Metal Mouth Message Board

As promised, here's my update:

Admittedly, it went alot smoother than expected. I now have 8 molar bands. The ones they put on yesterday aren't even connected to anything yet and won't be for 2 months, but they are really scraping up the back of my tongue! I asked the assistant to smooth out the rough edges before I got out of the chair. When I kept finding sharp protrusions, she started getting openly impatient with me, so I just left it as they were. It took eating a meal (the first in at least a week) to discover all the rest of the sharp edges. I really don't want to go back to the same assistant, so here's an idea: using a metal file! Does anyone ever do this? Is it safe? I assume it's no different than what the orthos use. I could file away all the sharp edges myself and know that it's all done without making anyone at the ortho's office think I'm just looking for things to find wrong all the time. Just an idea.

My bite is no longer what it used to be either. One of my top teeth now hits one of the molar band brackets on the bottom. Since the bands aren't even connected to the wire yet, I guess it will have to stay that way for awhile. I hope I get used to it.

hi genxsis-I gotta give you credit for have 8 molar bands-I only have 6 of them! Anyways, I haven't touched any of the molar bands or tried to do anything myself. My feeling is that you're paying this dr. a lot of money and they need to do what you want done. If something isn't comfortable-they need to fix it so it's comfy for you. I've learned this lesson after 1 1/2 years and you're their boss, not the other way around!!

g/l-renee

I feel your pain! I just got my molar bands in a few days ago and I don't like them one bit. It didn't help matters that I got a nice palett expander the same day!

Anyway, I don't think you should be doing anything to your bands. You not only risk damaging your teeth but your ortho may charge you extra if you go fiddling with your appliance and then break something. You'll have to have them replaced and that takes time, which interupts your treatment.

One of my back molar bands isn't quite flush with my tooth. I can feel it with my tongue, and on the first night with them my tongue got sliced up pretty badly. My advice is to just do some salt-water rinses and tough it out. Your tongue will develop scar tissue and get used to the foreign object. It will eventually learn to stay away from the sharp edge and you won't feel anymore pain! It's been 3 days for me and I don't feel the sharpness on my tongue anymore unless I feel around back there. Even then, it's not just a bit scratchy, instead of razor blade sharp.

Hi genxsis,

I'm sorry that you had an assistant that was a bit impatient. If the bands still bother you, I would schedule an appt. and ask that the assistant that helped you at your last appt. not help you at your new appt. and it's up to you whether you tell them why - there's a way of saying it nicely. Yes, you are the patient and especially with orthodontic treatment, you should not leave the office in any discomfort that could have been avoided. If this happens to you again in the future it may be a good idea to say in a nice tone,' it may be best if somebody else helps me because I feel your frustration' and insist that somebody else help you.

I could never imagine that happening at my orthodontist's office - but it may happen, you never know. I do know that their goal is customer service and that is one of the many reasons I actually enjoy going for my ortho. appts.

Good luck and keep us posted - and please don't try to fix the problem yourself (with a file).

ssfw

Geez, genxsis, what was her problem! She is there to help make sure everything is comfortable for you!

ssfw: If the bands still bother you, I would schedule an appt. and ask that the assistant that helped you at your last appt. not help you at your new appt. and it's up to you whether you tell them why - there's a way of saying it nicely. Yes, you are the patient and especially with orthodontic treatment, you should not leave the office in any discomfort that could have been avoided. If this happens to you again in the future it may be a good idea to say in a nice tone,' it may be best if somebody else helps me because I feel your frustration' and insist that somebody else help you.

That is such excellent advice, ssfw, and so well put!

I am in complete agreement, and wanted to share something about why it is so important to relay your concerns to the office (in addition to making your mouth more comfortable, which of course is your #1 priority).

This is a completely different situation, but I thought it relevant (hopefully you do too ). A week ago I went in to my dentist's office to have a permanent crown placed, and the assistant who had done all of the work together with the dentist was not there. In her place was a temporary assistant who they hired to replace her. He seemed nice initially, but was over-the-top inappropriate in what he said to me (he was telling me some disgusting things about his sister's pregnancy/birth and other gross things, completely unasked for details(!) all while I was trapped in the chair with cotton stuffed in my mouth).

The next day I called, and thanked the receptionist for some help she'd given me with some insurance stuff. I then said "by the way, when I come back, I want to be sure that _______ does not work with me again." She asked me why, and I told her that he was completely inappropriate and unprofessional with me. An hour later my phone rang and it was my dentist, wanting to know what was said. It turns out that the dentist was not surprised, and incident with me was the last straw, and that though the assistant was very competent technically, the dentist had other concerns about him. He was very grateful that I had let them know. The reason I'm telling you all of this is that only with your feedback will your ortho know when there is a problem with staff, and they should know that you don't feel comfortable with that assistant. I was reluctant to say anything (in spite of how gross this person was) but ended up being really happy that I did.

Granola:

That's quite a story! It's surprising that those kind of people make it into the medical profession, isn't it? What an experience! It's a good thing you did report that guy. He really was over the top!

I guess the assistant I had wasn't quite that bad. It's just that when I told her the last time about sharp edges that were still on the new molar bands, she rolled her eyes as if I was being unreasonable or something. That made me not want to mention anything else to her. It also makes me hope that I don't end up with her next time. I had her for both of my molar band appointments, which makes me think that's her specialty there.

I will take everyone's advice about not taking a metal file to my sharp edges. I did try to use a screwdriver to bend in my hooks without success. I'll leave it to a professional from now on. I'll be making an appointment to grind down these sharp edges next week if it's still tearing up my tongue by then.

Hi genxsis,

I know my example is kind of extreme compared to what you experienced, but I think it is incredibly disrespectful of the assistant to roll her eyes at you. It is her job to adjust things for you until things feel right, and it is her job to be courteous and friendly.

I do hope that you are right about her specializing in the bands so that you don't have to see her much. Good luck with healing up from those bands!