Metal Mouth Message Board

No, this is not a heartwarming just got my braces off bragging story. This is a story of toothache, of woe, of impatience, and just plain bad behaviour.

After only 10 months of wearing full braces, I am ready to rip these things off my teeth using pliers, or perhaps a chainsaw. I am sick of flossing them with my floss threader, of scrubbing with my proxy brush, of firing up the Waterpik several times a day. Sick of having my picture taken with my mouth closed, or, worse, smiling and looking like I have bad teeth in non-closeups. And very sick of having wires poke out the back of my molars and into the inside of my cheeks.

Just whining, folks. I take my hats off to all of you who have had braces on for one year, two years, or more. As a fan of instant gratification, braces are really testing my tolerance for pain and inconvenience.

No, I don't regret getting braces at this point, yet. Just whining to sympathetic ears, because I can't whine anywhere else without sounding like a spoiled brat who spent $7000 on her teeth that her friends suggested had "nothing" wrong with them.

I hear ya. I've only been braced for a month now, but its already driving me crazy. Especially when I just finish brushing my teeth, and my boyfriend (who I live with) goes and grabs a snack before bed. Or when I am at work and I have to go in the bathroom for 20 minutes to brush and floss. Not that I feel awkward about cleaning my teeth.. but when someone doesnt know I am just cleaning my teeth..
Oh well, Its all part of the fun right. And as hard as it is to say sometimes, its going to be well worth it on debrace day

There are definitely some annoyances, but I am just looking forward to having a good bite and a nice smile. My teeth weren't terrible before, but looking back I am glad I went through with it, even if it is inconvenient as hell sometimes. Right now I have some weird gum swelling between two teeth that moved together, bite blocks, power chains, and spacers! I definitely feel you with wanting to just rip stuff out of your mouth sometimes, but on the other hand, when I think of how much more comfortable I will be, physically and psychologically, I know it's worth it. Here's to 2 months down and 10 or so more to go!

I know how you feel. Everytime someone asks me how much longer I have I almost want to scream I have no idea and just go and rip them off, haha. The flossing and brushing so much doesn't really bother me so much as the places I've had to brush and floss in. And constantly getting looks when I go to the bar like "what is a sixteen year old doing here?", or having to explain why I choose to get braces at 21 to people I've met since getting them. It's getting really old. But I do have to say that I also just need to vent about it sometimes (who wouldn't?) and an awesome thing like getting a letter from my ortho yesterday saying we were in the home stretch just made me so happy. I'm looking forward to the day when I can post my before and after pictures on here and smile with a big braces free smile!

Yeah, at days when I'm eating or feel discomfort running my tongue over the teeth and lips and realised I have this train rack stucked to my teeth, I feel like I have enough!

It doesn't help too if you are single and bracing yourself at 27! It makes me feel so conscious when I'm with someone I like or trying to impress! Wonder if its the braces the culprit that I'm single now

"I am ready to rip these things off my teeth using pliers, or perhaps a chainsaw."

I loved what you said and feel exactly as you do. I'm in week 6. I have bands with brackets on each upper side. I feel like Frankenstin's monster with two bolts coming out of my neck, except they're in my mouth! Not all my brackets are engaged yet, so it's even more annoying that they are there, that I'm suffering mightily, and that it's not doing any good.

I think about ripping these things out of my mouth a lot, and I paid out of pocket (and in advance).

What kind of pliers do you think would work best?

Thanks, one and all, for writing in to feel my pain with me. I really need to dig deep, deeper than the depths of hell, to find some patience left in me, because I still have at least 100 days more of this annoying exercise in masochism.

Yes, it's all worth it in the end, but why does it have to be such torture? I so envy others with Invisalign. I was a "candidate" for Invisalign, but my teeth were too damn complicated and I didn't "pass." Wow, imagine being able to floss like a normal human being. Imagine not having your cheeks shredded or poked until bleeding.

Signing off. Merry Christmas!

I absolutely feel your pain. I went through an incredibly low few months (probably around the 10 month mark as well actually) where I just couldn't face getting up in the morning and looking at my teeth. I have no idea why I felt like that at that point in time and no amount of "it'll be worth it" from my non-braced friends helped!

But, the fact is, I am through it now ... I still have off days (but I'd still have those even if I didn't have braces on!!).

Good luck and I hope you find a way through this.

I think I felt a lot like you did around the 10th-12th month too. Lots of the major movement is over, any excitement you felt at getting braces is long over, and it's now is just the day to day drudgery of dealing with them. I think I felt serious animosity for a few months and then I just resigned myself to them again. I'm a little over two years in and people are starting to ask me when I'm getting them off. I sigh and say, "Never. Or when the ortho takes them off. Whichever comes first."

I can so relate to wanting to rip them off with pliers! I have that feeling every. single. day. Can't wait for this to be over.

Do I ever feel your pain. I probably check a mirror at least ten times a day, each time half-thinking they'll be gone or magically finished.

I'm just over a year currently, so I hope to be done soon, but some pliers would be nice.

We don't need pliers. I have a new power tool called a Dremel that has all these great attachments that can do the job in no time! First I'll cut off the brackets, then grind off the cement, then polish to a perfect white shine!!!

I too feel your pain. I'm a little over a year in and some days the rinsing, flossing, brushing, mouthwash routine drives me nearly insane. But then I remember what got me here: the miserable anterior crossbite and painful TMJ. I've made great progress and I'm sure you have too. Hang in there!

Happy New Year!

I hear ya!
Sometimes you just need to gripe and get it off your chest.

Thought I'd join in the ranting here, by saying that I'm going through hell at the moment. I've had braces in one form or another, for 18 months, and this is the worst that my mouth have ever felt following yesterday's work.

Mine is quite a complicated case, but basically since day one I've had a lower Schwartz appliance, kinda like this one:

except on mine, the plastic covering you can see on the lingual side extends over the occlusal surface of the teeth (pre-molars backwards - my incisors & fangs are exposed). Anyway, my uppers are well on their way, so now I move into the TMJ treatment phase (where the fun starts ). My lower jaw is set back by one tooth in terms of positioning (in an overbite), so upper 6 is met by lower 5, and so forth. The work done yesterday has basically added a load of cement/adhesive/plastic/resin to the top of my Schwarz appliance, which I then had to bite into in the new position. This was then set, so my teeth will now only rest in the new position. On top on this (and in conjuction with), I've been introduced to elastics, which are currently on lower 4's to upper 2's. All of this has radically impaired my ability to speak, eating hasn't happened at all (gonna try soup in a bit though), and given me a constant jawache on my left side which paracetamol barely touches. Oh, and very dry lips as I can't lick them with elastics in place. Last piece of fun - I'm now sporting a 12-loop powerchain on my uppers. Joy.

So yeah, while I was thinking "braces aren't so bad, got the hang of them now", I've now been dumped in the worst situation I've been in on the journey. The initial appliances took about 10 days to adjust to, the fixed appliances that I got in June took about 2 days, and even after adjustments, were fine the following day. I was so used to the 'status quo' of the journey, the cruise control if you will, that being shifted into high gear again has really hit me hard.

Just in time for NYE too

I know exactly what you mean! I have been there and gone and am now on my second wave of those exact feelings. I just want my treatment to be done, and 13 more months is going to kill me. I hope and pray that our teeth move fast and in a safe way. I am now to the stage where my O us correcting my class II bite. I am starting to feel a difference but it's taking way too long and I change my elastics two and three times a day. If one more person asks when they are coming off I'm going to punch them in the face because that's just a daily reminder that I have braces.