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.hangoverbyte wrote: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.
Two weeks in and I still can't speak!
Moderator: bbsadmin
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hangoverbyte
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:13 pm
Re: Morale Is Low
Step back from that ledge, my friend. It will only continue to get better. You will adapt and overcome and, ultimately, you will have a beautiful smile. It's tough to believe when you're going through it, but it is worth it. Hang in there. Also, remember, that whatever speech problems you're having sound TEN times worse to you than they do to the "outside" world....
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Gooperella
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:00 am
Hi, I'm new here (and a lurker) but I felt the need to jump in. I've had iBraces for 6 months now on top and bottom. At first I considered having them removed due to speech problems. I tried everything including buying a bottle of artificial saliva. Nothing worked. I was so embarrased at work I thought my coworkers figured I was perpetually drunk and I had that feeling that 'everyone is talking about you..." (which I'm sure they were because I work with a bunch of catty types). Anyway, I basically stopped talking at work altogether if I could help it.. then...I chewed some gum...............YEAH! I noticed that if you chew a fresh piece that is still soft and stick a small amount on the top and mold it into the brackets there is basically no lisp at all. The gum doesnt dry out or fall off like the wax and you just need to change it every now and then. Also, the gum is more maleable than the wax so it sort takes "shape" when the tongue presses against it. Of course I use sugarless gum and make sure its white in case some squeezes out between the teeth. I know leaving gum stuck on the braces wouldn't go over well with my Ortho but it is either the gum of get the braces off......
hello im new here
how is everyone?? i really need braces but i didnt want medal braces do you guys recommend lingual braces??? and how much do they typically cost?? i live in the chicago area.
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SparklySarah
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:55 pm
- Location: West Mids, UK
Which type did you have?SparklySarah wrote:I had my linguals on yesterday and my speech is awful, especially 't' 'st' 'ch' 'ds' and 's'.
I'm mortified as I had linguals so noone would know I've got braces, but I'm having to tell people because they are asking why my speech is so bad!
It's always going to be terrible at first I'm sure.. It'll get better!