Braces in 12 days...

[themusicmaker]

Hello,
So glad I found this board. It's been extremely helpful. This brace thing has been a bit of a shock as I went into the best cosmetic dentist in town to have my front teeth composite veneers replaced. My Mom had them up on when I was 10 and I was supposed to have them replaced with porcelain at 20..here I am at 33. My first question for the dentist was should I have a new splint made before or after the veneers then the whole discussion developed into my TMJ issues which I've had for 15 years (which I thought were hopeless!!) God sent me unknowingly to a NM dentist! He wanted to do all his cool tests and check out my jaw function...walked out of the office being told braces would be in my future as I knew didn't want to wear a piece of plastic in my mouth 24/7.
After the SHOCK (my teeth are perfectly straight and EVERY dentist I've ever been to says- oh you've had braces? Nope.)
So now I'm ready! I want them on NOW so my TMJ issues go away. I'm afraid- since I've read every message board I can find on the topic and have found mixed reviews on braces helping with TMD. I'm praying this is the way I should go since this will be an expensive try and see fix.
So far my repositioning splint has helped a lot so I'm hopeful. I've been wearing it 24/7 since December. I'm hoping I'm not rushing putting on the braces but I just hate the splint 24/7 (I don't mind it at night time. I've done it for 13 years already.)
SO the on 7th my dentist is cutting my splint up and bonding it to the teeth so that I just have the back molars and front teeth "in a splint" Has anyone ever had it done this way? Most NM dentist I've read up on leave the bottom splint on with upper braces then put the lowers on later. Dr. R says the ortho can do his work quicker. I'm nervous my bite isn't completely in the optimal spot yet. I'm also nervous I won't have a full splint for the night! I'm a GRINDER.. since Dec. I've already worn a hole in this new splint.
As you can tell I'm a worrier...
Also I'm an elementary music teacher. I sing and talk ALL day to 550 kids. I haven't come up with any witty come backs for my kids yet either. Then there are the mouth sores.
Ready to get them on so I can stop worring!!! LOL

Clarity Ceramics on top and metal on bottom t minus 11days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS I heard some people say the ceramics are bulkier than metal. Would those be the "older" ceramics? Or are the Clarity the same? My husband seems to think it's worth the extra $300 to get the ceramics. Any opinions?

[rhomboid]

Get the ones that you think will make you feel best wearing; I have all metal braces and actually prefer the look, to each his own. If the ceramics are at all bulkier it couldn't be by much, doubt any significance there. Good luck and smile with confidence you will be happy.

[noveldevice]

Echoing the comment about getting what you think will make you feel the best.

I have gold metal brackets, and I love them. I considered getting clear (lab-grown sapphire) brackets on the top six and then the normal silver metal ones everywhere else but ultimately decided to go with the gold brackets and I have never been sorry for a second.

I think the profile on the metal ones seems a bit slimmer than the ceramic or sapphire ones, but I could be wrong. I've also read on here that sometimes people have problems when it comes to getting them off at the end, because they can break rather than debonding cleanly, but I'm sure there are people who don't have that problem.

Also, try consciously relaxing your jaw as you are falling asleep and maybe that will help with the grinding. I never ground but I used to clench my jaw in my sleep, and I basically just trained myself out of it by relaxing my jaw and telling myself not to clench it while I slept. Now I'm working on tongue position, since my orthodontist says it's a problem. So far so good, though.