Metal Mouth Message Board

I just got my braces put on today and have some questions. I feel kind of duped and ripped off because I thought I was getting ceramics on all my top teeth but only got them on the front 6..thats fine I suppose. But then, I have metal on my bottom teeth! I don't want metal, I wanted ceramics on the bottom but they said they don't do ceramics on bottom teeth because something about they will break/chip from the top teeth?? I don't really know.
Then, I go on here and look online and see many people with ceramics on the top and bottom and am wondering why they are able too when I thought they said you can't...
Does anyone know why they would say that?
I'm 29 and am paying $6500 for braces in which I thought was going to be all ceramics but they're not....I feel sad :(

Also I am wondering..my lips feel gigantic with the braces on and they look wierd. In your experience will my lips conform to the braces and not look so strange?


thanks in advance for your reply. I am so grateful for this message board!

Jennifer

I have the same set up...top front 6 are clear, and everything else is metal. My ortho said there was no additional charge for the clear, but he did tell me it would only be the front 6-8 teeth. We never discussed clear for the bottom, but in researching it I read a lot about chipping teeth on the bottom ceramics.

The ceramic brackets are slightly "bulkier" than the metal. I felt like my lips were huge and they didn't meet the way they did pre-braces. After adjusting to the braces, I realize my lips are fuller than they were, but I like it since I have thin lips! It took me about 6 weeks to really feel comfortable, but you will get there and the time will fly!

Good luck!

Thank you Jahs for your reply! it makes me feel a bit better :)

My lips are thin too and it does make my lips appear fuller but my lips look crooked if that makes sense. I'm hoping my mouth will adjust to them in time and look less bulky...I hope so.

Its nice to come to these forums and get comfort in knowing someone is out there who can relate.

i guess i am lucky to have ceramics on both top and bottom. my ortho never even discussed metal with me. i noticed on their website though that they do offer metal (i am assuming this is done by one of the other ortho's in the practice). also from what i see on their website, the cost for metal and ceramic are the same.

regarding the lips, yes, i have this problem! i had full lips to begin with and since getting braces my bottom lip has gotten even bigger and red! it never use to be red! i was abit uncomfy with it at first and thought it would be so obvious to others but now almost 3 months on, no one has commented on it. i am hoping when the braces come off, the lips will go back to normal.

Hi canuckgirl

Do you have Damon braces? Damon "Clear" braces only in fact include clear brackets on the top front 6 teeth ( unless there has been a recent update). The remaining brackets were all metal on the Damon Clear model I was shown by my orthodontist.

I have a "sectional" brace with Damon Clear brackets just on my front 6 teeth. I am due to have brackets added to my premolars next Monday so am wondering whether they will be metal.

On most people, the front 6 top teeth are the ones which show most, so clear brackets on those teeth mean that your braces will not really show on photos and I doubt that having metal brackets on your other teeth will make much difference to your everyday experience. Even clear brackets are visible to all but the unobservant and after a while you will realise that it does not matter whether other people see that you have braces anyway.

I was quite self conscious of my brace at first but am not too bothered now after 12 weeks and continue to smile big as before.

Good luck with your treatment!

Jem

I doubt that your lips stick out anything like as much as you think. My orthodontist warned me I would have the same concern and that the difference, in truth, is minimal.

I hope you are now getting used to you braces. Good luck with your treatment.

Jem

I begged for all ceramics, tried to bargain with my ortho and add a couple more than 6 Damon clears on the top, but no such luck. Knew going into it that I'd be getting 6 clear only - better than nothing! I think even those 6 really make a difference in look still. Played around with photos and the clears don't look so bad. Couple people didn't even notice my braces at first when they were sitting next to me.

The first days, my brackets felt HUGE. I walked out of my ortho's office feeling like I had to physically stretch my lips over the brackets just to cover them. I also hardly talked to my ortho/staff after - lots of nodding due to the awkardness of feeling brackets for the first time on top of having the bite turbos behind my two front teeth. First couple of weeks my rubber bands caught on my lips a LOT, especially when my mouth was dry. Been drinking a lot of water and using lip balm and am doing much better one month in.

Good luck and hang in there!

It really is interesting how different orthodontic approaches can be for similar things. I'm in Damon clears. My upper front 10 teeth have clear brackets. Also, my orthodontist said with this system I wouldn't see any difference in the effectiveness of my treatment with the clears vs. the metal brackets. The price was so close that I went with the clears.

I don't have any options for the lowers though. Those will be metal when I get to the point in my treatment that I can add them. So far, I only have 3 lower brackets on for elastics.

I'm paying about the same for my braces as well.

As you can see in my pics, I have clear on my upper front 8 teeth (not 6 like most others? I am counting correctly, right? lol), but the rest are metal. I think the very back ones must be metal anyway, as they're anchor points, and I think self-ligating? Though if you have clear self-ligating anyway, I'm not sure. In my case, that's what I think was the reason. The metal anchors aren't visible anyway.

I have metals on the lowers, as they're less visible and it was £200 cheaper, and my ortho recommended it anyway because it's safer for biting, as they could break from my top teeth.

Thanks everyone for replying to my original post :)

Its now been 2 days since getting braced and I feel a bit better. My teeth haven't been aching too bad but my bottom lip is raw inside from my metal braces irritating them so much! I'm using wax alot and its helping thankfully. But I am wondering, will the insides of my lips get used to the braces or will I need wax throughout my whole treatment? My top braces are not irritating me though, I wonder why that is...(knock on wood)

Well braces takes alot of getting used too, thats for sure. I am very self conscious right now...my teeth look even more crooked with the braces on!! but I am very excited to see my progress througout the upcoming months and of course my overall result :D

I'm in the exact same situation you're in. I got my braces two days ago and the insides of my lips are killing me! Everything I've read said that your lips get used to it. If you've ever played the guitar, when you first start playing, your fingers hurt from pushing the strings down. But then your finger tips adjust and the skin gets thicker. I guess it's the same idea.

[quote="canuckgrl"]Thanks everyone for replying to my original post :)

Its now been 2 days since getting braced and I feel a bit better. My teeth haven't been aching too bad but my bottom lip is raw inside from my metal braces irritating them so much! I'm using wax alot and its helping thankfully. But I am wondering, will the insides of my lips get used to the braces or will I need wax throughout my whole treatment? My top braces are not irritating me though, I wonder why that is...(knock on wood)

Well braces takes alot of getting used too, thats for sure. I am very self conscious right now...my teeth look even more crooked with the braces on!! but I am very excited to see my progress througout the upcoming months and of course my overall result :D[/quote]

The inside of ur cheeks will toughen up in no time.when i had my lowers fitted,my cheeks were use to them in abt a week.i only used wax for abt the first 2 or 3 days though because i felt they wd toughen up sooner if i didnt rely on wax.

I had my uppers fitted 10 wks after my lowers and they did not irritate my cheeks at all.i am still yet to use wax on the top, 2 wks after fitting