Metal Mouth Message Board

First off, thanks for this great site. Lots of useful information!

So, I decided last year to get braces. I don't have especially bad teeth, but they're not perfectly aligned and I tend to grind when I'm stressed. My dentist keeps telling me that this is causing my teeth to wear much more than the should. So, I'm going to get my teeth all in order and then get a night guard when the whole thing is done.

Anyway, I went in three days ago for spacers. I didn't find this site until after the spacers were already in and my mouth was starting to ache. I had a little trouble sleeping the first night, but other than that the spacers really haven't bothered me at all.

I'm scheduled to go in and get the brackets attached to my top teeth in five days. I'll post an update next week!




Update History:

• Spacers on 1/9/2007 (pictures below on page 1)
  Bands, brackets, and top arch wired on 1/17/2007 (pictures on page 2)
  First Adjustment on 2/14/2007 (pictures on page 3)
  Second Adjustment on 3/14/2007 (No pictures)
  Third Adjustment, brackets and bottom arch wired on 4/11/2007 (pictures on page 3)

Thanks for the welcome, Denise. I'm a bit anxious about next Wednesday, but I'm mostly looking forward to it. They say it will be about 18 months. I guess we'll see.

Anyway, just pulled out the camera to commemorate the start of this process. Those spacers were a bit of a pain. The first time 'round, my ortho got all four in on the top (with much grunting) but couldn't get them in on the bottom. I started out with two springs all the way in the back and two broken pieces of the rubber spacers between the next two teeth. I had to go back in yesterday to get the springs and pieces replaced with the spacers that are in there now. Dr. B was afraid that the springs wouldn't make enough room to get the bands on, since my teeth are quite tight in the back.

Thanks. I'm quite happy with the top, they're almost perfect. I've got a bit of a snaggle (technical term) on the bottom, but nothing too severe. Makes flossing a bit difficult, and my bite is a bit funny as a result.

Here's to a good experience, Will!

I also found this board after I got my spacers in. Glad I found it. The rubber spacers broke apart between a couple of teeth and they ended up using metal spacers which did the trick.

KK wrote:To help soothe your mouth, rinse with warm salt water at least once a day. If your mouth is sore, increase the rinsing to 5+ times. This is recommended for the length of your treatment ... and I'm sure this is part of the reason I've been pain free for over 17 months!

Thanks for the tip. I've seen people talking about salt water rinses a few other places on this forum. Is there a thread that provides a summary of the various tips for living with braces? I've looked a little, but haven't had the time to really dig in yet.

Thanks for all that information! I'm planning to shop for some supplies later today when I'm out getting groceries. If I have trouble finding the various items I need, I'll probably end up ordering one of the DentaKits to make my life easier.

Vau!!!

You have very nice teeth! Just that lower canine seems to mess everything.

What kind of braces you are going to get?

I am gettig spacers on my lower teeth next friday. Only three as I lack one molar

Good luck!

Hey, platinum. Yeah, due to crowding the lower canine is pushed forward and protrudes over my top teeth when I bite down. It may be a little more difficult to see in the pictures, but the adjacent incisor is also pushed back and twisted a bit. My ortho is going to try to fit all my teeth where they're supposed to go, but there might not be room in my mouth. I guess the options are extracting an incisor or "slenderizing" the incisors to make room. I'm hoping to avoid an extraction, but only time will tell how the teeth end up fitting together.

I'm getting ceramics on the top and "standard" metal braces on the bottom. I'll have bands on all eight (my wisdom teeth were extracted years ago) of my molars.

I don't think there's enough room to put the brackets on the bottom at first, as my front teeth don't angle forward as much as they should. So I think I'll be wearing a wire up top for a bit until it makes room for my top teeth to avoid the brackets on the bottom. I think I'm getting all 8 bands on my first visit, but I'm not sure. Either way, I'll be posting an update with some new pictures when I get home from work on Wednesday.


--Will

Your teeth look great already so they will be absolutely fantastic when you are done. It will be interesting for you cause you are mostly going to feel the difference rather than seeing. GOOD LUCK!

Will, your teeth are already so beautiful, I can imagine how stunning the end result will be!
Good luck with getting the braces, stay positive and the time will fly.

Sim

Tomorrow's the big day, 8:50AM EST. I'm actually looking forward to it. Is that weird?

Just got back from the ortho a few minutes ago. Everything went mostly smoothly. The bands fit fine on the top, but the bottom spacers didn't make quite enough room. Both the assistant and the ortho tried to seat the bands on the bottom, and only one of them went on far enough (the left one didn't seat). Once it makes more room for itself, it will be removed and another one will be put on.

I wasn't expecting this, but there's nothing on my second molars. Only my first molars were banded. Is this pretty normal?

No pain or discomfort so far, but it certainly does feel strange to have all this extra stuff in my mouth.

It will be about two visits until they bond my lower arch, gotta make room for the brackets to clear my top teeth.

Will:

I wasn't expecting this, but there's nothing on my second molars. Only my first molars were banded. Is this pretty normal?

Hey Will, good luck with your treatment! Your story sounds a lot like mine as I have bands only on the second molar, top and bottom.
viewtopic.php?t=16313
I also had to get metal spacers to replace the rubber ones and an additional delay to get time for the spacers to do their job. I'm sure it will work out for you, too.

KK:

Take good care ... remember go to the toilet and cover your lips with balm! Looking forward to reading about how great your day

Karen, I did a double-take when reading this sentence until I remembered that our OZ friends refer to "the toilet" the way us Americans refer to "the bathroom".

Congratulations on taking the plunge Will! I have molar bands on both molars on each side at the top, but I guess it just depends on each person's individual situation. If you can get away with just 1 molar banded, all the better! My lowers are quite similar to yours, but I'd swap my uppers with yours any day! That's my real problem area. I just have the uppers braced for now too, to make room before the bottom ones go on - I think this is fairly common...

Best of luck & look forward to next update!

Well, I made it all day without any real problems. Still getting used to all this extra gear in my mouth and the fact that I can no longer bring my back teeth together due to the tubes attached to the bands (they touch, preventing me from fully closing my jaws).

I was expecting worse, especially because my ortho and the assistant who bonded me up said that I should expect to be sore by tonight. I can definetly feel the wire on there, but I certainly wouldn't say that I'm sore.

Eating hasn't been a problem. I had a burger and fries for lunch, but I was a bit less adventurous and had soup for dinner.

Flossing, on the other hand, is going to take some getting used to. Even on the bottom, where I have only bands, my teeth are quite tight and fitting floss between them was difficult. I had a heck of a time threading the floss on the top. Some teeth were easy, but some (especially the molars, where I had to get in next to the bands) were so difficult that I just gave up on them. I hope flossing gets easier.

Thanks again for all the tips and support. You all helped make my first day in braces go very smoothly!