Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello! I recently went for my consultation on Tuesday. I hadn't been to an orthodontist since I was 10 and I never followed through with braces. (I will be 26 soon.) I want a great smile! I was told I can get the ligature-less braces (I'm guessing the Damon) with ceramics on the top. I have crowding and an overbite. I have to get 1 premolar on top and 2 on the bottom extracted to make room for the the movement. It would 18 months to correct my issues. I haven't made the mold/xray appointment yet because I'm still deciding. It is very costly. Plus after the extractions, I know there's no turning back. Eep.

I did have some questions for the already braced.

I hate things in my mouth and I'm scared heh. (I used to choke/gag a lot when I was younger, so I can handle pain better than gagging lol. He said I can get all the whole thing bonded. No metal bands around any molars.)

Is the pain mostly on the front teeth (the ones being moved, that is)?
Is there gum swelling, if so, is it on the outside/in between teeth. What about the lingual side?
How long will it take for the gaps where the extractions occured to close? Does it hurt when the teeth move into those spaces?

Thanks for answering my seemingly silly questions. I'm a recovering dentaphobe!

I don't think you will have an issue with gagging while getting the braces applied or have any issues with them being in your mouth, however I have heard of very sensitive people having an issue if molds of your teeth are done. Just warn them in advance that you gag easily, take it slowly, and breath.

Pain is very subjective and varies wildly from one person to the next. I can only give you my personal experience. The first week sucked. I won't lie. My whole mouth hurt; it felt like I'd been punched in the mouth. And no, not just the front teeth--molars too. It really hurt to chew. I took lots of Advil and stuck to soft foods. Now hang on...don't swear off braces yet....this is a very temporary situation. The pain gets infinity better after the first few days and nearly gone by the first week. You may experience pain again after adjustments, but for me, pain after adjustments was nowhere near as bad as the pain of first getting braced.

I had only minor gum swelling. It was on the outside between my canine and bicuspid on the top arch. Won't go away no matter how much I floss and clean the area. My dentist shrugged it off and said it will go away once my braces are removed so I never worried about it.

Gap closing once again varies from person to person. I can't really remember exactly, but I think mine closed completely in about 6-8 months. There is no "extra" pain with closing gaps.

I hope you do follow through and make your records appointment. You won't regret getting braces. I have a huge dental phobia, so if I can do this, anyone can.

Thank you, Tumble. I'm still nervous, but I do want to follow through. I hate my teeth and I always have. It'd be nice to smile with my mouth open instead of the smirk I use to hide them.

i have the same prob as you, never could smile without putting my hand in front of my mouth. just got braces today, no prob with pain, nothing hurt, and so far still no pain. i didn't have any prob with gagging, the braces went on pretty easy, from my experience they never go so far into your mouth to trigger a gag reflex, worst part for me was ortho records, molds, and all the pics. go with braces if you can, i don't think you'll regret it. i can't wait to take pics with my son, without hiding my teeth!

I do want to follow through. He didn't mention spacers, though. So I'm guessing no? I'm getting teeth extracted and no metal bands (all bonded), so do you think I'll need them? Like I said, he didn't mention them.

Here's to new smiles!

sweetembraceable...
You are most likely not getting spacers if you are not getting bands. Lucky you! Good luck on your journey, and welcome at AW!

Thanks, LC. I'm just figuring out a way to pay for them. (I'm uninsured and they're going to cost $5,000! Yikes!)