Metal Mouth Message Board

Howdy,
I'm 25 years old, I get my braces put on April 18th, 2018. I'm extremely excited and nervous at the same time. I've always avoided the dentist/orthodontist because I don't like my teeth or mouth getting messed with. It wasn't until my fiance started to beg me to go to the dentist that I caved and finally went in for a routine cleaning.. This made her very happy.. While there I had to get one small filling for a soft spot and then scheduled deep cleaning a for periodontal disease. They said it was stage 2, which honestly I was shocked because I was never one to brush all that frequently.. I also used to smoke cigarettes and drink a lot of soda. I would say I came out fine.. Well I've always had crowded teeth, my canine on top sits very high and over lapped other teeth, same with a canine on the bottom. They suggested braces to make sure I can clean between all teeth properly.. Fast forward to almost three months later with four teeth extracted and spacers currently in.. I'm ready for the party to start.

I've read a lot and I'm hoping the pain with braces is less then spacers. I havn't been able to eat normal food for about a week now. My teeth feel very loose and my bite is now all wrong, my teeth feel even more crooked. I'm not sure if that is normal or not.. I'm also hoping that braces will not make any gum recession worse, I'm hoping it helps a little bit since I'll be able to brush better.. My canines are the worse when it come to the recession and they are the ones that have to move the most..

Update
Just had my first spacer fall out. Attempted to place it back and it falls right back out. Called my ortho and they told me that I can just wait until Wednesday when I get the appliances put on!

congrats on your decision to get braces!!! you should be hurting again in no time (once you get the braces on) although I doubt it hurts more than spacers based on what I’ve read. and yes, everything you mentioned as far as teeth feeling loose, bite feeling off, and teeth feeling more crooked is normal. typically tends to get worse before it gets better. good luck and I look forward to hearing about your progress!

Spacers most definitely hurt worse than getting my braces on! That was some intense amount of pain lol. The worst part when you get braces will be learning how to eat again and learning how to smile and close your mouth with them. That definitely took me a little bit to learn. Wax will be your friend for awhile because your lips are going to get cut up from the brackets, but they will toughen up

Well today is day three with them one. Not too much pain any more, but my tongue is raw on the left side because of the cleat on the lower molar band. It's the only place that I've needed to place wax so far because everything else is manageable. When they were adjusting things I don't think the cleat bothered as much because of the excess glue that has now come off. Is this something they would be able to adjust? From my understanding its needed to help put on and take off the band.

The cleat is there to attach cross bite elastics, it is not necessary for removal of the band. I had the same problem with it tearing up my tongue. The doc can bend the cleat in a bit so it is smooth. Alternatively they can add a blob of glue to cover the cleat if you do not have a rubber band attached at the moment.