I have the Carriere and lower lingual holding arch (LLHA)! I had the appointment to have it placed this past week.
At the appointment, they first started with placing the LLHA. The assistant had a hard time getting the bands to fit on my molars, despite having test-fit them the week before. She said the issue was that the lab used a lot of solder attaching the arch, and that made them not fit easily (maybe the bands needed to flex a little to fit, and the solder was preventing that?). Eventually she got it seated enough, though I don't think quite as far down on the teeth as when they were test-fit. The assistant ground down some of the metal a little because my upper molars were hitting it. I could tell that the hooks on the molar bands would irritate my cheeks easily, so the assistant bent them inwards a little bit, but I don't know if it made a difference.
The assistant then prepped my upper canines and first molars, and then the orthodontist came over to bond the bars of the Carriere to those teeth.. This was pretty simple and straightforward (they had already measured what size they needed the week before). Then the assistant had me watch her place an elastic on one side and place the other myself (hooked from the lower first molar (hook on molar band) to the upper canine (hook on front of Carriere bar) on each side. I am to wear Ormco "Zebra" (5/16' 4.5oz) elastics for the first two weeks, and then Carriere Force 1 (1/4" 6oz) elastics after that (at least until my next appointment; there are also Force 2 elastics, which are 3/16" 8oz, and I suspect I'll have to wear those on the right side at some point, as the other ortho I got a consult from even said that as part of his treatment plan).
They left the brackets on my upper incisors and the wire that runs through them alone.
After the appointment, it felt like there was so much in my mouth compared to right before. I had one of those "What did I get myself into?" moments.
The LLHA is higher up and further away from my teeth than I expected, so my tongue is constantly hitting it while talking. Luckily, it doesn't seem to give me a lisp in spite of this. Food gets stuck between it and my teeth fairly easily. When the elastics are on, the hooks don't bother me, but when I take them off the molar band hooks poke my cheeks while eating. Unfortunately, wax on them doesn't work great while eating since those are the teeth I'm chewing with, so the wax gets knocked off almost immediately. I'm just doing without using any wax on them. I don't think it's visible when I talk.
The bars of the Carriere have been really comfortable. They are very smoothed, and the hook on the front is very low-profile. Food does get stuck between them and my teeth. They kind of help make it look like I have braces across all my upper teeth.
The elastics aren't too difficult to put on, but it takes a little practice to do easily without a mirror. I was told by the assistant at the appointment to change them twice a day (morning and bedtime), but the info sheet said four times a day (after each meal and bedtime), which is also what I was told at my consultation. I emailed them after a couple days to check which is correct, and it's four times a day. When I take the elastics off, it almost feels like there is a slight force on my teeth in the opposite direction that the elastic pulls. After just a couple days, I can tell when flossing between my canines and lateral incisors that there's already been a very small amount of movement.
I didn't have any soreness for the first several hours after the appointment. Even with taking Tylenol, though, my teeth were pretty sore the next day and somewhat into the day after that. There's been more soreness on the left side than the right (I find this a little interesting, because the left side doesn't have to move as much to reach class 1).
It's nice having something going on that is going to produce more significant results. And, in a way, it's nice having a more in my mouth and stuff both on top and bottom. Makes the braces feel more complete and full.
Here's a photo from the front where you can see the Carriere and the elastics:
https://dereferer.me/?https://www.flickr.com/gp/189082961@N04/ip936a1r56And here's a photo of the LLHA (and elastics):
https://dereferer.me/?https://www.flickr.com/gp/189082961@N04/0329ZFk0u0Feel free to ask me any questions about the appliances! I may have left something out, and I know the Carriere is not as common as some appliances. I'll probably take a photo where one of the bars of the Carriere is more fully visible later.
I suspect my next appointment in several weeks will just be the ortho checking my progress and potentially changing what size/strength elastics I'm wearing.