Lingual braces/Incognito braces

[SPA]

Hi!

I just got my new braces put on yesterday. I'm thrilled with the fact that they can't be seen, however I'm having some annoying issues which I'm guessing are pretty common.

- speech - when the braces were first bonded, I spoke fine! Within a few hours, however, I had a lisp and last night I spoke as though I had had a stroke/severe allergic reaction to something. I haven't gone into work today because I'm too embarassed about the way I talk. I find that it comes and goes though.. any tips?

- cutting my tongue - everytime I speak, swallow, eat or move my tongue it gets cut up by the wires. I know that some cutting is normal, but is this amount to be expected? I've been using wax and would also like to know if I'm supposed to remove it for brushing?

- eating has been near on impossible. It's not that it hurts, its more that I feel like I can't chew because my teeth aren't closing together properly.

I want to believe that I've made the right decision but not being able to eat/talk is driving me crazy!

Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated.

[coconut]

Your speech will improve if you keep talking. I know this sounds strange, but that's what works. Keep repeating sounds that are difficult until you get them as close to where they should be. The "s" sound is usually the most difficult because of where the braces are placed in relation to how this sound is formed.

The first couple of weeks are the worst on one's tongue so what you're experiencing is not unusual. Use the wax as necessary; you can eat with wax in place, but I'd remove it for brushing.

Stick with it, it does get better.

[Sunny]

Great that you've started your treatment and it sounds like most of what you're experiencing is totally to be expected!

The only time you should remove wax if things are rubbing, is when you brush. Eating with wax is to be encouraged.

Coconut is correct about your speech. Talk out loud, sing out loud ... as much as you can, as the more you do it, the sooner your mouth will adjust.

Keep trying to chew it's really important. Cut your food into small pieces and keep trying.

I'm sure you've made the right decision ... now it's about adjusting.

Good luck!

[mrjohn46]

I just got Ibraces on uppers last week and Damon q on lowers
apart from the soreness and discomfort eating food etc major issue is getting rid of
a minor lisp...its been nearly a week and while its improved I cant quite still shake it off yet ....it tends to be more of an issue when I am tired or emotional or self conscious about it ...I know it will improve further but if anyone has any constructive comments
or advice much appreciated as its quite embarassing if people are noticing it
which would make me more selfconscious and exacerbate(I should practice saying that word!_) the situation

regards
JOhn

[Desy_dawn]

I think that you should be feeling better soon. I had my uppers and lowers placed on the same day and had about a week of pain on my tounge but I didn't use a ton of wax. I was more concerned with getting used to it so I could get over the pain for the future. Eating was terrible. I ate tons of potatoes and pudding because my teeth didn't match up like yours. After about three weeks, I was eating normally with my bite pretty much closing enough to chew steak! I was so happy about that! After about a month, I tried my first burger. It wasn't too easy but I managed. Just keep your chin up and you will make it. Even if I could do it all over again, I would keep the iBraces.

Remember to drink lots of water and to do salt water rinses!

[jmp]

SPA - any updates on your ibraces?

[sdavis]

I got my ibraces on Friday and this has been the worst weekend of my life. I can't imagine anything worse than having my tounge inside a metal cage for the next two years. I'm going in to the office in the morning to make them yank them off.

[Sunny]

For many people the first few days aren't good, no matter where the brackets are bonded.

If you're expecting this to be easy right from day one, you may be best to leave your teeth the way they are!

[mikeg]

As sunny said, the first few days of ANYTHING take some getting used to. But eventually you won't notice them and it will actually be weird when you have no braces on and just slimy teeth

[linzyp]

I Got my iBraces on in November of 09. I remember them starting to be really painful about 30 min after I left the office. It took about 1 1/2 hours for the whole process of putting top and bottom linguals on. My jaw got really sore from the suction piece keeping my mouth open the whole time...but other than that nothing painful. My teeth hurt BAD for the 1st week and a half. I only ate soup and apple sauce. My tongue never really hurt. I never used wax. My brackets just never cut my tongue up. (lucky i guess) My speech wasn't really a problem initially....bu once my teeth got sore I wasn't even able to touch my tongue to my top teeth so I avoided talking much (very hard at work with my patients). But once the pain as gone....my speech was normal again. Everytime I go for an adjustment my teeth are a little sore for a few days...but nothing compared to the beginning. I have already noticed huge results!! I had a small gap that was the only visible problem with my teeth ( and minimally visible, but i was self concious)....and it is completly closed and my teeth are all rotated to the front perfectly in just 3 months!!! Unfortunatly i must wear my braces for "at most" 2 years....bc of alignment and bite issues. I LOVE MY iBRACES!!! Recommend them to ANYONE who doesn't want visible brackets!!

[pierre]

I have Ibraces (5 months) and in my case, it's always the wire ends that cause the damage. The brackets don't cause any harm (although I thought they did in the beginning). But once my tongue hurts, it will also hurt touching the brackets of course.

During ortho visits, they readjust the wire and I have to be really careful to have the ends cut short enough. I also have the feeling that the wire can move / "stretch" over time.

Whenever my tongue starts to hurt, I cover the wire end with wax; it's usually only one spot. Also, if it's a little sensitive and I know I'll have to talk a lot that day, I'll do it in advance just to be sure. Find out which spots cause the problem.

Regarding chewing, my suggestion is to eat real soft food that needs little chewing. You will chew anyway and will get confidence over time. But then again, after five months into treatment, no way that I can chew a steak properly... That's out of the question. You'll have to accept that there are limits. But I don't mind too much. If I really want steak, I'll cut it real small, chew carefully and swallow. Better order a 4 ounce, it's more healthy too .

