Braces pain - how long does it last?

[Guest guest]

Just got braces put on on Monday - self-ligating Damon braces

with spacers in the back for bands. I've been popping ibuprofen

nonstop since then but am still uncomfortable. I'm wondering

when the pain will cool down enough to eat a sandwich - give it a

few more days?

[Guest guest]

yeah, the first week with braces is pretty painful. and then

whenever you go to get them tightened you will have some pain for a

few days. the pain will miraculously disappear one day soon... and

then you will get to where you forget that you have them. until it

gets close to getting them off... i'm ready to be done with them.

anyway, i digress.

give it a few more days... it'll get better and better.

> Just got braces put on on Monday - self-ligating Damon braces

> with spacers in the back for bands. I've been popping ibuprofen

> nonstop since then but am still uncomfortable. I'm wondering

> when the pain will cool down enough to eat a sandwich - give it a

> few more days?

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the quick reply, it's good to know that this is probably

the worst of it. I get them tightened only about every three

months so I can deal with that, no problemo. Dreaming of

sandwiches,

> > Just got braces put on on Monday - self-ligating Damon

braces

> > with spacers in the back for bands. I've been popping

ibuprofen

> > nonstop since then but am still uncomfortable. I'm

wondering

> > when the pain will cool down enough to eat a sandwich - give

it a

> > few more days?

[Guest guest]

,

I'd go so far as to say that, excepting the first night after

surgery while in ICU, the first week in braces was the hardest,

worst and most painful part of the whole process. Some might differ

with me on this, but I vividly remember how miserable I was when I

first got my braces. I feel for you!!

Hang in there.

> > > Just got braces put on on Monday - self-ligating Damon

> braces

> > > with spacers in the back for bands. I've been popping

> ibuprofen

> > > nonstop since then but am still uncomfortable. I'm

> wondering

> > > when the pain will cool down enough to eat a sandwich - give

> it a

> > > few more days?

[Guest guest]

Yes, braces are tough to deal with, but they aren't the end all. I got mine on

in November (right before Thanksgiving!) and I did have a hard time with them

for awhile. It just takes some time and patience to get used to them. I love

the wax that the ortho gave me...it really is a lifesaver. And for the time

being where you can't eat anything solid, rely on milkshakes and soft things

that you can eat. Best of luck...the worst is nearly over!

[Guest guest]

Funny bumper sticker!

You're gonna think I'm sadistic or making fun, but I'm not...

Has anybody ever suggested " chewing through the pain " to you? Some

orthos even give their patients " chew toys " -- rubber or silicon

disks of a hard rubbery material, to chew on for a while after a

particularly difficult adjustment. Mine did not, but his techs told

me that the more I could make myself chew when I was hurting, the

more quickly the pain would go away. Something about it stimulates

the blood flow or some such.

Ask your ortho whether this might help give you some relief. (And I

do hope you've told him/her how much it is still hurting you -- with

my guy, that would have meant something was wrong. He said " Teeth

actually move better when we are kinder to them. " The knife and fork

business don't worry me, because lots of us have had to do that. But

that you're hurting so badly, does.)

I won't tell you I ever really forgot about 'em, nor that I never had

any pain -- but it was nothing like as bad as yours sounds. I'm

sorry. (Not that I didn't have it, but that you do.)

And if it will make you feel any better, my ortho was exactly on

target for the time to completion. It can (and does) happen, just not

always.

Cammie

> Ok, Braces are the devil. Spawn of satan. I had mine on about a

month ago and tightened once since then. I will admit, the first

week was the most painful, but I still can not eat regular food. (ate

a sub with fork and knife). I am still in constant pain which

doubles when I eat somthing. I was on the IBU profin routine, but

thats not good for you. I went to my MD and she gave me celebrex and

its 100 times more effective than IBU profen, and it doesnt have any

of hte negative side effects of excessive ibu profen use (i.e.

ulcers, liver).

