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#1 Post by **kvs2800** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 1:28 pm

I haven't been on in awhile since everything had been going great. Just to recap:

I got top braces on in January '09 and the game plan was to have top braces only for 6 months, then an appliance to change my bite and the top braces for 6 months and finally another 6 months with both top and bottom braces. Sometime in February, I swear all in the span of 2 days, the tooth that jutted out on top, moved back into correct positioning. Sure it hurt a little but no pain, no gain. So I went to my 1st adjustment in March feeling really encouraged, especially when my Ortho said he was impressed with my progress. He then decided to insert metal spacers and set an appt. for the next month (2 weeks ago) to have an appliance fitted and today it was cemented.

I have no idea what this appliance is. When I would ask about the name he just continued to explain what it would do. It's attached by a very thick metal wire to bands on my top molars and contains a build-up of plastic behind my front teeth. The plastic is shaved down so that I'm forced to stop my overbite but even more than that, I've become mute! When I talk, I lisp. I know it sounds like I'm whining and really, I'm not vain I mean I did willingly get braces afterall but I have a job fair tomorrow for teaching positions and am considering whether I should even go or not. I've been singing and talking to myself all day to try to get practice but I honestly don't think it's getting better.

Does anyone have any idea what the appliance I got is called? Anyone have any experience?

Thanks so much as always!

#2 Post by **melbraced** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 1:22 pm

Hi kvs,
It sounds like you may have the same thing I have, which my ortho called a rickanator. I was braced top and bottom last Tuesday with a lingual wire on the bottom and this device on the top. Mine is a large hard plastic "plate" that sits right behind my front upper teeth and is slightly tapered at the back. It takes up the entire front half of the roof of my mouth and is also attached to my upper molar bands. Mine is also for my overbite.

I also lisp horribly and have a really hard time making certain sounds(k,ch), even though I've been practicing for nearly a week now. I have seen a little improvement, but I am also very frustrated and embarrased

, since I talk to patients all day in person and on the phone at work. I don't know about you, but I'm having a very hard time eating with this device too.

Hope that you went to the job fair and that it went well for you!
Good luck,
Melissa

#3 Post by **staceyr2** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:13 am

Also could be a nance (thick wire attached to 1st molar bands with a piece of plastic in the middle slightly smaller than a quarter, kinda felt like I had a piece of bubble gum stuck there). I had both the nance and a bite plate. Bite plate was removable and formed to fit with the nance. Actually my bite plate was kinda like what I imagine a retainer to be, but it was quite terrible though. The nance affected my speech pretty good on it's own, but that bite plate was much worse, I felt like I talked like Daffy Duck with that thing on (spittle and all). Anyhow, speech does get much better, and like the others have said, you probably notice it much more than others will. Plus if people know you have braces or can see them, they kinda disreguard any speech problems, except your friends who like to tease anyway (still happens at age 30+). At least, that's how it's been for me.