# There's a hunk of metal in my mouth - on purpose!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 26, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579 "2003-06-26T18:21:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/1 "2003-06-26T18:21:48Z")
So this morning, your humble neighborhood Jetgirl hied off to the local orthodontist to voluntarily inflict the ultimate in pain and torture - that’s right, ladies n’ gents. I’ve got [braces](http://members.aol.com/xjetgirlx/images/BracesGrr.jpg)!
As a kid, I never had any problems with my teeth. No cavities, fillings, root canals, nada. But my wisdom teeth (being the inconsiderate bastards that they are) decided they’d rather have the place all to themselves, and so commenced the pushing and shoving and general displacement of the more senior inhabitants of my gums into the dissheveled state they are in today.
Quite frankly, I’m going to miss my fang, but in the end I think it will be worth it. And I’ll have the pleasure of ripping those quarrelsome third molars right from their sockets midway in this process as well. Serves them right.
I wish I could garner oodles of sympathy by describing the horrible amount of pain and agony I am enduring, but honestly aside from the general weirdness and some difficulty pulling my top lip over my brackets, it’s been quite an easy ride. However, I’m sure that will all change in the morning.
At least I’ve got an excuse to use the phrase “waxing my brackets” now.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/2 "2003-06-26T18:30:31Z")
Oooo…lovely. Do the radio stations come in better now? 😃
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### Author:  [@Breezy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breezy)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/3 "2003-06-26T18:32:39Z")
Hey, braces give your lips that lovely poofiness that some hollywood stars pay lots of money for! haha
Good luck with them! How long do you have to wear them?
😃
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### Author:  [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/4 "2003-06-26T18:45:23Z")
This is some good taffy. Mmm-mm! You want some **Jet**? Oh, sorry. Braces.
I guess you won’t want any of the Tootsie Roll I have for later either?
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### Author:  [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/5 "2003-06-26T18:45:40Z")
Been there, done that! Just remember that yogurt, ice cream, and mashed potatoes are your friends–especially after the dreaded tightenings! And Midol isn’t just for PMS anymore. Good luck!
Oh, do yours come in different colors, too?
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### Author:  [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/6 "2003-06-26T20:00:30Z")
**Breezy** , they tell me I’ll be in them for 18 months, assuming all goes well ::crosses fingers::
Actually, I fairly well gorged myself on sweets and stickies last night **Rue** , so the temptation is not there ::g::
**lauramarlane** , yes, I’ve got metallic blue elastics on now. I decided against the ceramic ones. I figure if I’m going to have the stuff in my mouth, might as well go old school full-metal. And so far, yogurt is very much my friend :😁:
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### Author:  [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/7 "2003-06-26T20:10:04Z")
Airport metal detectors are no longer your pals.
How did the job interview go? Were you able to pronounce polysyllabic words?
Ask your dentist if it’s all right to use clove oil when you have localized pain. It’s cheap and really effective, numbs tissue in seconds. You can get it in those little Jiffy toothache kits.
And remember not to smile for flash photo shots, you’ll wash out the film with all that glare.
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### Author:  [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/8 "2003-06-26T20:21:30Z")
Metallic blue? Damn, they didn’t HAVE colors when I got mine! I’m jealous! That’d have been cool.
As far as pain goes, give it a few hours. Oh, did my teeth ever hurt. But I survived, and so have a lot of us.
Try not to break your brackets off. Then you have to be exposed to that nasty glue again. Ewwww.
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/9 "2003-06-26T20:37:18Z")
Wait til you have to get them tightened. Man, I hated that part. My teeth always felt sore for a day or two after that.
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### Author:  [@XJETGIRLX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XJETGIRLX)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/10 "2003-06-26T20:45:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \*
> Wait til you have to get them tightened. Man, I hated that part. My teeth always felt sore for a day or two after that.
