Two weeks in and I still can't speak!

[lingual or nought]

Help!

I have taken all the adivice given.

Sometimes being hydrated helps and then in some instances too much water seems to make my mouth dry out faster. Wax makes it smoother but takes up valuable longue real estate and so I sound as if my mouth is full.

I got this gluey stuff called BraceEaze but that spreads all over my mouth and the pointy bit of the brackets come through, though not as severly as without any covering. It does adhere far stronger that wax but when pullimg it off, i pulled the wire out the last bracket.

Has anyone's speech been bad and come back? If so please advise how long and what extra effort it took to get there.

Thanks

[lingualslady]

Im 6 weeks in and still have a slight lisp. It's a lot better than at the beginning though and I just have to keep reminding myself to speak slower.

Im not sure if you ever lose the lisp 100% with linguals...

[hangoverbyte]

I'm in the same boat. Well almost, I had upper linguals installed (?) on Monday and my speech is demoralizing. I've tried packing my front teeth with wax, but I still don't have the real estate in there for my tongue. I'm starting to think that linguals may have been a mistake for someone with such a narrow palate. I had ceramics put on the bottom row about a month ago, they were mildly uncomfortable for a week or two, but now I don't even notice them and they never affected my speech. I'm thinking that I'll tough it out for a few weeks, but there is no way I can speak like this for the next two years. I'm afraid that I may be one of the 5 to 10% that cannot speak 100% normally with linguals (read that somewhere on this forum). If that is the case, money be damned, these things have got to go. I'll probably just settle for ceramics on the top. People at work don't know that I've had ortho work done, but they look at me with bewilderment when I speak. Demoralizing.

[perfectlystraight]

I've had linguals since June 13th. My speech was absolutely horrible to begin with because I have a really small mouth, leaving little tongue room left. A few months in, and speaking is still really frustrating. The lisp has definitely gotten better, don't get me wrong. But, it's still there and people STILL notice. I even did the speech exercises that the Ortho had given me day one, and I have noticed improvements with that. I can post it here if you'd like because it was helpful. People said to sing in the car as often as possible and I did that too.. but I still have a slight lisp, so I don't think it's going to go away.

My advice to you would be to talk as often as you can, and use the wax! Even if the wax takes up a lot of room it still smooths over the brackets and makes it a lot easier for your tongue to move around in there.

What I'm concerned about is that I've noticed with the lisp, my mouth is forming weird shapes for certain words, and I never had that before. I'm worried that it'll still be that way after my treatment is done. =\ Has anyone had problems with speech AFTER they had their linguals taken off?

[lionfish]

What I'm concerned about is that I've noticed with the lisp, my mouth is forming weird shapes for certain words, and I never had that before. I'm worried that it'll still be that way after my treatment is done. =\ Has anyone had problems with speech AFTER they had their linguals taken off?

I wouldn't worry about this. Your speech returns to "normal" almost immediately.

[rolo]

Does speech difficulties coincide with sore tongue? I found salt water rinses helped with a sore tongue also Difflam mouth wash (UK) product. I have a small mouth, but my teeth moved a lot in the first six weeks creating more tongue room if that makes sense.

[lingualslady]

my lisp def gets worse if my tounge is sore, from ulcers or talking too much, and if i speak quickly... especially if im drunk!

[xTc]

Man I have my appointment in 3 weeks and reading this is really putting me off

I'd be so embarassed if my speech was lispy after like 2 months still..

[saps]

I don't want to discourage anyone but my lisp never completely went away. I hear it but people I meet don't necessarily. It definitely got a LOT better after the initial few weeks but never went away completely. However, I can put up with it ( and have). If I get a sore tongue it comes back pretty bad. Hang in there! I think you'll find it's much worse in your head (after the initial period). Good luck to all.

