Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey everyone, I thought I'd put my braces story here and update it periodically. I find these kinds of things so encouraging so I wanted to add my piece. I am 31 and I have damon clear braces on the top and metal on the bottom. I mainly decided to get braces due to spacing issues on the sides of my smile and it kept bothering me over the years. Other problems with my teeth that aren't visible from my smile is that one front tooth is slightly further back than the other in the top. I also have two bottom teeth that are rotated in the wrong direction and one upper premolar that is pushed back (due to the rotation of the bottom two). Previously I had no issues with my bite. Due to the molar buildups I an no longer close my mouth completely leading to a lisp. The right molar buildup feels like it's a bit too high so I will likely go to the ortho to get that filed down a bit. I got my brackets put on 4 days ago. The ortho told me that my case should take 12-18 months and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be on the lower side. I honestly can't see why I would need to go over a year, especially with the dramatic improvements I've seen in others smiles in that time. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I've posted some pictures below of my teeth pre-and post brackets.

Welcome!
You can see in many members stories that the dramatic changes happen in a few months but they keep their braces a lot longer, to fix the bite etc.
i also hope you won't need much longer than a year!

Mini update: I got the molar buildup filed down and can eat and talk much better. My one issue is some mild gum swelling around my upper canine teeth, I keep assuming this is because these teeth are moving (because that's where my spacing is). When I read online it talks about making sure you're cleaning your teeth appropriately, but I am. I brush twice per day, use a water pick 1-2x per day, floss, and use mouthwash. Has anyone else had any gum swelling?

Sometimes it's just your gums reaction to the foreign objects (brackets and wires) in your mouth. Your hygiene routine sounds good, but maybe just in case you could try using those little interdental brushes to make sure you're getting everything behind your brackets. Even with brushing and flossing, food and stuff still gets stuck in all those nooks and crannies in your brackets.

Thanks for the info and I'll try that tip.

I got my braces three weeks ago and not experiencing gum swelling though my mouth was so prone to all of the hooks and elastics that are in there - But now that I'm used to it I'm wax free! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

I had my first 'adjustment" last week, but nothing really happened. They didn't change my wire size or anything so it didn't feel like a very productive visit. I did find out that I have a size 16 wire on the top and 14 on the bottom. At my next adjustment in 6 weeks, I'll be moving up to size 18 on both top and bottom so I'm assuming there will be some pain for a few days. I did break a bracket (eating a meal bar that I've been eating for several weeks) in the very back and I went in today and they didn't even glue it back on. She said I would get new brackets and wires at my next appointment. Is that a thing? I didn't know you received new brackets, I just thought they changed the wires. Anyway, she said the one in the back wouldn't slow my progress at all so it was unnecessary. Anyway, that's my update, let's hope for some movement by my next adjustment!