Metal Mouth Message Board

I was a bit late joining the board, but have been reading it for a while. I thought I would show my before and after pictures and a summary of my treatment as it may be useful to those considering braces.

I’m 34 and was treated in London. Treatment time was exactly 11 months; I had been quoted 18 months as an approximate time. I had Damon brackets with ICE clear on the top 6.

I found the whole treatment relatively painless and easy to manage. The first two weeks was the only time I had difficulty eating but this improved after the initial break in period and I ate pretty much normal food from then on. I never used painkillers or needed wax and had no sore spots in my mouth. I had a slight lisp while wearing the springs on the front teeth but that went away. I brushed after every single meal with a special soft toothbrush provided by my orthodontist and rinsed with Listerine. I had no plaque build-up over the time and only very minor staining on the lower arch around the brackets. I didn’t drink coffee or red wine during the treatment, but I did drink a lot of green tea. I had adjustments every 3 or 4 weeks.

I was lucky in that I found an orthodontist who would proceed without any extractions; I still have my full set including 4 wisdom teeth all intact. The first orthodontist I saw told me I would need 4 extractions and at least 2 years of treatment.

I’m very happy with the result!



This is what I had to start with. Not pretty!



I wore springs to separate my front upper teeth for the first 3 months.



I had IPR on my upper and lower front teeth at 4 months. Power bands fitted to close the gaps. At this point people start asking why I have braces, as apparently my teeth were fine to start with!



The last 5 months I wore elastics but only at night. I increased the strength of the elastics from one band each side to three each side. Wedges were fitted to the upper central teeth to speed up rotation.



11 months and they are off!



No extractions, still have my wisdom teeth in there.





I wish I had done it earlier!

Hope this is helpful.

Wow...just...wow...maybe..just maybe, i wont have to wear 2 and a half years...O_O

Wow, looks great! I'm amazed by how much wider your smiles looks. You must be ecstatic.

Wow - what a difference in your before and after pictures. You must be so happy. Your teeth look fabulous!

That's amazing, especially the fact that it only took 11 months. Your smile looks great.

Your teeth look fantastic. They are so white!

Wow! Your teeth look fantastic! Amazing in 11 months. What's your routine with retainers?

Wow, beautiful smile! I go into my braces for (round 3 in braces) this coming Monday. I was worried because my ortho said no extractions and as this is my 3rd time in braces I was getting a little worried about how they could straighten the overcrowding up top without extractions and your pictures have proven it can be done. You look amazing! I hope my smile looks like yours soon!

peaches wrote:Wow, looks great! I'm amazed by how much wider your smiles looks. You must be ecstatic.

Thank you! My smile has definitely widened out, I didn’t notice it happening at the time though. My orthodontist said it would and she thought it would be more suitable for my profile than a narrower arch and softer lip area if I had followed the 4 extraction route of treatment.

threescompany wrote:Wow! Your teeth look fantastic! Amazing in 11 months. What's your routine with retainers?

Thank you

I had molds taken two weeks before I was de-banded and a permanent retainer was made based on these. It was fitted straight after the brace came off. I have the permanent retainer wire behind the upper 6 and lower 6. I went back two weeks later to have a second set of molds taken after the teeth had settled and am having Hawley retainers made on those. I get them next week. My orthodontist recommended the Hawley over the Essix type retainer; although I was given a choice I followed her advice and went for the Hawley. I will have to wear them at night for a year maybe two. She suggested the Hawley because they are more effective at keeping the front teeth tight and are adjustable should she need to tweak anything.

francis29 wrote:Wow, beautiful smile! I go into my braces for (round 3 in braces) this coming Monday. I was worried because my ortho said no extractions and as this is my 3rd time in braces I was getting a little worried about how they could straighten the overcrowding up top without extractions and your pictures have proven it can be done. You look amazing! I hope my smile looks like yours soon!

Thanks, Francis. I’m glad the pictures have been helpful. I wouldn’t have believed it possible either. I wasn’t shown any before and after pictures when I had a consultation so I was a little doubtful too. Progress was a little slow at first and the springs flared my teeth out which made them look worse. I began thinking I’ve made a mistake here. But once I had the IPR filling and moved up to rectangular wires, everything started to fall into place and I could see where it was going.

Good luck on Monday! Remember to take some photos as I found them a useful reference for myself.

wow i think you may just have the best ortho in the world...

Do you get anything special for being such excellent advertisement?! Your smile is abolutely amazing! I hope to hear some great stories about how your life has changed if you wouldn't mind sharing! Gorgeous...just. Gorgeous!

I was not shown before or after pics from my ortho either. But, she has gotten my son's teeth to perfection and he will be de-banded in one month (he is 14). I was shown a computer program where I saw what my teeth would look like when finished with Invisalign when I went into Invisalign 6 years ago but 1/2 way thru the treatment my top teeth would not budge even with the filing and the ortho wanted me to go into traditional braces for 4-5 months to finish up and I just couldn't do it. Ever since I have been kicking myself for stalling on it. But, here we are 6 years later, and I still hate my top teeth (overcrowding, slight overbite, fang left side canine). I had braces as a child (15-18 yrs old) and virtually nothing was done to my bite, my fang or the misplacement of the top teeth. My bottom teeth are straight (after the 2 sets of braces) and I will not need to be banded this time around on the bottom. Do you have an overbite, if I might ask or did you before the braces? We are not correcting mine and I am wondering if that is standard or if I should try to correct that while I am 'at it so to speak.' Sorry for so many questions! My ortho said getting into bite correction and/or extractions would be too much trauma for me and my teeth (I have crowns, root canals, cavities and she feels making the smile perfect is what I want and the bite is what it is, slightly over normal)! TIA! Francis

Wow!!!! Your teeth are so so gorgeous!!!! They were so white to begin with too. I'm surprised your ortho doesn't use your before and after pics on an advertising billboard ha ha! I absolutely love looking at before and after pics on here so thank you for sharing them with us