Metal Mouth Message Board

First off, just wanted to say thanks to everyone on this board. I had already decided I needed it (part of my self image reformation process of weight loss and fixing my teeth) but obviously wasn't thrilled. I'd had braces before for a while as a child and hated it. I was thrilled to get them off I remember, but aside from that I think I've blocked out a lot of it due to my dental anxiety. But I knew what needed to be done, so I went to a friend's mom who is a highly regarded orthodontist and she told me what I already knew...that I needed braces. I got braced on Tuesday after a week of spacers and I was immediately in the "what have I done" stage. Reading these topics and the stories have made me feel infinitely better, so thank you for the encouraging and friendly environment you guys have created.

So I got ceramic top and metal on bottom. While I'm more or less over the self image part of it, I still want to ask for ceramic on bottom at my next appointment. I guess my bottom teeth show a bit more than others and I'd like consistency in my mouth haha. While I'm getting an excellent deal on the braces via friends/family courtesy, I plan on paying for the change in brackets. Is it a hassle to have them switch the brackets? Has anyone else started off half metal and decided to go fully ceramic (or frosted sapphire, whatever they are I forget what they said)?

As far as my case, the tooth to the side of my two front teeth has been forced back a bit, and my bottom teeth have some crowding. I've also been told I'll need either just an expanded or a surgically assisted palatal expansion, so I have the surgical consult in two weeks. I just had two surgeries for top and bottom wisdom teeth which weren't bad at all. Although I feel if I'd gone to the dentist in the 5 years befoe this this all could've been prevented, but I dont like to think about that haha.

Sorry for the long winded post. Just wanted to thank everyone again as you are a very welcoming and supportive community. Glad to know I'm not alone. Oh I'm 23 and my name's Chris.

I actually started out with all metal, and then switched my uppers to ceramic (sapphire, Radiance, whatever). The only hassle was the extra money they charged me ($300). Haha Taking the metals off was a piece of cake. I thought he had just opened the bracket doors, when he had actually removed all of them! Took about 10 seconds. I'm not going to lie... The sanding off of the old bonding material was not pleasant. My teeth were very sensitive, but it went pretty quickly. I don't ink I was even in the chair for 30 minutes. Vanity got the best of me, too, which is why I switched. I kept the metal on bottom because mine don't show very much... And he wouldn't change them, anyway.

Congrats on getting braced! I don't have answers to your questions as i've only been braced 9 days! You're definitely not alone over those 'what have I done moments?!?' but I think it's all going to be so worth it! It's been 9 days and already my top teeth are less crooked! I have ceramic on both top and bottom, though on the bottom the back 6 are metal and on the top 4 of the back 6 are metal and the other 2 furthest back molars are free right now.

In terms of switching to ceramics I read on some people's stories that they have to have brackets removed and repositioned sometimes at adjustments depending on what the ortho wants to do. Might be worth asking your ortho if they have plans to move your brackets and when... As if they're taking them off anyways to reposition them i'm sure it would be pretty easy to switch them out.

Welcome, Chris! I'm also not sure how you go about switching brackets since I have all metal (Damon). Secretsmile mentioned that sometimes they'll remove and reposition brackets during adjustments, so I would definitely ask about that. I know sometimes they're a little hesistant about using all ceramic since metal is more durable, but it definitely doesn't hurt to inquire.

Congratulations on getting braced again, though! Hopefully this will be a much better experience for you than the one you had as a child. Good luck at your surgical consult - I hope it goes well!