Metal Mouth Message Board

Hello everyone,

Firstly can i say i have learnt so much from this forum. Thank you to everyone that took time to answer my questions.

Tomorrow (Nov 3rd) i get braced. Upper linguals, lower ceramics. I am struggling to type as I am so nervous, I feel sick in my stomach.
I not a fan of pain. I have so pretty bad TMJ problems already as well as dealing with chronic headaches etc...
I want to kick myself for not doing this 10 years ago!

Severe upper crowding, overbite and everything else...! Had my teeth throughly cleaned yesterday, for the big day tomorrow. I am 26 years old and look about 17. I think the braces will take me down to about 14!

Having two upper 2nd premolars removed the week AFTER braces are fitted. Weird?

Does anyone use a lip cover? Im so scared about having cuts and sores Seriously, how much does it hurt????

I would be so so so grateful if along my journey of torture some of you could offer some much needed advice on anything and everything related to braces. Products/tips...etc.
Did I mention that im scared??? All i am getting is smart comments from friends and family...oh and you dont even want to know what my partner has to say!!
I am planning on getting closely aquainted with my old friend white wine again...just for the first few weeks!

I was thinking about putting up pics of my teeth but haloween has come and gone this weekend so I dont think i want to scare you all.

Anyway here goes....wish my luck. I am one Scardy Pants form Sydney.

Ok so im going to start with my questions!

SPACERS? Whats going on here? Does everyone need these? I havent heard my ortho mention these...but then again he doesnt mention much.

EXTRACTIONS..Do you need "springs" to help the gaps close faster??

Some where on this forum i read it feels like " you have been punched in the mouth"....oh...my...god. Im toast.

Hiya ShySmile,

I'm sending out positive waves from Canada down to you!

I had mine braces put on 5 days ago. It wasn't NEARLY as bad as I had hoped because I had memories of when I had them put as a kid.

I don't have to have any teeth removed or spacers put in but I'll give you my two cents about what happened to me.

The doo-dad they use to hold your lips apart is really bendy so it doesn't hurt to have your teeth pulled apart. Instead of the tube to suck out your saliva, they have this little bridge shaped majigger thing that keeps your tongue out of the way. They stick the vacuum tube into that. Once I had all that in my mouth the hygienist said if I was uncomfortable at all to raise my hand and she'll help me. Remember, they aren't there to torture you, they want to keep you happy and calm so they can do their job better and as efficiently as they can.

They clean your teeth and coat them with some sort of solution to prepare them for the brackets. Once the tops once were on, the orthodontist came over and made sure there were all in the right position. Then the hygienist used a "light gun", for lack of a better description, to bond them to my teeth. Then the same process was repeated for the bottom. Once they were all on I rinsed out with water and she put the wire in, closed the brackets and DONE!

It took about 2.5 hours from me walking in the door to me walking out the door.

I have Damon braces so there's no elastics. I didn't know I was getting them until the hygienist let me look at them on the card before putting them on. That was a nice surprise!

I felt some tightness throughout the day and had to take an Advil after flossing and brushing that night. I slept fine. I took another Advil the next night after flossing and brushing again. I haven't taken one since. I've had to scraping or anything on the inside of my mouth. I'm only using wax on the ends of the wire on the top teeth because they're too long at the back. I'm going in tomorrow to get them snipped off.

I can't chew properly but each meal is better than the next. I don't want to baby my teeth or else I'll never get back to eating normally, but I want to take it easy when I need to.

Don't be afraid to ask any questions or make any comments or let the hygienist know how scared you are! It's going to help if they know your concerns. I was nervous going in but since it was Halloween all the girls were dressed up. A fairy took my photos and xrays, a mime put my braces on and a cowgirl was at the front desk. That took the edge off!

Good luck! You really will wonder what all the fuss was about once it's over. I'm looking forward to reading your story soon!

luchababe wrote:Hiya ShySmile,


I had mine braces put on 5 days ago. It wasn't NEARLY as bad as I had hoped because I had memories of when I had them put as a kid.

I didn't HOPE it was bad! Yikes! I mean "thought"!! We really do need an edit or I need to preview my messages more...

luchababe wrote:

luchababe wrote:Hiya ShySmile,


I had mine braces put on 5 days ago. It wasn't NEARLY as bad as I had hoped because I had memories of when I had them put as a kid.

I didn't HOPE it was bad! Yikes! I mean "thought"!! We really do need an edit or I need to preview my messages more...

Hahahaha we know that you secretly wanted it to be torture! Just kidding!