>

> Everynoe told me that I would get used to the braces and even

forget about them after a few weeks, they lied or were too dumb to

know the difference. I am in them for almost two years, so I guess

its no use getting depressed about them (even though I did for the

first three weeks I had them installed and still make it a point not

to smile). Oh well, somthing else to add to the lsit to look forward

to if and when this is ever over with. (how many stories have I heard

of people supposed to have them for 6 weeks which turns into three

years).

>

> BTW. I have a bumber sticker that says " My Jag is in my mouth " .

[Guest guest]

Just hang in there. The pain will subside eventually. I had a fair

amount of pain at the beginning of my treatment, and remember all too

well the knife and fork routine. The first wire I had hurt like a

biotch, and the pain lasted for the whole month before changing

wires. As you receive new wires, you're teeth will get used to

moving around, and the pain will decrease, both in volume and length

of time.

Just a guess here, but I think that when you move your teeth for the

first time after 20+ years of stability, it takes a little extra to

break the bonds holding them in place. Once they start moving, it

becomes much easier, and the pain only lasts a few days. My ortho

mentioned something about fibers holding your teeth in place...ehh, I

don't know.

I hope you feel better sooner, rather than later. Don't be too

discouraged, it should get better very soon.

-AJ

> > Ok, Braces are the devil. Spawn of satan. I had mine on about a

> month ago and tightened once since then. I will admit, the first

> week was the most painful, but I still can not eat regular food.

(ate

> a sub with fork and knife). I am still in constant pain which

> doubles when I eat somthing. I was on the IBU profin routine, but

> thats not good for you. I went to my MD and she gave me celebrex

and

> its 100 times more effective than IBU profen, and it doesnt have

any

> of hte negative side effects of excessive ibu profen use (i.e.

> ulcers, liver).

> >

> > Everynoe told me that I would get used to the braces and even

> forget about them after a few weeks, they lied or were too dumb to

> know the difference. I am in them for almost two years, so I guess

> its no use getting depressed about them (even though I did for the

> first three weeks I had them installed and still make it a point

not

> to smile). Oh well, somthing else to add to the lsit to look

forward

> to if and when this is ever over with. (how many stories have I

heard

> of people supposed to have them for 6 weeks which turns into three

> years).

> >

> > BTW. I have a bumber sticker that says " My Jag is in my mouth " .

[Guest guest]

I agree with Camie's " chewing through the pain " thing, as I had nothing

else to try. Liquid, soft food, cold, heat, nothing worked. In fact, the first

months (October 2002 to January 2003) were so bad, I could hardly get a

full night of sleep over that whole period. It hurt when I close my mought

at night, when I eat, and my teeth would bounce on each other when I

would talk (thus hurting more).

One day, I took the matters into my own hands. Ortho was short of

suggestions (and he admitted I was probably his worst patient). I

decided to eat a sandwich (white bread, but with lettuce and everything).

I thought my heart would stop right after the first bite. Then, shortly after

this first trial, my pain got more manageable. Until that moment, I decided

to return to my normal diet. The pain went away in a few days. 4 months

of " nightmares " just vanished over 2 or 3 days.

Nowadays, when I get a new adjustment, I take it easy on the following

meal, but for all the others, it's back to regular stuff. My theory is that

the more careful you are with the pain, the less you're developping a

" pysichal barreer " or tolerance against it. At the first chance it has,

pain will return.

I once read something about an asian technique that goes something

like : Acknowledging the pain is there will make it disapear. Fighting it

will, on the contrary, making it worst.

Ray

> Funny bumper sticker!

>

> You're gonna think I'm sadistic or making fun, but I'm not...

>

> Has anybody ever suggested " chewing through the pain " to you? Some

> orthos even give their patients " chew toys " -- rubber or silicon

> disks of a hard rubbery material, to chew on for a while after a

> particularly difficult adjustment. Mine did not, but his techs told

> me that the more I could make myself chew when I was hurting, the

> more quickly the pain would go away. Something about it stimulates

> the blood flow or some such.

