Gays In Braces

[buddhaboy]

I'm another newbie - just got braces yesterday. Ceramic uppers so far, with lower ones to come. Pain ain't so bad, except when I try to eat, which is when I think I've made a terrible mistake...

Ortho said to avoid food that might stain the little plastic things...like curry. Problem is, I'm going to India in a couple of weeks for a month or so (ortho nearly fell off his chair when I told him). I might be glowing in the dark when I come back . Anybody got any tips to keep them sparkly white?

I'm not so brave as to go out into the big wide gay bar world just yet, or do anything more adventurous...hmm. One day soon....

[ImFor24]

I must admit that in addition to being lazy, I simply do not have the time to floss. I started out with the floss threaders and then found out about the threader floss. Prior to braces, I used one of the floss handles, the plastic handle shaped like a Y. That was no problem, but I just can't devote so much time to flossing now. However, both the orthodontist and the dentist tell me what a good job I am doing flossing. HAHA! I guess I have to give credit to the battery operated toothbrush in combination with the new blue crest mouthwash (the stuff that doesn't burn). Also, the new mouthwash must cause some kind of reaction with the braces because when I use it, a small amount of it turns into a gel consistency and clings to the metal. When my man uses it, nothing like this happens. The first time I went for an adjustment after switching to it, the tech about died, she thought I had chewing gum stuck to the metal but I explained what it was and they got a big laugh out of it. I still have the "lower holding arch" on the tongue side of the bottom teeth and have difficulty brushing the very bottom of the lower 4 front teeth, so I picked up a dental pick at a pharmacy. I use it to remove anything below the arch and also give the entire gumline an ocasional scrape, so in my opinion, that's the best way to floss.

There are two types of floss with "built in" threaders" which make flossing a bit easier than using the plastic needles. They are Glide Threader Floss and Thornton 3-in-1 Floss (which is also similar to SuperFloss).

You should floss your teeth at least at the end of every day. If you can't manage that, the minimum is a few times per week. You may also want to get an oral irrigator, like a waterpik type of device (there are also some called Showerpik which attach to your sink or your shower). These devices can help improve your oral hygiene.

[dena]

flossing is totally on my mind always! I am a big flosser--my dentist got on me a few years back and since then I've been pretty religious about it. Well, my ortho's office told me not to floss--just once a week or something. So, that's what I've been doing, but it freaks me out because I feel I should be doing more. However, when I do floss, I make a mess of it and shred the floss in my teeth and stuff. Anyway, I made them repeat 'no flossing' like 3 times because I couldn't wrap my head around this. They said to use a tartar control mouth wash twice a day and floss once a week and that should do it. I'm definitely going to bring it up again at my next appointment though! I'm afraid my teeth aren't clean enough!

[ImFor24]

more. However, when I do floss, I make a mess of it and shred the floss in my teeth and stuff. Anyway,

I know what you are talking about. Have you tried the floss that doesn't shred. I can't think of the name, but I think it is made by Oral-B. It comes in a translucent blue container. That is what I used before I switched to the threader floss. One of my biggest problems is that my teeth are so tight, when the floss finally gets past the tightness, it snaps so hard my gums bleed. I thought braces would correct this, but my teeth have gotten tighter!! Guess I should ask them about it: Will there be ample space when they come off? I was told 2 years, and so far I am 1 year 5 months into it. The major hurdle is almost finished - my lower canines were practically sideways infront of the other 4 front teeth. They are finally in position and now we're working on putting everything in the right place. I still don't see them coming off in September though. I don't regret going through this treatment, and I'm not unhappy with wearing the braces, but I sure will be glad to have them off.

[dena]

ImFor24--my lower canines are in line but basically completely sideways (turned facing left and right, not out if that makes sense.) I hear that is a really hard problem to fix...what was your experience? Well, I heard they were hard to 'rotate' and looking at mine, i think they need to be dragged upright instead of rotated (this doesn't make sense without a pic, you can see my blog but dont know if it wwill help). I am just wondering if this is a big problem--my ortho never said anything about it one way or the other so far.

thanks for hte floss tip!

