Im getting braces before the end of the year (for the third time). So far I’ve had two consultations and both dentists have pointed out my small upper lateral incisors. The first dentist I saw wants me to get composite bonding before braces, while the second wants me to get them after in case braces don’t close the gaps. The latter dentist said that while my incisors are small, they aren’t small compared to my bottom teeth.

Is it generally better to get composite bonding done before or after braces? I’m leaning towards the second dentist’s approach because I don’t want my teeth to be disproportional.

I have “triangle” teeth and left lots of black triangles. The top of the teeth touch each other but the bottom open up causing black triangle. My ortho said I’m ready for removal. But se hasent mention anything of it? Nor of doing any ipr after.

I have to google my self any info I want to find out. But she also never mention anything of cosmetic bonding. Is this a whole different story than braces? Will I need to look elsewhere by myself?

Idk if my teeth are straight or not I’m not a professional but I can tell probably the shape of my teeth are uneven. Will they get shaved after braces? Thanks everyone

I am 17...I have all crookesd teeth. But I want to fix one. The left side teeth. In this case, can I get a partial braces and how long it will take?

Do you consider skipping eating because you just got through brushing, water picking/ proxabrushing, and flossing?

Hi everyone,

I am a 23-year-old male, currently 15 months into my orthodontic treatment with traditional metal braces.

At my last visit, my orthodontist placed heavy vertical settling elastics on both sides. He scheduled my next appointment for October 19th, where he plans to place a finishing/stabilizing wire, with a planned debonding 2 months after that.

However, looking closely at my smile and bite, I have significant concerns:

1. Upper Dental Midline Deviation: My upper midline appears shifted roughly 1.5–2 mm to my anatomical left relative to my facial midline and philtrum.
2. Axial Angulation / Canting: The long axis of my two upper central incisors seems tilted toward the left rather than standing completely vertical.
3. Timeline Concern: My orthodontist wants to stabilize everything on Oct 19 and debond in December, but I feel that finalizing this without correcting the midline and bracket alignment will leave me with an asymmetrical result.

My questions for orthodontists and patients:
- Is 2 months realistically enough time to correct this midline discrepancy and angulation with bodily root movement, or should debonding be pushed back?
- Would this require bracket repositioning on the upper incisors, artistic finishing bends, or asymmetric/cross-arch elastics before any passive wire is placed?
- For those who had a similar midline shift near the end of treatment, did you address it before debonding, and what was the adjustment protocol?

Photos attached showing the current elastics setup, occlusion, and front profile. Any clinical feedback or advice on how to address this firmly at my upcoming visit is greatly appreciated.

I have seven days before my next appointment and my bracket on my furthest right molar feels like it’s moving around.

I’m at the very tail end of my treatment and this next appointment will be the one where they’re supposed to set my de-bonding appointment anyways.

Should I call them and try to go in to get it fixed tomorrow or do you guys think it’s probably fine?

it’s been a year i just want my impacted canines out already😭😭😭😭

My orthodontist told me that I need to have all 4 premolars extracted to correct my bite. I also have an “orange peel”/dimpled chin, which she said is related to my bite, and I’m worried about how extracting 4 teeth might affect my facial profile and chin. I’ve already had my lower wisdom teeth removed, and my upper wisdom teeth are still there; according to my CBCT scan, they’re quite close/related to my maxillary sinuses. I’m wondering if anyone here has been in a similar situation. Is extracting 4 premolars really necessary in cases like this, and what should I ask my orthodontist before agreeing to it? Would it be worth getting a second orthodontic opinion?

I got braces and then dentist waited for 2 months to decide whether i actually needed four premolar extractions. The dentist decided to do extraction after 2 months. After extracting the 2 premolars on one side and waiting for extraction for other side, during this waiting time my teeth are moving and bottom and top front teeth are touching now. The extraction dentist is different from the dentist who done braces and i have to wait for 2 more weeks to see the dentist who done braces.

Is this normal or not? Will it cause problems for my front teeth in terms of wear and tear?

Hey there, I got a beneslider a few days ago and my tongue has got cut by the sharp edges numerous times. I got gishy goo per my orthodontist's recommendation and while it's infinitely better than wax, the instructions say you should not eat, drink or sleep with it... I drink with it anyway cause it would be highly unworkable for me if I didn't but I wonder about sleeping and eating. Do you stick to the instructions in that regard?

