain which I did not think about when having a curry so is now stained, but really not too bad. It doesn't show when I look in the mirror, except in daylight (it's winter here so not much of that), but it's still nowhere near as noticeable as my metal brackets at the back. One of them shows a bit (until my teeth move) and is much more noticeable than the stained powerchain.

#5 Post by **beth1966** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:07 pm

[quote="browneyedgrl"Why don't you ask your ortho if he can use wire ties on your ceramics. I didn't even think about it during my consultation, but at my banding appointment the assistant grabbed clear ligs and I mentioned to her that I drink a lot of coffee and she asked the ortho if she could do wire ties and at 2.5 months later, I still have them and no staining. I heard that pearl and smoke ligs don't stain.

Hi Browneyedgrl:

Thanks very much - I looked at your pics and those actually look really really good! I will ask him if it is an option. I already mentioned to him that I am concerned with staining and he said he has no probs with his adult/ceramic patients. That they all have ceramic and he uses a certain color - I forget what - and no one has an issue. But I will ask about wire ties - so if it ends up I do feel as though my ligs are staining I can try the wire ties instead.

I read some of your story on your www - interesting that you too are a TMJ patient. That is what totally changed my bite too. My teeth are reasonably straight - I had braces as a kid. And my teeth themselves are certainly not a reason for me to get braces - - but my bite is way way off. Totally open when I bite down - a lot of space. I can't make my top and bottom teeth meet no matter what I do. Monday the ortho is going to take impressions to see where the majority of force hits when I bite down. he fears it is all on my wisdom teeth in which case he wants them all removed. I already know I need one extraction - tooth 18 - which is the lower left molar just infront of my lower left wisdom tooth. I fractured the tooth - probably from grinding. I had a root canal on it 2 years ago and a gold crown put on but no matter what they have done to it (grinding it down, grinding the tooth above) the tooth is sensitive and at times throbs. Several endos and dentists have looked at the tooth and xrayed it and all agree the root canal was done perfectly - and there is no abcess. So they all agree - it is a hairline fracture causing the pain. I am ready to have it yanked - I might not go with an implant - might just leave it. The ortho said as long as I have braces on - he can control the tooth above from migrating down. And once I am all done with my orthodontia I can wear a retainer that will prevent the tooth above from moving down in the gap below. I think I prefer that - vs. getting an implant.

Anyway - I am terrified of what is ahead. Don't want braces, don't want to deal with the pain. BUT then again - I have endured SO MUCH TMJD pain in the last 2 years - I honestly do not believe braces will be anywhere near as bad. I just HOPE the braces don't cause TMJ pain. Right now I am finally pain free - so I worry that the braces will cause more pain - but I gotta take that chance.

Thks again for the response!

Beth

#6 Post by **beth1966** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:13 pm

Thanks Meryaten and Tigerlily! You both made me feel much better!!! I do tend to be somewhat obsessive compulsive - obviously! lol - but if many of you aren't bothered by the staining then I am guessing (and hoping) will respond as normally as all of you!

Worst case scenario is I try the clear or pearl first - and if those don't work, I try another color.

Thks again!

#7 Post by **browneyedgrl** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:59 am

Hi Beth,

Thank you for your complement. You should totally ask what your options are. I'm sure that if he needed to use ligs or powerchains, and they were badly stained, I'm sure that you can go in and have them changed. I've seen patients at my ortho's office come in to have them changed out.

I am indeed a TMJ patient. I did have some minor relaspe though. My bite is my main problem. But when I went in for my initial consult, everything that the ortho said made sense! I did have a car accident 16 years ago when led to back, shoulder and neck problems. I was being treated for myofacial pain syndrome. I was reading many years ago that it could lead to TMJ issues. I did go through a very stressful period in my life which started about 4 years ago with my now ex-husband and I truly believe those issues aggravated the TMJ as well.

As far as extractions go, are your wisdom teeth inline or impacted? After my first ortho treatment was completed, my ortho said that mine will most likely need to come out even before they came in. I did have them removed almost 6 years later (they were all impacted) No biggie! I have crowns on my lower left first and second molars, the first one had a root canal and it has a molar tube on it and so far so good, no issues, but I had an inlay in that tooth initially and I ended up fracturing it and their was no way of it being saved and my old dentist thought that it would be a good idea to do a profalatic (spelling) root canal, he was worried about exposure at the time. Almost 3K later, and 2.5 years later, no problems!

Don't be scared, you've been down the braces road before and things have changed so much! I've been told that there is no guarantee that this will work, but I'll have much better function. I was grinding my teeth and I would rather try and have some pain relief and save my teeth from any more future damage.

In the last 11 weeks, my teeth have changed so much, I don't regret anything. Just go for it!

BTW, I read your story and I'm a fellow North Jersey girl too!

B

#8 Post by **beth1966** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 11:41 am

Meryaten wrote:Beth - take heart: the discomfort from braces should be nowhere near as bad as the pain from TMJD! Course, it's different pain sometimes - I hate getting mouth ulcers (cankers)! But the achy teeth should be nothing by comparison with the jaw joint pain. You'll do fine.