[rolo]

xTc, initial response is variable. I was one of the lucky ones with didn't have speech difficulties, I spoke to my Mum and line manager on the phone within an hour of having the work done, neither could tell, I couldn't tell. So you may not have a problem. That said if you do have difficulties at first as Saps said, it will improve, and what sounds bad to you is often unoticeble to others. My ortho advised singing along to music, drinking lots of water, and wax, I did literally eat a box a day for the first three days!Lol! I had the work done midweek and took the next day off work and went shopping as a reward to having four extractions and braces fitted the previous day! My tongue was a bit sore, so it was good to take it easy for a day. That said I have always been prone to mouth ulcers / canker sores

[xTc]

I don't want to discourage anyone but my lisp never completely went away. I hear it but people I meet don't necessarily. It definitely got a LOT better after the initial few weeks but never went away completely. However, I can put up with it ( and have). If I get a sore tongue it comes back pretty bad. Hang in there! I think you'll find it's much worse in your head (after the initial period). Good luck to all.

Did you have iBraces or another brand? iBraces are supposed to reduce speech problems because of their design aren't they?

I would say I have a big mouth so maybe I'll find it easier..

[saps]

I have iBraces. The speech thing REALLY seems to be dependent on the person. I had a lot of trouble but most people don't seem to. I really think we hear it more inside our heads than other people. I did find it improved doing the "standard" speech improvement things (I know this sounds silly) but sitting in front of a mirror saying "She sells see shells by the seashort" 50 times a day. I wouldn't get disappointed yet....I'm sure you'll find it improves drastically.

[xTc]

I have iBraces. The speech thing REALLY seems to be dependent on the person. I had a lot of trouble but most people don't seem to. I really think we hear it more inside our heads than other people. I did find it improved doing the "standard" speech improvement things (I know this sounds silly) but sitting in front of a mirror saying "She sells see shells by the seashort" 50 times a day. I wouldn't get disappointed yet....I'm sure you'll find it improves drastically.

I know this sounds REALLY stupid but I've tried to stick gum on the inside of my teeth to mimic where the braces would be, doing that doesn't really affect my speech... I know that sounds pathetic lol.

[saps]

That's an interesting idea, xtc. Just a guess, I don't think it would be very reliable but it definitely doesn't hurt to try!!!

I'd bet that you'll adapt fairly quickly and that you'll hear it more than anyone else does. Most people say they can't hear my lisp (unless I've had a couple of adult beverages) or I have a sore on my tongue (I get sores more often with the braces). You adapt, you get used to things, you move on. The benefits of your beautiful smile will be worth the inconveniences you go through. There will be times you question your decision-making ability but the closer you get to your end date the happier you will be.

I have my official removal date (10/28) and I am looking forward to it (as you can imagine). The time will pass quicker than you can imagine. Good luck to you!

[hangoverbyte]

I'm in the same boat. Well almost, I had upper linguals installed (?) on Monday and my speech is demoralizing. I've tried packing my front teeth with wax, but I still don't have the real estate in there for my tongue. I'm starting to think that linguals may have been a mistake for someone with such a narrow palate. I had ceramics put on the bottom row about a month ago, they were mildly uncomfortable for a week or two, but now I don't even notice them and they never affected my speech. I'm thinking that I'll tough it out for a few weeks, but there is no way I can speak like this for the next two years. I'm afraid that I may be one of the 5 to 10% that cannot speak 100% normally with linguals (read that somewhere on this forum). If that is the case, money be damned, these things have got to go. I'll probably just settle for ceramics on the top. People at work don't know that I've had ortho work done, but they look at me with bewilderment when I speak. Demoralizing.

Update: It's been a week since I've gotten the linguals on the top arch. My speech is better, it's not normal and I still have some issues, but I'm not nearly as bad as I was when I first posted. My concern is that I have, what seems like, a 10 pound tounge in a 5 pound mouth. I also have a wicked overbite. As these braces work their magic and draw back this wayward bite, real estate up there is going to get even tighter! I'm hoping that will happen gradually enough that my speech will auto correct as it's happening. Anyway...bottom line...I've come in off the ledge and I'm looking forward to more improvements 7 days from now.