>

> Ask your ortho whether this might help give you some relief. (And I

> do hope you've told him/her how much it is still hurting you -- with

> my guy, that would have meant something was wrong. He said " Teeth

> actually move better when we are kinder to them. " The knife and fork

> business don't worry me, because lots of us have had to do that. But

> that you're hurting so badly, does.)

>

> I won't tell you I ever really forgot about 'em, nor that I never had

> any pain -- but it was nothing like as bad as yours sounds. I'm

> sorry. (Not that I didn't have it, but that you do.)

>

> And if it will make you feel any better, my ortho was exactly on

> target for the time to completion. It can (and does) happen, just not

> always.

>

> Cammie

[Guest guest]

I am very sorry to hear you're having trouble! Hearing your story

made me remember when I had my braces put on (which I am sure is in

no way similar to the pain you must be experiencing). I am still pre-

op but I remember when I got my braces on and thought that that was

the worst pain of my life. It never seemed to get any better and I

constantly babied my mouth as a result. After about 2 weeks of pasta

cut into tiny bits, my parents invited me out to Gibson's (the best

steakhouse in Chicago). I figured I could find something soft on the

menu, but when I got there I said " screw it " and ordered the steak.

Sure, it hurt, but it was so worth it. I'm not sure if my mouth went

numb after a while or something else, but it stopped. The next day

it was sore again but I " chewed through it " . I really think that it

is sound advice.

> > Funny bumper sticker!

> >

> > You're gonna think I'm sadistic or making fun, but I'm not...

> >

> > Has anybody ever suggested " chewing through the pain " to you?

Some

> > orthos even give their patients " chew toys " -- rubber or silicon

> > disks of a hard rubbery material, to chew on for a while after a

> > particularly difficult adjustment. Mine did not, but his techs

told

> > me that the more I could make myself chew when I was hurting, the

> > more quickly the pain would go away. Something about it

stimulates

> > the blood flow or some such.

> >

> > Ask your ortho whether this might help give you some relief. (And

I

> > do hope you've told him/her how much it is still hurting you --

with

> > my guy, that would have meant something was wrong. He said " Teeth

> > actually move better when we are kinder to them. " The knife and

fork

> > business don't worry me, because lots of us have had to do that.

But

> > that you're hurting so badly, does.)

> >

> > I won't tell you I ever really forgot about 'em, nor that I never

had

> > any pain -- but it was nothing like as bad as yours sounds. I'm

> > sorry. (Not that I didn't have it, but that you do.)

> >

> > And if it will make you feel any better, my ortho was exactly on

> > target for the time to completion. It can (and does) happen, just

not

> > always.

> >

> > Cammie

[Guest guest]

> > > BTW. I have a bumber sticker that says " My Jag is in my mouth " .

OMG where did you get that bumper sticker? I want one that says " My

BMW is in my mouth " !!!

As for the pain.. I'm going thru the same thing as you in regards

to braces. I got my top braces back at the end of November and just

recently got the bottoms put on. The pain is always there to a

certain extent - the only time it's bad enough to take something is

right after they tighten them up Other than that, it's something

I'm aware of ,,, but not something that seriously hinders me in any

way

I think it's like someone else said,, after having your teeth

stationary for so long, then all of a sudden having all the pressure,

pulling, tugging, moving, etc., you're going to notice it Plus on

top of it, we're adults, we recover just a little bit slower then

kids/teenagers/etc

Another factor for me is that I one clench while sleeping, which

again puts pressure on my teeth. And with the braces, they're

all " connected " so-to-speak.. so when I'm clenching my back teeth,

it's putting pressure on all the others too - hence my pain.

Recently started meditating though in hopes to alleviate the

clenching - anyone have any experience or ideas in this area?

[Guest guest]

Ask Fiddly about the meditation route...