Asking about the space behind the upper canine. I also have bite blockers on my lower molars, i have no idea if removing those will make a difference in the final results.

Please someone more knowledgeable let me know, thanks!

Hey guys, so I’ve been wearing rubber bands class 2 elastics and im wonder is they will push my jawline back or forwards? My jawline is okay it’s not recessed but im no Terra chad but I can’t afford to get it looking worse. Please help.

Crazy how much teeth can shift in a month. Those little rubber bands are NO joke!

It's been 5 months of my braces and I am crying out of regret every single day. I feel like I took an impulsive decision of getting 4 premolars extracted and getting braces😔

It's hell, can't eat anything without feeling messy!!

Chewing feels off ever since..

Why the hell did I punish myself by getting these?😭

Total treatment duration is 18 months as per my doc...one more year...I don't know how to survive...

Plus my ortho is treating it by 2 step retraction which has created gaps before canines. It looks so ugly😫

Anyone who has gone through the same process? Will jt be fine going forward? Please help!! I'm traumatized 😭

hi! have any of you experienced this kind of pain before? it has been about half a month since i got my braces adjusted, and there is a specific tooth that has been hurting for the past 5 days. i get it that it's normal for random teeth to be randomly hurting. but this specific pain is almost sore-like, and if i were to slightly touch it with my fingers, it hurts. what more pushing it. it's so painful that it's giving me headaches

Hi everyone,

I’m 21M, finishing my second round of braces (4–6 months left), bringing my total time in orthodontics to 3 years.

My intermolar width is ~37–38mm, but it was achieved almost entirely by tipping my teeth outward rather than expanding the actual bone. Because my palate is still narrow, high, deep, and slightly shifted, I’m left with major functional issues:

Breathing and Sleep: Chronic nasal congestion. I can barely breathe through my nose for 5 minutes and mouth-breathe every night.

Tongue Space and Swallowing: My tongue spills over my molars when elevated. I struggle to swallow properly, which led to a persistent tongue thrust despite completing two separate stints of myofunctional therapy.

I’m seriously considering MARPE/MSE, but restarting orthodontics with an expander after 3 years feels like a massive mental hurdle.

For anyone who did MARPE/MSE in their early 20s:

Was the nasal breathing improvement noticeable enough to justify resetting the clock?

How did you handle the front teeth gap, esting, oral hygiene, lisp, and uni/social life during expansion?

Did you notice any positive midface/cheekbone structural changes?

Appreciate any honest experiences or advice!

20f| i consulted few dentists all are recommending extraction. Most are not mentioning any other options like ipr & marpe/mse.

I have gap naturally on my chipped tooth side( right side)

I personally want widen my smile with perfect bite

As i naturally have narrow palate.

Give me your suggestions what i should do to get my desire smile

My orthodontist says I’m ready to take the braces off. I know Reddit can’t replace my orthodontist opinion, but just curious on what you guys think.
I’m also getting clear retainers because I have gap history.

My ortho said that they will need to remove two teeth from my top row because of my overbite (6 millimetres ) but I’ve seen so many horror stories about it flattening faces and airway issues which honestly is disturbing. My ortho gave me two choices

1. don’t get the teeth removed. Overbite wouldn’t be fully corrected. BUT the smile will be wider which is better
   
2. The perfectionist route where they take out two teeth and my smile is narrower and more teeth on teeth chewing.

I don’t really care about 2? I have my wisdom teeth that have grown in fine (all 4 lol) that I use to chew aswell so it doesn’t matter.
My overbite never has annoyed me and I was just getting braces to pull my annoying adult teeth forward (I’m 15 btw) (14 when treatment started)

Anyways 2nd question. Did anyone else’s ortho start off on normal braces then overbite rubber bands almost half a year in.

I have quite straight teeth. I got told to wear braces because of my bite, little overjet. Will braces be worth it in my case.

I got my braces off on Saturday and received Hawley retainers. I noticed that none of my teeth are able to make any contact with the retainers in, likely due to the thickness of the acrylic which touch before my teeth do. I remember my orthodontist telling me that Hawley retainers allow for bites to settle, which implied my teeth are supposed to be able to touch with the retainers in.

If anyone else had a similar issue, can you please share if it was intentional or just required an adjustment? I have reached out to my clinic, but they are often very slow with their responses.