Metal Mouth Message Board

From what I recall, the assistant said that the trays are too shallow. Didn't make sense to me since they completely cover all the tooth surfaces.

Hi Victor - First off I have to say your teeth are just beautiful!

About using your retainers as bleaching trays, my hygenist said that they could not be used for bleaching if they were straight across vs being cut to match your tooth and gum shape. I know that it is not good if the bleaching gel gets on your gums, therefore if the retainer was straight across part of your gum between each tooth would be exposed to the bleaching gel. I hope this makes sense.

Enjoy your new smile and let us know how the bleaching goes.

Shawnie wrote:Hi Victor - First off I have to say your teeth are just beautiful!

About using your retainers as bleaching trays, my hygenist said that they could not be used for bleaching if they were straight across vs being cut to match your tooth and gum shape. I know that it is not good if the bleaching gel gets on your gums, therefore if the retainer was straight across part of your gum between each tooth would be exposed to the bleaching gel. I hope this makes sense.

Enjoy your new smile and let us know how the bleaching goes.

Hi Shawnie, and thank you for your nice compliments!
My retainers are perfectly molded around each tooth so my only concern is that the plastic material will a) break down and not work as well, b) get cloudy/change color or c) all of the above. Just tried calling my ortho and the office is closed for lunch. Perhaps I should just start with some OTC products and go from there.

<wolf whistles>

Victor, I've been away for a week, so I missed your big day. Your teeth look great, and how nice to see the face which frames them at long last

Any news about the whitening process yet?

Victor, Congratulations, your teeth look amazing, your ortho did an amazing job. Now have u whitened them, or is that another photoshop trick, either way they look great. Congrats again!

Lisa65 wrote:<wolf whistles>

Victor, I've been away for a week, so I missed your big day. Your teeth look great, and how nice to see the face which frames them at long last

Any news about the whitening process yet?

Hi Lisa65! I postponed full-face pictures in braces because... well, you know why. No use dredging up the past. No news about the whitening process. I think I'm going to try some OTC products first (with the trays that they provide) and if I'm still not satisfied, I'll pursue it further with my ortho.

jamie315 wrote:Victor, Congratulations, your teeth look amazing, your ortho did an amazing job. Now have u whitened them, or is that another photoshop trick, either way they look great. Congrats again!

Hi Jamie315, and thank you! These are still photoshop tricks, although I have bought rembrandt whitening toothpaste and mouthwash and will probably get their 2-hour whitening kit as well... so that my teeth really look this white! hahaha

Some random thoughts now that i have been brace-free for 8 days:

•When I bite down with the Essix retainers in place, the first point(s) of contact is the rear right-side of my mouth, presumably because both wisdom teeth are still back there. Not annoying, but I'm afraid that I may unconsciously chew through those contact points like a chew-toy.
•I have mastered pronouncing my S's so that I no longer sound like Cindy Brady.
•My teeth are still quite sensitive to cold in random spots. Attempted to bite into an ice cream sandwich and boy did that hurt! Mind you, it did not hurt enough to stop eating because after all, it's ice cream.
•I'm not experiencing "morning retainer breath" as some members of the board are. The ortho assistant said to brush the retainers with some mouthwash (I'm using Listerine) and it seems to do the trick to a) keep my retainers tasting minty-fresh, and b) prevent "clouding" of the retainers as can happen with toothpaste.
•I am either smiling more because people are noticing my smile, or people are noticing my smile because I am smiling more. I can't tell which. In either case it feels nice to finally have a smile that is worth showing off!
•I know that I said that I would put off gum contouring... but pictures reveal that the upper laterals still look mis-aligned because of so much gum structure covering the tops. It gives the illusion that they are still hiding in the back as they were pre-braces. Not as much, but still.
•I love how my teeth look when I smile with the retainers in place; they make my teeth look like I have caps/veneers!


That's all for now.
~Victor