Ah, the wonders of technology. No such thing anymore, my friend. The wires are never tightened per se, they’re made of some sort of space-age substance that, when cold, is as flexible as a cooked spaghetti noodle. When the wire is heated to room or body temperature, however, it becomes rigid. I go back in about 8 weeks to have a newer, thicker wire put in, but no tightening by the ortho.
Oh, and **Zenster** , the interview’s not until tomorrow. I’m now quite as worried now that I know I can speak coherently, but I’m still worried about getting myself fed tomorrow. Clean-up after lunch today took me a good 20 mins. Oi vey!
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/11 "2003-06-26T20:52:00Z")
Oh maaaaaaaaan! I’m all jealous now. I had to go through the Spanish Inquisition twice a month. _sigh_
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### Author:  [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/12 "2003-06-26T21:07:17Z")
for the next 18 months you’ll be photoshopping every picture taken of yourself. 😉
but at least you’ll get a bloody good set of gnashers out of it in the end.
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### Author:  [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/13 "2003-06-26T21:15:07Z")
Braceface! Tinsel Teeth! Railroad Tracks! :D:D:D
Robin, who had hers taken off after she gorged herself on half a pound of Tootsie Rolls.
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### Author:  [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/14 "2003-06-26T22:18:38Z")
Don’t forget the corn on the cob. That’s something else you have to say goodbye to for the duration. Oh, I’m sure you’ll try it once, like everybody does. But trust me, once will enough. 😃
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### Author:  [@Lockz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockz)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/15 "2003-06-26T22:51:57Z")
Oh, I remember tha pain. ☹
One thing that noone else mentioned yet is the wires at the ends; that they clamp off. Mine were never clamped fully it seems, so the back of my cheeks were really scratched up from the exposed wire; not fun. They gave me some wax to put on, but it didn’t really help that much.
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### Author:  [@Lynne\_kilii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynne_kilii)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/16 "2003-06-26T23:04:54Z")
Ok, I hate you. You look adorable with braces!
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### Author:  [@raz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raz)
#### Post date: [June 26, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/17 "2003-06-26T23:30:10Z")
Tinsel teeth! Just kidding, I had to go through braces too! I usually didn’t get the option of colored elastic bands, I always got the wire ones _shudder_. Do you have to wear those rubber bands that go from top jaw to bottom? Those are the craps.
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### Author:  [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/18 "2003-06-27T00:41:57Z")
I dunno about tightening. The worst pain I ever had was before the braces, when they put the damn spacers in. OMG, you never felt such agony.
Prior to braces, 5 teeth (including 2 wisdom teeth) removed, roots planed, gum graft.
During the brace ordeal, maxilofacial surgery where they basically deconstructed the lower half of my face and rebuilt it: better, stronger, faster.
But hey, the ole choppers are straight now, where before they were hideous.
Best of luck, \*\* XJETGIRLX\*\*. The 18 months will be over a lot sooner than you think.
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### Author:  [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/19 "2003-06-27T01:15:08Z")
I never had spacers. They just yanked four teeth. (They did put me out for that, thank God.)
NO TIGHTENING??? Dang! I AM jealous! Every month for about five days I’d be hurting. You are LUCKY.
As bad as we’re all trying to make this sound, my teeth look VASTLY better than they did pre-braces. Good luck with yours. Metallic blue and NO TIGHTENING…oh, I could just scream!
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### Author:  [@Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl)
#### Post date: [June 27, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-a-hunk-of-metal-in-my-mouth-on-purpose/184579/20 "2003-06-27T01:51:38Z")
When your teeth hurt just get a slushy, and take an advil. That always did it for me.
And of course, when I had braces, I always had the lady in the office tell my mom that eating at the Olive Garden would make me feel better. haha I was such a scammer. haha
You do look adorable with the braces! What a cutie-pahtootie!
Here’s to hoping they won’t hurt at all, and that you won’t have to wear those rubber bands. Cause the rubber bands TOTALLY suck.
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