And speaking, part of the trick is to go for it. It's like cycling, you can't do it real slow. You need to have some speed and accept to fail in the beginning. Concentrate, don't look back, move on.
As stand-up comedians know, don't worry about jokes that did not make it. Move on, and it will be forgotten immediately. If you keep talking, the audience has no time to think about what happended 2 seconds ago... they are much more interested in what you are saying right now!

Good luck!

[lauralea]

Pierre, thats great advise to those undergoing treatment. Your experience with IBraces can really help those just starting treatment or thinking about treatment.
Here is to your treatment going smoothly

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

As the teeth align, the wire tends to effectively "lengthen" in comparison to the perimeter of the arch. The only place the wire can go is through the back by the molar. Once spaces are closed and teeth are aligned, the wire should no longer cause any issues between adjustments.

We choose our Incognito patients very carefully as there is more of an adjustment than with regular braces and Invisalign in terms of comfort, speaking, cleaning, etc.

Pierre. Your attitude towards this treatment is fantastic. Keep us posted on your treatment progress!

[ibracescee]

right before you leave your ortho's office, make sure the ends of your wire are cut as much as possible, and ask your ortho to polish the ends with a drill. If you can feel at least 1 mm of ends sticking out that is too long and they will hurt your tongue for more than 2 weeks. Usually, no matter how much your ortho cut the ends of the wire, your tongue will get scratch for at least a few days. The pain should go away in less than two weeks. If the wire still scratches your tongue after two weeks, you should go back to your ortho.

[dblondi]

hi everyone


I had just got the Incognito braces as well (2 days ago)
im in so much pain, my back teeth do no connect on one another i close my mouth and my front teeth together with the back hidden braces shut my mouth in a very un comfortable way

eating is nearly impossible, i eat apple sauce and since im at work and i really have to eat, i cut my food into really tiny pieces, and chew with my back teeth only but since my whole mouth is affected by the changes from the braces, every single tooth hurts

i hope i wont have to wear these braces for very long, since i already had normal braces when i was little and the 2 front upper teeth moved a bit again, its not that big of a deal really, that makes me have to put the braces, its more for the good feeling of having a great smile.

but im hoping that it would stop hurting so much, and that i would be able to close shut my mouth normally like before...

[soshamim]

Would it be better to go to an orthodontist close to where I live, or one that i feel most comfortable with? The one I feel most comfortable with is 3.5 hrs away (I live in VA Beach, and she is in the DC metro area).

[Phantom Muse]

I'd suggest looking around a bit more to find an ortho you can trust AND is somewhat convenient. Many adjustments take literally five minutes, and I would think that it would be a challenge - and an additional expense - to have to set aside an entire day just for the five minute appointment. Also, if you have issues that come up during treatment - bracket falls off, wires poke, etc. and you can't take care of it yourself - you'll want to have someone close-by so you can take care of these issues easily.

[soshamim]

The thing is I have family close to her office, and I visit them a lot for weekends, and the ortho has weekend hours. So for normal appointments, the drive isn't too much of an issue. I guess my main concern is how often do people go to their ortho for things other than the normal appointments, for example for broken brackets, poking wire, or any problems that I'm not thinking of? Do the brackets break easily? How long is it before people go back to trim the wire ends?

[Rynne]

I generally go two or three times for every appointment made LOL. I go and the put new wires in and a couple of hours later the wire is just too much so I go in. My ortho is literally two miles away so it's awesome.

[incognito]

Hello,
I got my Incognito braces 2 weeks ago.
Speech:
My biggest fear beforehand was about my speech, especially when I read some of the comments and videos made on the Internet. It's REALLY not as bad as I thought it would be. The first day was obviously the hardest but I practiced A LOT and within days, nobody would notice any change in my speech. My advice would be to just go for it because when you're too self-conscious or careful, that's when you'll have the most difficulties with words. But the most important thing is really to practice as much as you can. I spent my first days practicing out loud constantly with special attention to words that were more difficult to pronounciate. That really helped me. If you can isolate yourself (at least a bit) in the first few days, that could help you get better faster and avoid the shame of speaking weird in the very beggining (even though you shouldn't be ashamed of it...). Now after 2 weeks, I am very comfortable speaking and it's really not noticeable. Maybe a few words might sound a LITTLE bit different but it's really not weird and I don't think people can notice it, especially people that don't know I have incognito braces.
By the way, nobody noticed it yet except for the few people I told, and I had to show them. So it's really not noticeable..
Eating
At first, I was obviously eating soft stuff. But, after a few days, I was eating pretty much everything I wanted to. Obviously, I don't eat hard stuff like carrots and stuff like that, but that's probably gonna be like that for the whole treatment. (which is normal when you have braces and really not the end of the world !!)
Pain
I felt pain when I was touching my teeth only for the first few days (but really not that bad). But, that was only when I was touching my teeth. When not, I didn't feel any pain. Now, the only thing that bothers me is one bracket that is sharper than the others and is sometimes cutting my tongue. When I put wax, it's fine. But, it's annoying to have to put wax all the time, especially that it goes off when I eat. But it's minor, and I guess I just have to be more disciplined and put wax more often.

Overall, I am really pleased with my Incognito braces and I am definitely realizing that I was stressed out for nothing before getting them. It's really not that bad and people can't notice them after only a few days. But you will have to practice in the beggining.
I'll keep you updated on my whole experience.
So for people that are considering it, if you have enough money or good insurance coverage, I highly recommend them.
By the way, in my case, it was out of the question to get regular braces since I definitely didn't want people to see I have braces. I didn't qualify for Invisalign, but I think I would have picked Incognito braces anyways as they provide better results and are really unnoticeable !!
Later !