Thanks luchababe!

Somehow i think that this ortho isnt going to dress up for me! Really wish i wasnt having extractions. Bummer.

How are you finding flossing and what do you use floss and tooth brush wise? Going to read your story now...
Really appreciate your comment.

NervousNewbie, had a read of your story. I see you had spacers...what exactly are these for and who needs them?

ShySmile wrote:NervousNewbie, had a read of your story. I see you had spacers...what exactly are these for and who needs them?

I had spacers put in for seven days to make room between my teeth for my molar bands to slip on. A lot of people say they have pain with their spacers but I honestly didn't feel them at all when they were in. The only painful part was getting them in and out, and even that was just very brief pain.

Most people have molar bands instead of brackets on the molars, so most people have to have spacers, but if your ortho doesn't use molar bands then more than likely you wouldn't need spacers... I can't think of what other possible use they would have!

Cool thanks for the feedback. Today i am at work...doing no work (shhh!) just sitting here on metal mouth for a few solid hours!!!!!!

If there are children in the room please leave now...im about to post photos. Is it even possible to straighten my top teeth!! I fell over when i was younger and smashed my top row into cement

Now i have to figure out how to post photos......

HIIIIIII SHYSMILE

So you've finally started your story bout bloody time lol

I will be thinking of you 2moz when I have mine fitted too.

Let me know how you got on.

I'll be intouch & good luck xx

Hi ShySmile,

Congrats on taking the step to get braced! It will be worth it in the end. I've mine on only three months and I can't get over the changes already!

I noticed you said you are getting your premolars out after being braced. I had the same thing, although I only had one extraction. It sounded really weird to me when the ortho mentioned it becaus I was afraid that the dentist would snap the wire but it was fine. I had no bracket on the tooth being pulled so it was easy enough to do. Don't worry about the extraction, I'm quite literally the world's biggest chicken! I don't have a very high pain threshold at all! The sorest part was getting the injection. The sensation of having a tooth pulled was horrible, but no pain, no gain and it will be worth it!

Best of Luck

ShySmile wrote:Thanks luchababe!

Somehow i think that this ortho isnt going to dress up for me! Really wish i wasnt having extractions. Bummer.

How are you finding flossing and what do you use floss and tooth brush wise? Going to read your story now...
Really appreciate your comment.

Flossing takes some practice. I'm getting used to it slowly but I have to set aside about 20 minutes in the evening for flossing, brushing and rinsing. You should get everything you need to clean your teeth from your hygienist. I switched from my electric brush to a soft manual orthodontic brush that came in my dental kit. I feel like I can tell just how softly I'm brushing and I can get up between the brackets better. To floss you use what looks like a long, bendy, soft needle with a huge hole to thread your floss through. http://0.tqn.com/d/dentistry/1/0/B/6/threader.jpg You'll be shown how to use it.

Right now I really enjoy getting a big foaming mouth full of toothpaste suds! Your teeth might ache for the first few days after a brush and floss but like all the other discomforts it will go away.

Do you wear glasses? Or contacts? Or remember getting your ears pierced? It's kind of like that. It's all weird at first but one day you'll be used to it and you won't even know you're used to it.

Hi there!
Welcome and good luck on your journey!
I have a couple of extraction spaces on top that my ortho is attempting to close with the springs. They are pretty uncomfortable at first and you do get the feeling of having been "punched in the face", but with some Advil it's not so bad and it does go away in a few days. With the springs you do have to brush carefully with a smally proxy brush to get the food out from underneath them. I had my extractions done in May (I think!). They are slowly shrinking. I can tell because I'm constantly sticking my tongue in them to "measure". Also new foods have found their way into those spots and don't fall out quite as easily anymore. Doesn't sound wonderful, but it's all in the name of progress!
Congrats!
Karen

Thank you thank you all!!
I am leaving work in 15 mins....yes i had to come in for an hour and a half!

I dont know how to put photos up.
Under Construction, thanks for your comment. Are springs the "norm" for closing up extraction? Is there other ways? WOuld be nice for the ortho to fill me in! I learn all i need to know for you guys xx

I have butterflies in my stomach

LuLu- Goodluck to us...Im sure when this is all over we will all look so hot!

Hi ShySmile,

Congrats on getting braced!

To post pictures, get a photobucket account at www.photobucket.com
Once you have uploaded your pictures to photobucket they will give you a sort of code for forums. All you need to do is copy and paste the code and walla! you're done. Hope to see pictures soon