Help!!! iBraces - Midline

[jackie]

Today is my 5th day of being in iBraces - My poor tongue is finally starting to heal and I'm only using wax on one side of my mouth YAYE! However I'm noticing a few changes that are really starting to worry me. When I started into treatment my teeth werent perfect (slight overbite and a few turned molars) - Most people thought I had braces earlier in life because I was blessed with aligned teeth. I was on a mission to correct my overbite so I went to see an ortho with the hopes of doing so. I inquired about invisalign but was told that my overbite would probably not be corrected in invisalign and that I needed to think about traditional braces. My vanity screamed NO! so I asked about Linguals.. So now here I am 5 days later and my teeth seem to be moving rapidly. This is the problem.....

I looked in the mirror this morning and my lower teeth are starting to look completely crooked .. Also, my midline is now shifting to the left by about a millimeter and my front 2 teeth are starting to appear crooked too.. HELP!!!! has anyone ever had this happened???????? I called the ortho office and have an appointment tomorrow because I lost a section of the braces that didnt bond to a bridge I have and while on the phone with the tech I inquired about the midline issue and the tech simply stated that sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better..ummmm... it seems odd to me.. Has anyone else experienced this..

Also, my lisp has been driving me crazy!! Ive been practicing my speech and thought I had broken a mile stone last night, well I woke up this morning and I sound like I did when I first had them on... its worse!! I need a few positive words.. has anyone else had this happen???

[Wallflower]

I have the same problems!

I have incognito on my uppers and whilst my teeth at the front are straight I got them on because i have two rotated molars on the left hand side.

My two front teeth are now crooked! In that one juts out and one juts in. I remember at my consultation my ortho mentioning that he would bring all teeth inward slightly, but this just feels horrid! However, all the teeth will need to shift around to make way for movements. So I'm trusting that it'll all work out.

However, same as you on the lisp thing. In the evening it sounds fine, but the next morning I sound right back at square one! It's worse in front of people, and it's worse when I'm really trying. And if I talk for too long my tongue seems to get lazy and it gets worse. It's probably the most frustrating experience out of all the bits that come with braces.
That, and the fact I've had them on for almost 3 weeks now and my lisp isn't getting any better!

[coconut]

Stay well hydrated (drink water) for best results when talking. Practise talking whenever you can. The lisp will get better.

As for midline shifts, etc., don't worry about this. The tech is right in saying that things can get worse before they get better.

[jackie]

OMG I have the same problem!! By "crooked" front I was referring to 1 tooth jetting out and the other pulling in.. and the midline is off.. I just found out that my ortho has very little exp with linguals and I am one of his first "ibrace" cases.. That has me a little uneasy since I'm see these funky changes.. Im continuing to remain optismistic but find myself obsessivly glancing in the mirror to ensure the front teeth dont get worse.. Gosh vanity is kinda sad huh?!

[BigCheese101]

You are very early in your treatment, your ortho probably just has to move and adjust some teeth through out your treatment in order to fix your bite. rest assured your teeth will be perfect in the end. Ive had my ibraced for 2 weeks and my speech is fine. It was bad for about 7 to 9 days then got better drastically, almost over night.

[Sunny]

BigCheese is right ... it's totally expected for teeth to move in unexpected ways ... they have to move, so to do this, they'll move away from the 'good' places they were in. The art of your ortho, is to get them back into even better places.

Keep well hydrated ... use wax generously ... rinse several times a day with warm salt water ... and keep your oral hygiene A1!

Good luck!

[jackie]

Day 6 is much better! I think I found the key I was trying to eat food last night and came out with a bleeding tongue again (when I eat the wax I have inplace usually gets swallowed exposing the problem area)... This time I took matters into my own hands.. I pulled the wire from my back bracket and filed down the end with a nail file to keep it from poking my tongue... it worked! I no longer feel the braces on that side (no wax needed) and after doing a few salt water rinses my tongue feels wonderful!! My speech has also improved, go figure - now my tongue can moved with out getting stabbed and my lisp is starting to fade... WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!

[Sunny]

Fantastic Jackie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like you've worked out the best way to do things! Here's to everything continuing to feel better!

[pepper]

Hi,
In relation to the crooked teeth, I also have the same problem. I have had ibraces for 4 months now, I am totally adjusted, but every time I get a new wire my front teeth (that used to be perfectly aligned) get crooked. My ortho then goes and changes one of the brackets a bit and they go back to normal. It seems to me that the movement was a "mistake", and not part of the plan. Why it happens I don't know.

So talk to your ortho, they might fix it for you. And hang in there with the lisp, it does go away (it took me 1-2 months maybe) no one notices mine anymore...

[mikeg]

Make sure to keep your orhto in line regarding getting your midline even. I wasn't quite educated on it and my ortho thought it was good enough before getting my braces off. Now that i noticed these little things, I would of have liked to have the midline match up, but I think with me it is skelatal, so there is a good chance it would of slid back to normal even in the retainers...