Thanks very much for the reassurance Meryaten!
I just hope movement of my teeth won't aggrivate my jaw/joint pain.
But I'll never know until I try.

Thks again!

#9 Post by **beth1966** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:10 pm

[quote="browneyedgrl"]

I am indeed a TMJ patient. I did have some minor relaspe though.

Hi B -

Wow we have a lot in common with our off bites and it being due to TMJ. Guess it is a fairly common occurence in people who suffer from TMJ.

All the teeth I need extracted are erupted - nothing is impacted. If I have 5 taken out, how long is the typical recovery period? As in how soon until I can eat most normal food? I figure I will be out of work for 2 days - appointment is on a Tuesday. My molar with the root canal has to come out - I know it is fractured and the RC did not help - so I just want it gone already.

I too have been told I have myofascial pain syndrome - have had 2 MRI's of my jaws and been told I have TMJD too. Have spent thousands of dollars on appliances that did not work - and I got worse. I too went through a VERY stressful life event, (was married to an alcoholic for 7 months, resulted in subsequent harassment, etc etc etc) and after that is when I developed all these jaw issues and the bad bite. I returned to an old dentist I had not seen for a few years and he could NOT believe how bad my bite was.

I also feel that even if the TMJ pain returns, atleast my bite will be far better off. I just hope they can keep it correct after the braces come off - and it does not go back to how bad it was. I know they can keep my teeth straight but they can't prevent my jaw from shifting.

What county are you in - in northern NJ? I am in Bergen County. Who is your ortho?

Beth

#10 Post by **SuperDave** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:04 pm

i have ceramics on top and have had both clear ligs and silver on top. i currently have wire ligs up top.

yes the clear ligs do stain. i dont dring coffee but i do drink soft drinks and i was appalled on visit when they took the ligs off to change a wire. they looked embarrasing. wow they had stained.

word of warning....the wire ligs up top are much thinnner and dont give the rubber cusion against the lips. the rubber ligs are much more comfortable. so dont be supprised if the wire ligs make the ceramic brackets seem or feel really sharpe. they do. however, you get use to it really quickly. its just different. thats all.

just thought id pass it along. ive got some pix,...but im not real proud of the way me teeth look so i havent posted any.

SuperDave

#11 Post by **beth1966** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 1:21 pm

Hi and thanks for the response Dave!

I am really surprised to read just how many experiences folks have with staining vs. not staining. I guess I will just have to see how it goes for me - and if it is bad, I will have to go with a different color or just deal with it. Good to know about the wire ligs - the sharpness might be a big negative for me!

I don't drink a lot of cola at all - but I do like 1-2 cups of coffee a day, so it sounds like I too will have a stain issue.

I might be a candidate for those silver or gray ligs if the clears are an issue.

Thanks again!

#12 Post by **beth1966** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 3:54 pm

Meryaten wrote: Beth - you could try drinking the coffee through a straw. Heck I see people doing that (usually women) even without braces - my bet is either from concern for keeping teeth white, or a desire not to mar lipstick. Mind you, I didn't like using a straw for my coffee. But that's just me.

Hi Meryaten - -

Good idea. Then again it might be a trade off as sucking through straws causes lip wrinkles!

Hmmm stained teeth or wrinkled lip?

HAAA!

#13 Post by **browneyedgrl** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:14 pm

Hi Beth,

I made a slight typo. I'm native from New Jersey, and I've been living in the Orlando area for almost two years. I am from Bergen County as well.

As far as the wisdom teeth(all four were impacted), if I remember correctly(I did it over summer break almost 20 years ago), I healed pretty quickly, I did it on a Thursday morning and I was hanging out by the pool that afternoon and went out for a nice family dinner that Saturday night, totally modified my diet but I did ok. I do have an awesome oral surgeon though(PM me if you're interested) I have a pain in the a$$ ex-MIL and she loves him!!! She is so critical of everyone.

I went through a similiar event too, my ex has addictive issues and got into drinking, drugs and gambling. It was terrible, we were also living out in Vegas when this happened and I took my kids and moved home until I could get myself together. With that, my TMJ got worse and developed reflux. The reflux is gone and I rarely take anything unless I'm really stressed or I feel it coming on.

As far as the TMJ goes, my ortho and dentist both made it very clear to me that there were no guarantees that the TMJ will go away, but my bite will be much better and I'll have much better function.

The ortho that I used way back when has since retired, but his son-in-law took over the practice. I saw his son-in-law when I went in for retainer checks and he was very nice. His name is Jon Golub and he has offices in Fort Lee and Westwood.

B

#14 Post by **TigerLily** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:07 pm

LOL!

Actually I was thinking about braces and wrinkles tonight - I am also on a beauty forum and people were saying on that you shouldn't use straws to have a drink as it causes wrinkles above your lip! Dont think they've thought about people with braces.

#15 Post by **beth1966** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:16 pm

Meryaten wrote:If you're not careful, all this worrying will cause a darn sight more wrinkles!

Good point - worry and stress definitely ages you, I am proof of that, but those were over things any person would stress over. THIS stuff is nothing compared to that. Tho I am freaked out about having my teeth pulled - I know it will be okay, but I am a worrier.