Cammie

> > > > BTW. I have a bumber sticker that says " My Jag is in my

mouth " .

>

> OMG where did you get that bumper sticker? I want one that

says " My

> BMW is in my mouth " !!!

>

> As for the pain.. I'm going thru the same thing as you in regards

> to braces. I got my top braces back at the end of November and just

> recently got the bottoms put on. The pain is always there to a

> certain extent - the only time it's bad enough to take something is

> right after they tighten them up Other than that, it's

something

> I'm aware of ,,, but not something that seriously hinders me in any

> way

>

> I think it's like someone else said,, after having your teeth

> stationary for so long, then all of a sudden having all the

pressure,

> pulling, tugging, moving, etc., you're going to notice it Plus

on

> top of it, we're adults, we recover just a little bit slower then

> kids/teenagers/etc

>

> Another factor for me is that I one clench while sleeping, which

> again puts pressure on my teeth. And with the braces, they're

> all " connected " so-to-speak.. so when I'm clenching my back teeth,

> it's putting pressure on all the others too - hence my pain.

>

> Recently started meditating though in hopes to alleviate the

> clenching - anyone have any experience or ideas in this area?

[Guest guest]

Yess'm, I'm a serious student of meditation, but I gotta run, will

post later.

> > > > > BTW. I have a bumber sticker that says " My Jag is in my

> mouth " .

> >

> > OMG where did you get that bumper sticker? I want one that

> says " My

> > BMW is in my mouth " !!!

> >

> > As for the pain.. I'm going thru the same thing as you in

regards

> > to braces. I got my top braces back at the end of November and

just

> > recently got the bottoms put on. The pain is always there to a

> > certain extent - the only time it's bad enough to take something

is

> > right after they tighten them up Other than that, it's

> something

> > I'm aware of ,,, but not something that seriously hinders me in

any

> > way

> >

> > I think it's like someone else said,, after having your teeth

> > stationary for so long, then all of a sudden having all the

> pressure,

> > pulling, tugging, moving, etc., you're going to notice it Plus

> on

> > top of it, we're adults, we recover just a little bit slower then

> > kids/teenagers/etc

> >

> > Another factor for me is that I one clench while sleeping, which

> > again puts pressure on my teeth. And with the braces, they're

> > all " connected " so-to-speak.. so when I'm clenching my back

teeth,

> > it's putting pressure on all the others too - hence my pain.

> >

> > Recently started meditating though in hopes to alleviate the

> > clenching - anyone have any experience or ideas in this area?

[Guest guest]

What's the Marine commercial I've seen??? Oh yeah...

" Pain is weakness leaving the body "

Dammit

> > Funny bumper sticker!

> >

> > You're gonna think I'm sadistic or making fun, but I'm not...

> >

> > Has anybody ever suggested " chewing through the pain " to you?

Some

> > orthos even give their patients " chew toys " -- rubber or silicon

> > disks of a hard rubbery material, to chew on for a while after a

> > particularly difficult adjustment. Mine did not, but his techs

told

> > me that the more I could make myself chew when I was hurting, the

> > more quickly the pain would go away. Something about it

stimulates

> > the blood flow or some such.

> >

> > Ask your ortho whether this might help give you some relief. (And

I

> > do hope you've told him/her how much it is still hurting you --

with

> > my guy, that would have meant something was wrong. He said " Teeth

> > actually move better when we are kinder to them. " The knife and

fork

> > business don't worry me, because lots of us have had to do that.

But

> > that you're hurting so badly, does.)

> >

> > I won't tell you I ever really forgot about 'em, nor that I never

had

> > any pain -- but it was nothing like as bad as yours sounds. I'm

> > sorry. (Not that I didn't have it, but that you do.)

> >

> > And if it will make you feel any better, my ortho was exactly on

> > target for the time to completion. It can (and does) happen, just

not

> > always.

> >

> > Cammie