Metal Mouth Message Board

Ok there is really no turning back now that I have spacers so I just need everyones opinions on a few things.
Only few of my friends and family know Im getting braces. And it took years for me to finally break down and tell my boyfriend. lol I felt like I was confessing I was cheating on him or something when I told him. He was absoulutely cool with. They funny thing is he probably doenst even know the reason(i'm exaggerating because the reason is obvious) for me getting them because I have worked so hard to keep them hid and when I do show a little teeth...I tried to only show the "good side", or shall I say the better side 'cause it definately isnt good. Anyway none of my friends at work know that I'm getting them and I just don't know how to react to their reaction or how to just out and tell them without drawing attention to my mouth. Arrrrg the aggravation Im sure most of you know how I feel.

Another thing, I am so worried I am going to be drooling and spitting everywhere. Do you find a way around this and is there anyone that doesn't even have a problem with it?

Also, I am afraid that it is going to change my profile. Like the brackets are going to stick out when my mouth is closed (Hard to explain what I mean) I already have high incisors that kind effect my profile I just don't want it to be worse.

And, I have already been stressing over what lig colors to get that stain the least and are the less visible. I know silver, pearl, tooth colored, and clear are the least visible but how do they hold up to stains? and when do they typically start looking dingy? Wire tires I know are an option too but I have no idea if my ortho will do these or what they look like or what. If anyone has any pictures of these colors or anything please post them so I can get an idea of what they will look like.

Well I think this just about covers it for now so I guess I will just wait for some replies. Thanks yall!!!!!

I have Damon's, so I don't use ligs. Before I decided on the Damon's, though, my ortho told me that silver is really good.

As for people's reactions...the first few days, everyone's attention will be yours! You'll probably get really irritated with questions like, "did you get braces?" or "Why did you get braces?" or "Will you smile for me?" It will get better after a few days!

DixielandDelight01 - First of all, congratulations on taking such a big step as to getting braces. I know how it must feel to not have told anyone and be worried what everyone will think once they see your braces...don't worry too much about it, your friends, family, and coworkers will be happy for you and they really won't care much about you having braces. My family and tons of my friends haven't yet seen me with my braces and I am nervous to see their reaction when they do see them but I know that once they notice I have braces, they won't care.

About drooling and spitting...I only have top braces right now and I have not experienced any spitting or drooling...I guess it just depends on each person...

When you first get your braces, your mouth and lips will adjust to the brackets...I don't find that my braces have changed my profile at all. When I smile, my lip gets rubbed by my bracket on my canine but it really is no big deal.

As for lig staining, my ortho told me that I am doing a great job at not staining my ligs too much. I wear light silver ligs and they do stain a bit...but it's really not noticeable. You just need to be careful with what you eat if you want to keep your ligs stain-free. I drink coffee everyday, I just add a lot of milk so it doesn't stain my ligs...But I stay away from strong colored food...

Hope this helps, Good luck!

The people at work aren't going to react negatively to your braces. My friends at work were very nice about it. I of course got many questions about them... but that's probably cause I went around showing everyone my braces and telling everyone I just got them.

Hello dixlelanddelight01,

well i im newly braced and the spitting really wasn't a big deal there was alittle at first but your get use to them.. i have ceramic on top and bottom i choose smoke color ligs there hardy noticable and they don't stain and i eat alot of indain food trust me no stains. as with anything it take time to get use at first my mouth and lips felt so hugh and it was hard to talk. but 15 days later and i adjusted to them well.. and with the clear you really don't notice them. hope this helps and good luck.mateo's

My husband is totally supportive of me, which helps a lot. I told him and two of my friends (one who's here, one who lives in NY), and that was it. I didn't want to bring a lot of attention to an area of me that I'm already ridiculously embarassed about.

At work I got a lot of double-takes, but nobody really said anything. People will notice, though, believe me. I haven't had any of the stupid questions ("Why didn't your parents get you braces when you were younger?" "Aren't you too old for that?"). I chalk it up to my case being severe enough that nobody who's seen me before braces will wonder what caused this decision. I have had people genuinely curious about how they might be able to go about getting braces themselves. Those questions I certainly don't mind. I'd rather people understand what I'm going through than thinking this is a piece of cake.

I promise that you will learn how to close your mouth without feeling like you're stretching your lips a mile out of the way. And you will get used to swallowing normally, so you won't have what my coworkers like to call the bracesspitsucks problems. Eating is still a daily adventure three weeks into treatment. But eventually you'll get hungry enough to try new things (humans cannot live on oatmeal alone!).

nimo wrote:"Aren't you too old for that?"

<b>nimo</b>, a girl I work with actually did ask me that. Me! I'm going to be 21 in June but I'm too old! Ha!

I guess <i>some</i> people still look at braces as being for little kids and pre-teens.