Metal Mouth Message Board

Wow--That's quite a journey you have been on!! Your teeth look absolutely fabulous--you deserve it with all the time you have served!!!

Thank you

Tomorrow I will have had braces for 39 months AND I AM FINALLY GETTING THEM OFF!

Been thru a lot since I got them on. My husband was deployed for a year, then when he got back I got pregnant and had a baby. She'll be 2 in a couple of months and has never seen me without braces.
My ortho gives out the Essix retainers but I'm gonna plead my case for a Hawley. I will probably have to spend more money to get one but I suppose that is okay. I don't want to have to replace a retainer every year, and I have bruxism (in the past I had a night guard and I actually had more pain because I apparently spent the whole night clenching down and sucking on the bite guard. No bueno). I am also planning on having my black triangles fixed and don't want to pay to have another retainer made. I'm not concerned about the cosmetics of a Hawley because I'll only have to wear it full time for a few months, and then just at night. And after 39 months a few more with a wire aren't gonna bother me. Well here are some pictures I just took. They aren't gonna get any better than this (whiter, yes; straighter, no).











I also made it all 39 months without breaking anything! I should totally get a shirt for that

Congrats! Your teeth look great. also, you had alot of progress very early on. I am surprised you needed to be in them for 39 months.

Can't wait to see your naked teeth

AMAZING!! what a perfect smile, congratulations- what a journey, you are inspiration to us all.

I'm sure your youngest will look at you funny with no braces. I had my braces for 5 months (he is 2 and 5 months) and says: 'braces mom' and points and smiles.

Your teeth look fantastic!! Getting them off tomorrow?--I am soooo jealous!!--Congratulations!!

I can't wait for the unveiling!! The BIG REVEAL!!!

Thank you I am surprised that it took 39 months as well. But now that they braces are off they feel surprisingly stable. I think it took so long because with the self-ligating brackets I only went in every 2 months. But when I had powerchains and STILL only went in every 2 months, they lost their elasticity after about a month. The wire was still working, but the teeth weren't gonna get any closer together.

Getting them off wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was scraping the glue off. That was torture! It didn't hurt, but it was like nails on a chalkboard to me. She didn't buff the glue off when she was done. Just asked if I felt any. And there were no chunks, and it felt okay so I said it was fine. Then I realized she was done. Oh well. She probably did get it all off, and I just forgot what my teeth are supposed to feel like.

I was Jedi mind tricked into believing I wanted the Essix retainers, so I'll give it a go for two months and see how they do. If I really don't like them then I will get the Hawleys when I go back in May.

Here are the pictures that I took when I got home:



Here is one without the flash; they don't look quite so yellow:


Between the canines and premolars the gums look bunched up. That was my extraction gap. Hopefully they don't look like that forever.

Congrats!! Your teeth look beautiful!

Beautiful! Yay!

Congrats! Thank you for sharing your story and pictures! As your braced journey ends - mine is just beginning!