[ImFor24]

I understand what you are saying. I am going to ask for pre-pics of my lowers when I go on Wednesday and then take a pic now. I'll post them somewhere and show you what mine were like. The way mine were corrected is: When my tops went on in September 04, the bottoms were not applied. However, the bands on the back molars were, but they had to be sent off for what they called a "lower holding arch". It is similar to the "permanent retainer" they speak of, only it runs from the molar bands up and behind the front lower teeth. when it gets to the front, it runs straight across rather then curve like the retainers do. After the top teeth were pulled outward and into place, the ortho used lace wire and tied from the canine brackets (these were finally put on at this point) to the tooth behind it. The reason was to pull the canines "up and back". If it had not been for the holding arch, the next tooth would have pulled forward and down. It took 6 months just to get the canines up far enough to get a wire in the lower brackets. I wore that wire, WITH the canine lacebacks for another month. Finally, the lacebacks were removed and a NiTi wire was placed in. BAM! BAM! I SWEAR, I have never seen anything like it in my life. THREE (3) days after that NiTi went in, those canines were up, back, and rotated. It was a little uncomfortable but I got through it. Of course they are not perfect yet, but much better than 8 months ago. If you've only been in them for a week or so, give it a visit or two. Once they put the right wire in, they will do some moving. Something else I have found out is this: (also, I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere on here, so I'll talk about it now) ask your tech to put your ligs on in a "figure 8" fashion rather than just putting them around the 4 hooks in a square fashion. It makes for a better look I think, as each bracket has a little "x' of color, and the benefit is some of the slack is taken out which makes it tighter and I have found that it works quicker. I didn't kow until about 4 months into my treatment, and the tech did it to one tooth for some specific reason. I thought the little x was cuter than the rest so I asked if she could do all of them the next time. She did and I could just tell that everything was tighter and working more quickly. I know this sounds crazy so I'll post some pics. I'll post the url when I get it done.

[dingo12]

I just thought I'd join the conversation. Another homo in the group...

I don't have braces anymore but did have them from 13-16 years old. (i'm 23 now).

The three years I had them I had full metal brackets, bite plate, elastics and also had surgery. My right side bicuspid decided it did not want to come down so they opened up the gums and attached a bracket to it. Attached to the bracket was a gold chain (apparently gold does react with gums as much as the nickel or silver might). They slowly pulled the tooth down manually by attaching the chain to the archwire. Very bizarre but apparently its a very common thing.

But yeah, 3 years of my braces and I actually grew to like them. Made a huge difference! Don't be ashamed of your braces. I actually think braces look great on other guys. Besides, more people actually look worse when they have to half smile to cover up their mouth. Good luck to all of you!

Let me know if anyone has any questions or wants to chat!

[ImFor24]

glad to have you dingo!

[ImFor24]

I got one about a week ago and the tech said "I bet you'll be crying tomorrow!" I can't wait to see her again - I can feel it working but there is no pain. Can anyone answer this... How long should it take to aling the midline? We've been working on this for about 6 months and I can't see it aligning at all.

[ImFor24]

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I posted on here. I've seen a lot of progress since then. My ortho missed her projection of 2 years but she still says it should not be much longer. There is so many pieces and parts in my mouth it isn't even funny. I am currently wearing a rubber band from a top right to a bottom left at night time to assist in correcting the midline I suppose. It was irksome at first but I have since gotten used to it. I must admit, with Halloween coming up, I ate several pieces of Mary Jane candy the other day. Thankfully I did not break anything

[ImFor24]

so another 5 months have went by... everything is looking really good and all I'm waiting on is for one space to close between the upper right 4 & 5. Getting excited about the removal.

[jamie315]

I have had my braces on for a little over 6 months, so your def not alone, its so hard with a culture so focused on looks, but itll all be worth it.

[bracesafter40]

No pics as yet?

[onny]

Sorry for not reading the whole thread, but:

24, male, Berlin Germany and Bi here !

[PARR]

my partner and I are getting wired up in 3 weeks. We're in our late 20s and finally getting around to doing it. (well, the money is available and it won't get any easier or cheaper.) His case is urgent, mine is highly recommended. SOmething this important, one's health and well being...a no brainer. Looking forward to the experience as a possitive one. Rainbow ligs...hmmm.