hello I have looked online at potential/common side effects of lingual braces and wondered if there was any truth in them. does a lingual brace (behind the the teeth?) actually affect your speech? and apparently it can give your tongue issues with room? if it does how would you over come this? also how does the lingual brace affect your food? will it be any different to a traditional brace? i had one of them (fixed brace on the front of my teeth) years ago but have since relapsed back to almost to where I was at the beginning of my treatment but I don’t want to have to have them again as they were absolute hell I looked silly and hated them, and am looking to alternative treatments. cheers
Hi,
Thank you for your enquiry.
Lingual braces are placed on the back of the teeth so it means that they are completely invisible, however because of this it takes time for your tongue to accommodate the brace meaning your speech will initially be affected, however after time your tongue will start to accommodate the brace and your speech will improve. We advise it takes around 10 days for you to get used to the appliance.
In regards to the food that you need to avoid it is exactly the same as with traditional braces, you need to avoid sticky foods such as toffee and chewing gum and anything that is particularly hard such as biting into an apple. However within the first 10 days whilst you are getting used to the appliance and feel some discomfort I usually advise patients to have a soft diet.
I really hope the above has helped answer some of your questions and I would strongly suggest that if you are interested in having lingual appliances that you book a consultation with a specialist orthodontist, to help determine your options and help with any other questions you may have.
Dr Darsh Patel
Specialist orthodontist
www.invisibrace.co.uk
