Metal Mouth Message Board

I started to post my progress in the "bracket club" section and decided that I should probably move my story here.

- mild to moderate upper crowding
- moderate lower crowding
- 3mm overjet
- 35% overbite
- lower midline off to the right 1mm
- partial posterior crossbite
- rotated tooth

Treatment time 15-18 months in empower clear on top and empower metal on bottom (both are self ligating).

My top teeth hit the bottom brackets, so I have 2 bumpers attached so that I don't knock off the brackets. This also means that my molars no longer touch so chewing has become non-existent. My diet now consists of soup, smoothies, yogurt, applesauce and scrambled eggs. 4 days in I was able to manage very small bites of meatloaf and mashed potatoes

Welcome to the club! Looking forward to watching your progress!

hi and welcome to the journey!

welcome and good luck with your treatment

1 week braced. So far, no visible changes. For those who are still in the consultation phase and are curious, the constant pressure dissipated around day 4 I no longer feel any jaw discomfort. My only issue now is my teeth are still tender when directly touched (eg. toothbrush, floss, chewing, etc). I am still eating mainly soups and yogurt, but have been able to eat some real food. Frittata, meatloaf & mashed potatoes, Kraft Dinner .. anything really soft that can be swallowed whole. I did try some tortellini the other day, I can only chew one side of my mouth and after cutting them into small bites, my jaw and teeth were getting sore after about 6 tortellinis.

Flossing is still very painful. I havent' been able get every tooth in one sitting. I ordered some OrthoPick plackers that should be delivered tomorrow. I find threading the floss through the wires extremely time consuming and awkward. The plackers have one edge that is very thin and will fit underneath the wire. I also have a waterpik that I'm still learning how to control.. lol.. some times, my poor bathroom looks like high tide hit it

I'm thinking I will upload monthly pictures unless anything drastic happens.

Fidget77 wrote:I also have a waterpik that I'm still learning how to control.. lol.. some times, my poor bathroom looks like high tide hit it

I've just started using a sonic toothbrush and had a similar experience in the bathroom! Good luck, hope all is going well.

Tonight will be my first visit to the regular dentist for a cleaning since I've had braces. Not too sure how well I will do as some of my teeth are still very sore when touched. I can only imagine the pain of the hygenist forcing the dental pick in between the sore teeth. ouch!

Dentist visit went much better than I expected. I let her know that one tooth was extremely sensitive and through the whole cleaning process, there was only 1 or 2 moments where I felt a bit of pressure. I think the worst part was when she was leaning on my teeth for leverage, she was pushing my lip into the bracket. Not painful, but not great either

Today marks 3 weeks I'm noticing my top teeth movement. The 2 teeth on either side of the front 2 teeth (I haven't learned tooth names yet) are starting to come forward and line up with the front teeth (they were slanted and partially hidden in behind before).. Hooray for movement!

One month down .. Approx 17 to go . I don't see a lot of change in the pics but i can definitely tell my upper arch is moving along nicely. The two teeth that were tucked in behind are starting to come out of hiding. Hooray!

Good to see and hear that @4weeks you have positive progress... When is your first adjustment in the self ligating braces? (I'm 4 weeks in Clarity SL - having to be reaaaaaal patient to see any movement - looking every day, as we do, but as yet only finding flossing between some teeth "easier".... 1st adjustment in 3 weeks... Hopefully by then some movement too!)

I have to wait another 4 weeks for the adjustment appointment ~ march 4th. I am also finding that my teeth are getting easier to floss.. They used to be all tight, now the only issue is there's not enough space between the brackets on my molars to fit the orthopick in between (the molars are tipped and the brackets almost touch each other).

I thought some of my teeth were getting easier to floss between and now some are harder than ever. LOL. I guess it's all part of the process!

Fidget77 wrote:I have to wait another 4 weeks for the adjustment appointment ~ march 4th. I am also finding that my teeth are getting easier to floss.. They used to be all tight, now the only issue is there's not enough space between the brackets on my molars to fit the orthopick in between (the molars are tipped and the brackets almost touch each other).

Hey, I become on March 4! Yay for me.

Excellent progress! Looking much better already.