Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone!

I just passed the six month mark in braces, and am thrilled at the progress of how a hidden incisor has steadily made its way forward, and thought I should share my pictures in the interest of others in a similar situation!

I have Damon Clear uppers and metal lowers.

Wow! Beautiful progress, quentin.

AWESOME!!! thank you for posting the pics It's great to see!

Nice
At first, it looks like there's not enough room for all teeth, but... they manage to find a way through. Amazing.

I have a tooth almost exactly like yours - it's one more over from the center though (sorry I dont know tooth numbers or names lol)

I do already have a gap there from a baby tooth that I just got extracted.

Thanks for sharing the pictures, it's awesome to see and can't wait for my tooth to get where it's supposed to be!!

Wow! What a huge difference, and in such a short time as well. Was it pretty painful to have that incisor being pulled in that fast?

P.s I'm getting damon clear uppers, they look like they would feel quite big, you have any trouble with that?

mapleleafman888 wrote:Wow! What a huge difference, and in such a short time as well. Was it pretty painful to have that incisor being pulled in that fast?

P.s I'm getting damon clear uppers, they look like they would feel quite big, you have any trouble with that?

Hi! No, it did not hurt. I had a open coil spring for a few months to increase the gap (the tooth used to be almost completely hidden between the other teeth!), then a button + elastic was affixed to it, as shown in the second picture. To be honest, I was initially skeptical that the elastic was doing anything to move the hidden tooth, because I did not feel any soreness. Well, clearly I was wrong, and progress was being made!

So finally last month the 'hidden' tooth was braced. And nope, no pain. I think that's the beauty of a self-ligating system like Damon, because the teeth only move as fast as your own body decides (generally). My orthodontist also switched to a thinner wire than what was there before (sized down), so there wouldn't be too much pressure on the newly-braced tooth.

As for the Damon Clear uppers, yes, I have to agree that they are bulkier than the metals, which are smaller and smoother. I haven't had much trouble with discomfort overall, but when I do, it's usually the upper Clears that bother me, such as chafing inside my upper lip.

Would I go with metal over Clears? I personally would still stick with Clears, since they really can't be noticed from afar (e.g: in photos), and even when talking to people up close, some think I only have brackets on my lower teeth! If comfort is your primary concern, I say go with metal. Otherwise, the Clear brackets have been working well for me, and I haven't broken anything either.

All the best!

Wow your teeth are looking great

Hi! No, it did not hurt.........

I'm surprised about the no pain thing, but hey that's awesome for you then!

Good to know about the invisibility factor of the damon clears! I mainly am concerned about people seeing/not seeing that I have braces---especially since invisalign was my first choice for that very reason. Having clear uppers is kind of useless to me at this current moment because my upper teeth are very high up and hidden unless I make a point of smiling real big, but the teeth will be extruded soon and I'll be happy to have gotten the clears. I wish they would have the clears for lower (as my lower teeth are very visible and high) but apparently they don't do them at this office yet, even though damon makes clear for lowers now as well!

Take care!

I agree.....great progress!! I am always impressed when I see updates like this!! I cannot wait until I see improvement with my own teeth. I do have a question.... in the last picture...it looks like there is something in the back of your mouth? May I ask.....what is it ? and painful ???

JeniK wrote:I agree.....great progress!! I am always impressed when I see updates like this!! I cannot wait until I see improvement with my own teeth. I do have a question.... in the last picture...it looks like there is something in the back of your mouth? May I ask.....what is it ? and painful ???

There's nothing in the back, those are her lower teeth/brackets

Fantastic progress! Really encouraging to see updates like this!

Awesome! I love seeing progress pics.

Slack wrote:

JeniK wrote:I agree.....great progress!! I am always impressed when I see updates like this!! I cannot wait until I see improvement with my own teeth. I do have a question.... in the last picture...it looks like there is something in the back of your mouth? May I ask.....what is it ? and painful ???

There's nothing in the back, those are her lower teeth/brackets

Slack is correct. It's just the angle that makes it seem like there's something at the back of my mouth. Those are my lower metal brackets

Slack!! Thanks for setting me straight! I went back and looked again....maybe I should get my eyes checked too!! Good grief! I now do see it is the bottom brackets....