Metal Mouth Message Board

Bit the bullet finally. I'm 1 week in. 2 brackets popped off the bottom, central incisors the first day (not my fault) so they're like 4-5 days behind schedule.

Age: 28
Gender: Female
Sentencing: 12-18 months
Braces Type: Damon Clear on top and bottom (save a few metals on the molars)
Attachments: Huge ass molar ups (major overbite) & elastics coming soon

Improvements sought:
-Correct overbite.
-Those darn lateral incisors (top) and tipped-in central incisors (top) are the culprits of my closed-mouth smiles and mouth coverings. I need them to be straight and not hide in the shadows, making my teeth look not white.
-Equally as guilty are my narrow arches. Can't afford to have those in an already small mouth (aesthetically speaking). Ortho said I'll have a great result, but IDK because I'm an adult and we aren't using a palate expander. I really, really want my teeth to fill my whole mouth!!

My ortho said my top, lateral incisors are wide and lengthy enough for that Hollywood, big teethy smile...but I'm not so sure. Next time I go in, I want to ask him if the overbite correction will reduce the gumminess of my smile and give me a teeth-only smile. I'm afraid he will say "no".

I guess I can always get gingivectomies afterward. Any advice on this?

ALSO: Why can't I see and post attachements yet? My post count is 5+, and I'm still red. I'd like to post my Week 1 photos please. Thank you.

Great, thank you for fixing that! I will post the pics now:

Week 1:

Wow KellyGreen you're right! We do have very similar teeth. Except yours are so lovely and white (im very jealous haha)

It'll be awesome to see eachothers progress!!

Hey Kelly! Our teeth are quite similar i think, but like str8k8 I'm insanely jealous of how white they are! :p I think you have a beautiful smile already!

I think my overbite is worse, I have way more crowding on my bottom arch and I have a pretty awful overjet. All problems that are gonna be fixed tho.

I have an overbite like you, but I went with the extraction route and got 4 premolars extracted. I'm getting my braces put on today, ceramic non SL on top and metal on the bottom. I'm pretty sure i'll be getting those dreaded molar buildups as well. How're you coping with the chewing?

I may or may not be putting up my thread tonight depending on how i feel. Will keep checking to see your progress~

str8k8 wrote:Wow KellyGreen you're right! We do have very similar teeth. Except yours are so lovely and white (im very jealous haha)

It'll be awesome to see eachothers progress!!

Thank you so much! It's because I don't drink teas/coffees. I can't wait to have them perfectly shaped and then going in and getting Zoom (or similar) whitening done on them.

claribeary wrote:Hey Kelly! Our teeth are quite similar i think, but like str8k8 I'm insanely jealous of how white they are! :p I think you have a beautiful smile already!

I think my overbite is worse, I have way more crowding on my bottom arch and I have a pretty awful overjet. All problems that are gonna be fixed tho.

I have an overbite like you, but I went with the extraction route and got 4 premolars extracted. I'm getting my braces put on today, ceramic non SL on top and metal on the bottom. I'm pretty sure i'll be getting those dreaded molar buildups as well. How're you coping with the chewing?

I may or may not be putting up my thread tonight depending on how i feel. Will keep checking to see your progress~

Congrats on the braces!! Thank you for the compliment. I just want a wide, Hollywood smile so I'm putting myself through this misery lol. I really hope you put up a diary with pictures! Kind of cool to have 2 other, similar cases at the same stage as myself.

Your tongue and mouth cavity is going to take a beating so be prepared with dental wax (used for 4-5 days), Advil (used for 4-5 days), and mouth sore wash/canker sore mouth ointment (using this now because there are a couple irritated "fleshy" spots in my mouth). You may or may not need them, but it's good being prepared. After the braces were put on, I didn't feel any pain but my ortho advised taking Advil soon because I would feel it in about 1-2 hours. He was right.

Aside from the pain, my tongue didn't know what the eff to do with itself anymore during meals because of those giant molar build-ups. The Advils helped with the throbbing pain, but my teeth were extremely tender to the touch - couldn't even eat food with the consistency of an omelette...so I just stuck with soups for 3 days. Now I can chew stuff like bagels if I tear them into bite sized pieces, place directly onto my molars (not bite into them with my incisors), and chew slowly so I don't bite my tongue. Once your tongue gets accustomed to navigating around the molar build-ups, they actually help chew food well, lol!

Took about 4-5 days to get used to talking with braces, as well.

Apart from my immediate family members, no one has noticed my braces. I'm glad I chose ceramics, and I think you'll like them too. If you get elastics (now or later), don't get white/clear ones because they stain. Get silver ones - they sort of blend in and don't stain. Those go on my teeth next appointment. I'm dreading it, but they will make my bite beautiful!

Some people's experiences have them dealing with pain for 2 weeks, but I hope yours doesn't last more than a few days either! I had read the 2nd wire is a "work horse" that causes a lot of pain, but str8k8 just had it put on and is coping well, haha. Sorry to read about your extractions. I had one ortho advise getting an extraction, and I flew out of his office like a bird.

Youve got nice teeth by the start anyways

Wow, those molar build ups are brutal! Have you gotten used to them or are they still a nightmare?

Update:

Yesterday was the first wire change. Can't believe it has only been 1 month. Eating food was getting easier, but now I'm back to being sore again. I guess they don't want you to get too comfortable in these. Not a huge difference, but that first wire was pretty dainty. Don't notice a difference in the arch, either, but I suppose that will come with elastics later. Most people tell me that they didn't notice them until I said anything. Definitely want to get a laser gingivectomy when I'm done, though. The gumminess bothers me.

Side note: The last few weeks have been funny. Only 1 top, lateral incisor would be super sore for a week and then it would switch to the other top, lateral incisor the next week before going back to the first one! Haha

Week 1 pics and 1 month + 1 week pics:

minutemen123 wrote:e: Damon Clears - Overbite, narrow arches, crowdedness

Quote minutemen123

Post by minutemen123 » Sat May 27, 2017 6:42 pm
Youve got nice teeth by the start anyways

Thank you! I want perfection, though!

atrixa wrote:Wow, those molar build ups are brutal! Have you gotten used to them or are they still a nightmare?

It has become better, but it's probably because I've worn them down a little lol.

I'm 4 months in and have already been assigned elastics.

Is this pretty typical?

KellyGreen wrote:I'm 4 months in and have already been assigned elastics.

Is this pretty typical?

I've definitely read somewhere that they usually start elastics around 4 months. I just got assigned elastics at my 4-month appointment nearly 2 weeks ago.