Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey everyone,

Thursday morning at 9am, I have my banding (I think that is what they call it) appt. They said that I should count on being there for a few hours. I hope the whole deal hurts less than spacers do. Does anyone have any advice? Words of encouragement? What will it feel like? What will I look like? The lip stretcher thing that I have seem pictures of can not be very comfortable, can it?

I am planning on going out on Thursday night, just to get out of the house. Wish me luck!!!

I should be in braces for like2 years. They said I will basically have everything from rubber bands on down the line! Fun Fun - will be 35 when then come off!

For me it was a breeze, but then again I have a big mouth

It was the weirdest feeling ever though, the first time you close your mouth with all that hardware in there..

I wonder if it will feel the same when they come off? Like, wow, what am I gonna do with all this room in my mouth?! lol

Did you read tne braces stories? Definitely do that. The problem with telling you how great or how horrible it is, is that it is different for everyone. I didn't think it was any big deal at all. When I first got my braces everyone said I looked "good" in braces. Whatever that means. Alot of people recommend bringing chap stick. I bought my daughter some when she had her braces put on and she lost it. She didn't say "gee I wish I had my chapstick". Maybe she didn't want to bring attention to the fact that she lost her chapstick.

The best thing about braces day for me is that all the worrying and anxiety about what you are going to look like and what it is going to feel like is OVER!

Good luck! And welcome to the board!

congrats on your upcoming appointment. you will be jsut fine.

mine took about an hour for uppers and lowers but i dont have molar baands. the lip stretcher felt weird but did not hurt at all. very dry lips when that baby comes out though. i would reccomend some chap stick just before you get started.

the brackets felt really strange when i first closed my mouth. very rough. they felt way better though and much smoother once they put the wire and ligs on though.

i really dont mind them. i wierdly kinda like the way they look, and was only sore for about 5 days, and only really sore for 2 or 3.

i wrote about the whole process in my story, just click the www below.

good luck, chris

Congrats on getting braces!!!

The actual appoinmtent of putting the braces on was nothing. Nothing was painful and my ortho was great. The only thing that feels weird is when it's all done and you can close your mouth and you feel all these brackets in your mouth...that's the only thing that weirded me out...but the actual process is not a big deal at all.

Congrats on your banding date!! And welcome to the board

I'll second what's already been said -- the weirdest part for me was feeling these metal protrusions when the cheek retractor was removed. And the dry lips felt strange too.

Hmm...advice? Be prepared for that second day!!! At least for me, the aching took some time to set in. Too, you might have some sore spots in your cheeks or lips from talking the previous day. Take some painkillers, use some wax, rinse with some saltwater to toughen your mouth.

Take some wax with you if you're going out, and be aware that your lips may get a little stuck on your brackets when you try to say "f" or "b". You will notice it FAR more than anyone else will, so try not to let it hold you back from having fun!

Also, take some pictures before you get braced, or get copies of your ortho photos. You will be *amazed* at how quickly things will start moving and progressing -- and it's always nice to have that "proof" that it's not all in your head

Thursday 11:00. I freak out when I think about it too much. Just trying to let the time come and get em on so I can't turn back. Waiting for the extractions was just as nerve wrecking to me! - was so much better once it was over. Fear of the unknown is the worst!

It won't be nearly as bad as the spacers. Just take a few Advil before you go just in case. The lip retractor was actually the worse part for me. It rubbed the bone under my tongue the wrong way the whole time. That and I had the sensation of needed to swallow the whole time because they didn't have the "spit-sucker-upper" in the right place. I'm sure you will done fine, though! Have fun!!

Getting the molar bands on hurt. Not horrendously, but it did hurt, and the grinding as they pushed them down on my teeth was kind of alarming. But the rest of the appointment was cake. The lip retractors weren't nearly as bad as I thought I would be. I put lots of chapstick on before the appointment. And the worst part definitely was having to use the bathroom so badly while my brackets were getting the ligs on! The brackets are really pokey without the wire or ligs, but once those were on it really wasn't bad.

I will post a reply as soon as I can on thursday after my appt. Wish me luck!