Can cleats be removed?

Message

#1 Post by **genxsis** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 12:55 pm

The cleats on the inside of my molar bands have been bugging me for the past 2 months when they were first put on. They tear up the back of my tongue and make it hard to talk clearly. The ortho assistant bent them down but wouldn't take them off because "they might be needed later on". I've read about people on this forum having them ground off. I assume that means completely removed. Is that correct? That sure would be a relief!

#2 Post by **CLAmom** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:02 pm

I had mine ground down some but I can still feel it (raw scratchy metal edges-how horrible!). Aren't they pesky? I swore from the start there is no way I'd ever get used to the tongue shredding they provide but here I am 5 weeks later and they rarely bug me now. It's definitely worth asking your ortho about, though. It's not pleasant having them grinding away in there with their Dremel tool or whatever it is they use but if it is still slicing up your tongue it's worth a try.

#3 Post by **genxsis** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 2:44 pm

CLAmom:

That's something I was a little worried about: that there would be sharp edges left over after they ground off the cleats, making things even worse. I've had my cleats scraping my tongue for 2 months hoping to get used to it, but they kind of stick out along the bottom edges and hold my tongue down when it wants to come up (such as when swallowing).

#4 Post by **NotBob1** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:10 pm

Someone else brought this up and the solution was to attach ligs to the cleats. My cleats are small enough that they are annoying but tolerable. Unfortunately my cleats will soon have buttons added to them for elastic hook ups. Ouch. These apparently hurt.

I think your tongue will get used to this.

#5 Post by **JumpTheDitch** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:57 pm

Genxsis, are cleats those annoying little hook bits on the inside of the molar bands? One up the front end and one up the back end of each molar band? Man, they've been driving me crazy! I have two sets of molar bands in each arch, so that's sixteen cleats cutting up my tongue.

I didn't know you could do anything about them; you can ask to have them ground down? What purpose do they serve? I don't think I'm getting any other appliances or anything so I don't think mine are for functional purposes; I'd love to get rid of them. One molar kicks out to the side quite a bit so the corresponding cleats stick into my tongue all the time. So far I've been having to wax it everyday

.

#6 Post by **genxsis** » Fri Mar 31, 2006 12:16 pm

JumptheDitch:

Yes, those hooks you describe are the cleats. I have just as many as you do. I think they are for attaching rubber bands to if necessary. I wanted to get them taken out, but the assistant wouldn't do it. They are such a pain in the butt (the cleats AND the assistants, that is!)

If they haven't at least bent yours inward yet, I would ask your ortho to at least do that for you.

#7 Post by **genxsis** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 1:15 pm

I actually asked the assistant about option #3, and she said "no". I put in a call to the ortho's office for them to ask the ortho himself about removing them during my 1st adjustment appointment on April 5th. I think I'll ask him directly about the cement or the lig at that time.

#8 Post by **JumpTheDitch** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:48 am

Genxsis and Meryaten, you guys are lifesavers! Thanks for the pic Meryaten! I'll ask my ortho at my next appointment (sadly a whole month away). Hope he takes them off for me!

#9 Post by **Dark_angel** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:44 am

It seems strange since my molar bands dont have cleats on them

oh well it seems like its a good thing they dont.

#10 Post by **invisagirl** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 1:01 pm

When I first got cleated I had sores all the time till I realized the oj I was drinking every morning was aggrevating the situation. I stayed away for oj for a week while using wax, Biotene, etc and the problem was solved.

#11 Post by **genxsis** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 10:51 am

You mean drinking orange juice can be a problem that way? How is that? I drink orange juice, but I don't see how it could be aggravating it.

#12 Post by **invisagirl** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:03 pm

I figured it was an acidity thing. Maybe it has nothing to do with it but I've noticed if I eat a lot of pineapple I start getting sores. If I lay off the pineapple and oj the sores start to go away.

#13 Post by **genxsis** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 12:08 pm

Hmmm....I guess it's an individual thing. I only drink a half glass of OJ for breakfast and another half glass at night.

#14 Post by **kirst1583** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 11:53 pm

It's really strange but i've never had cleats and don't recall them being ground off when my braces were 1st put on!
Can you get some bands that don't have cleats on them at all?
My bands aren't totally smooth all round... they are slightly raised where I imagine the cleats would have been.

#15 Post by **genxsis** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 11:08 am

Kirst1583:

If the inside edges are slightly rough, then the cleats were probably there and were ground off when the bands were put on. That's how mine feel right now that were ground off. I wish my ortho had just done that at the beginning instead of making me wait so long. I want to go back and have my upper ones ground off now. They are SUCH a pain!