Question!!!?

[Dtrain]

Well I've had braces for awhile now, over 4 years.

I am about a month away from getting them off.

The right side of my mouth is doing a horrible job of closing and biting down, my left side came down and closed up no problem about 1.5 years ago.

But my right side didn't want to come all the way down until a couple months back when my orthodontist moved the brackets around.

Then a space between my incicsor and cuspid reopened, so they put a t bracket on my incisor and gave me a rubber band to attach to the T and my bottom back molar.

The space closed again when I went to the orthodontist the next month.

So they gave me heavier rubber bands to even my bite and prepare me to get them off on my next appointment, it had me attaching a box from my back molars to incisors on both sides, and Ms at night.

Well almost immediatetley the next day the space between my incisor and cuspid reopened again.

I tried using the T bracket and rubber bands to close it, but so far in the past few days it hasn't closed, and even over night wearing them hasn't closed it much.

So should I continue to use my rubber bands to try and reclose it, or should I go by what the orthodontist said and close my bite?

I'm thinking if I close my bite and on my next appointment they'll just have me retry the rubber bands to close the space which will off set my bite again and have me wearing my braces for 2 more months. Now I want to try and get these off at least before school ends.

Any advice?

[Sunny]

Dtrain I recommend you phone your ortho and explain what's happening, as maybe something different needs to be done. It's important that you don't make changes to your treatment without your ortho's go ahead, as they understand the science behind tooth movement, whereas changes made by patients can slow progress.

Good luck with getting this sorted and having your teeth naked very soon!

[Dtrain]

Dtrain I recommend you phone your ortho and explain what's happening, as maybe something different needs to be done. It's important that you don't make changes to your treatment without your ortho's go ahead, as they understand the science behind tooth movement, whereas changes made by patients can slow progress.

Good luck with getting this sorted and having your teeth naked very soon!

I'm going to call them when I get back next week cause I'm going on vacation right now.

I went back to wearing the boxes and the gap between my incisor and cuspid is fully opened now.

[Sunny]

Great you're planning to do that Dtrain!

Hopefully your ortho will have a plan to close the gap and continue your progress, so your teeth can go naked very soon.

Enjoy your vacation.

[18daystobrace]

I have upper metal braces on two days ago.

About 2 hrs before visiting the office I brushed, floss, listerine and then flourinse, after that I used water to remove any slippage.
It took amost 2 hrs instead of the usual 45min-1hr to put the braces on. This was because the braces would not stick to my teeth, kept falling off.

Is it safe to eat cake and then brush within 10min after eating? Coffee with honey and then brush right away? Would the honey makes it way between the brackets and have tough time washing it off. I use waterpik Water Pik, Inc. | Innovation - Health - Sustainability.

I bought 5 bottles of ACT Mouth wash from Dental Care | Dental Health | Dentistry products at Dentist.net . Their shipping rates were excellent! Plus they gave me a free very extra soft toothbrush perfect for the braces. Customer service was also supper fast. I highly recommend Dental Care | Dental Health | Dentistry products at Dentist.net .

Flossing with braces was an impossible nightmare for the first 1/2 hr. After that it was MUCH EASIER once the trick is learned. If I had not learned to floss previously it would have been an impossible task. It took me 2 weeks before learning to floss properly all the teeth to the backend. I recommend BUTLER GUM Eez-Thru Floss Threaders | from Dentist.net . The built in study floss from other brands is not effective as it is not rigid enough like gum eez thru. Takes about a crazy 30min - 1hr to finish the mega clean at night.

I had a sore front right tooth due to extra pressure against it, after flossing, waterpik, listerine and flouride rinse , the soreness is not felt but probably still there.

[Sunny]

Great your treatment has started 18.

It is safe to eat cake, coffee with honey and most foods and then brush ... or better still ... rinse with water and wait to brush. You'll find it's not necessary to brush too often and that brushing to often can result in damage to your teeth (the enamal) and your gums. If you eat or drink foods with acid, then you need to rinse with water and wait at least 30 minutes to brush. Most people who wear braces find that water becomes their best friend, as eating and rinsing is the easiest way to keep your oral hygiene great. Then brush three or four times a day ... as you usually would.

Waterpiks are good at removing food from between teeth ... so good for people with or without appliances. They do also remove food from around the brackets, but they don't clean teeth, or the brackets and they don't floss. Be careful when using a waterpik that you have it on low pressure and never face it towards your gums, as you risk damaging the delicate tissue that keeps the gums sitting nicely on your teeth.

Use whatever mouthwash you prefer, just make sure it's got fluoride in it, and don't rinse your mouth or eat after the mouthwash ... usually for 30 minutes. This allows the fluoride to protect your teeth. Many people prefer mouthwashes that don't contain alcohol, but again this is a personal preference.

Flossing will get easier with practise ... this is guaranteed. To begin with it always takes quite a lot longer, but with once a day practise, you'll find before long you'll be flossing in a few minutes ... and doing it well. Again what you use is personal preference. We encourage our patients to use Oral B superfloss, as it's a one step process ... no threading etc. Superfloss has one end that is small and stiff and can be threaded between teeth at the gum, or under the archwire ... which ever is found easier for the person. It also has a spongy piece before the traditional floss, to make cleaning around brackets a breeze.

Good luck with getting your oral hygiene routine sorted and finding what works best for you. When you have your first dental checkup and clean, you'll know if you're doing the best possible job for your teeth.

[18daystobrace]

Sunny, thanks for the informative answer I appreciate it.