Metal Mouth Message Board

Howdy; I'm Marie and I just got braces today (My lower set.); forgive me if I don't know all of the terminology just yet.

Prior to this year, I never had orthodontic treatment (My parents couldn't afford it when I was a wee lil tot, let alone take me to the dentist when I needed to go.), so I suffered with overcrowded central lower teeth (They were turning toward each other and going in toward the palate; they're to the point where hygienists were having difficulty cleaning them.) and a rather crooked smile to boot.

I did get the self-ligating braces (I don't remember the actual name of them.). It's a weird and uncomfortable feeling (The pressure feels like rocks weighing down on my teeth!).

The orthodontist did say during my initial consult that I could benefit from a set on the top, but they're not necessary, unlike my bottom row.

I know that the soreness is supposed to eventually go away, to which I'm thankful for. :)

Anywho...hi!

(Since I'm not able to edit my post)

I do have a question: For those that have quick treatments (10 months at most), how has your smile changed and was the treatment quicker than the orthodontist thought?

Welcome to the forums! Congrats on getting your braces on!

silverlightstar:

welcome! i have the self ligating braces too. got them on today or rather it's yesterday by now.....i 'm not an expert about the quick treatments as my treatment is to be 18-24 months but i've read a bit about it....and i thought that they were successful in making the changes in a shorter amount of time....but that is was well, more painful than the longer span....because the teeth are moving faster. did you have to have surgery along with it? i thought i had read that it was generally cuppelled with some kind of surgery...but i could be wrong about that too. i'm a relative newbie myself.

best of luck w/ your braces!

As far as I know, I won't have surgery; my wisdom teeth were taken out at least three years ago, so that leaves some space for everything to move.

Thanks for the welcome! :D

Hello! I also have the self litigating braces. The uncomfortable-ness does go away and eventually you'll get to the point where you might even forget you have them sometimes. If not for the frequent tooth brushing and having to swish with water after eating. My treatment time was est. at 24 months and I've gone over that time, but then again I am a difficult case. Good luck to you and welcome

[quote="Lanna"]Hello! I also have the self litigating braces. The uncomfortable-ness does go away and eventually you'll get to the point where you might even forget you have them sometimes. If not for the frequent tooth brushing and having to swish with water after eating. :lol: My treatment time was est. at 24 months and I've gone over that time, but then again I am a difficult case. Good luck to you and welcome :wink:[/quote]

I'm starting to forget that I have them, but then my lower lip starts to hurt. LOL!

Thank you for the welcome!

Hi,

I have SL braces on the top with estimated treatment time of 12-14m. Haven't had any extractions (and don't have molar bands for some reason) but things are already moving. Don't know how to put pics on but I do have a blog that I think is linked at the bottom.

I think that my treatment time is planned to be fairly short comnpared to some but longer than the 6 month cosmetic ones.

Good luck with your journey!

seriousthinker wrote:Hi,

I have SL braces on the top with estimated treatment time of 12-14m. Haven't had any extractions (and don't have molar bands for some reason) but things are already moving. Don't know how to put pics on but I do have a blog that I think is linked at the bottom.

I think that my treatment time is planned to be fairly short compared to some but longer than the 6 month cosmetic ones.

Good luck with your journey!

Thanks!

The only extractions I have had were three wisdom teeth and that was about 3 or 4 years ago.

I can tell that the teeth are moving; my front teeth aren't as crooked.