Braces Experts, please help!

[kariberry]

I just got braces two weeks ago today. The braces themselves aren't too bad however, my orthodontist placed molar bands with a prong located on the inside of each of them, painfully poking the two back top, and two bottom underneath portions of my tongue! She says she will add 4 more prongs to the inside of 4 more teeth, and use elastics across them in order to close up extraction gaps. Yikes!! I have read and seen a lot of pictures of orthodontic procedures on line since I got braces, and have yet to see this used on anyone else. Nor does anyone I know ever had that technique used by their orthodontists in order to close their gaps. I know power chains are used on the outer sides of the brackets to close gaps but not on the insides of the teeth. Is this normal? Help! Any insight from ANYONE would be VERY helpful!!!

[JumpTheDitch]

I know it seems impossible now, Kariberry, but trust me, you do get used to the pointy-mean-nasty-tongue-scrapey things, I promise.

I was all set to charge into my ortho's office to demand that he either push in my cleats (allowing for possible future use), grind them off (if he wasn't going to use them),or at least cover them with glue or ligs to reduce the chafing. That was, until I suddenly realised I didn't even notice them anymore! Glad I realised before I went charging in!

By all means, raise your issues of discomfort with your ortho, but if s/he doesn't want to change them, don't' be too despondant; you really do get used to them and they really do stop hurting your tongue.

And yes, they are nasty, mean, horrid, sharp, pointy, tongue-shredding little devices of torture. To start with, that is

[kariberry]

Not only am I trying to get used to these horrid things in my mouth, but I am also trying to figure out this website! I am trying to respond to the both of you at the same time, who sent me helpful replies, not sure if I am doing this right! Anyway, thank you both for your advice although I can't help but wish both of you said "heck no, that aint' right, go find another orthodontist who isn't a sadist!!" Okay, I have to be realistic, here I guess. I hope you both are right that I will get used to them because I have two new sores on the sides of my tongue that are extremely painful!!! It's been over two weeks, though, when, when will the tongue stop being in pain???I am not normally a whiner, I promise.

[rsprouse]

You should get used to them eventually. They do take a while but your body will adapt. I ended up going nuts and bending a couple of mine and it made all the difference. I have lingual hooks (on the tongue side) on 10 upper and 8 lower teeth in addition to brackets or bands on all but one tooth. So yes, I understand how much it can suck. If you haven't adjusted after 14-21 days then you will want to run by your ortho and see about bending the hooks a little for some relief. If they are bent too much then they can become useless when needed later in treatment.

Good Luck,
Rory

[kariberry]

Okay, I don't want to beat a dead horse, but I am still suffereing with these cleats. It will be three weeks on July 12 and I am still getting ugly painful sores on my tongue. Okay, I have to ask, what was the reason for both of your orthodontists using the cleats, and Rory, why on earth did your ortho put so many cleats on the inside of your mouth? That's awful! Was it to close tooth extractions? my ortho said she uses the cleats in addition to the elasitics on the outter hooks of the brackets to close the extraction gaps. I only had 4 teeth pulled, and I have seen and read and know people who have had the same amount of teeth pulled and do not have those. For them, only the power chains sufficed. She is not very communicative, so it's hard to know why she does the things she does.
Thanks so much for everyone's input, I really appreciate it. It's nice to have a "braces support group"!

[Bernadette]

[quote="kariberry"]I just got braces two weeks ago today. The braces themselves aren't too bad however, my orthodontist placed molar bands with a prong located on the inside of each of them, painfully poking the two back top, and two bottom underneath portions of my tongue! She says she will add 4 more prongs to the inside of 4 more teeth, and use elastics across them in order to close up extraction gaps. Yikes!! I have read and seen a lot of pictures of orthodontic procedures on line since I got braces, and have yet to see this used on anyone else. Nor does anyone I know ever had that technique used by their orthodontists in order to close their gaps. I know power chains are used on the outer sides of the brackets to close gaps but not on the insides of the teeth. Is this normal? Help! Any insight from ANYONE would be VERY helpful!!![/quote

Sounds pretty weird. Visit your regular dentist and ask. They will know the answer.

[kariberry]

Hello all,

Wow, I am getting to know this website a little bit and noticed where some of you are from: Georgia, Indiana, Australia, Uncharted Backwaters...very cool! I am from boring CA.
Thank you all for trying to help me out with this. No I don't have cross bites, in fact, I only have just a slight over bite. my 3 front teeth are crowded and a little crooked and I had one bottom front tooth that was pushed out just a bit. That has actually already been pushed back in with only 3 weeks of wearing the braces. The extractions of the 4 bicuspids were to make room to un-crowd the teeth. She said all four had to be removed, even the ones on the bottom even though they weren't crooked, ( they are close together though) because I guess they have to keep everything even or something like that. I did manage to get that much out of her in the beginning but she does get annoyed when I ask her questions. The lesions on the tongue are very painful when I use my tongue to chew and swallow. I can only imagine the pain that will occur when 4 more are added. When I got braces, I figured that's all I'd have- brackets, wires, elastics on the outside. If I had known about anything being placed on the inside, I would have had second thoughts about getting the teeth pulled and just gone with straightening the teeth, not fixing the bite. I figured since I was spending the $, I might as well do it all but I can't stand the pain these cleats are causing. But I will talk to her again, and hopefully she will agree to only use the powerchains on the hooks like normal orthodontists do. I will try to find a new topic to whine about as you all are probably getting tired of this topic!
Thanks again!