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Congratulations Alanme123!! Glad you're here!! I'm 2 weeks in to my braces with metal spacers in my back molars! I feel your pain....literaly!!! The first few days of braces were painful for me..it was okay the day they went on but woke up the next morning to a world of hurt....felt like i lost a boxing match....bad!!! I was eating banana's and yogurt and applesauce and eggs. Eggs were so good!!! I'm now eating pasta, white bread sandwiches...messy but good i ate enchiladas (cut up well!) and a soft taco ( a little painful but so worth it!!) and night before last i had chicken.....cut up of course!! It's worth it to chew through the pain and everyone has told you!!! My top left teeth are the sorest of all but i am forcing myself to chew through it so that my mouth isn't hurting like this forever!! My front teeth are still a little to weak to bite into stuff...found that out last night when trying to eat my scrambled egg sandwich!! owww!! I have mac and cheese (can't get enough of that!! yumm!!) and hamburger helper too!!! I'm tired of the protein shakes and the yogurt is getting old!! Not enough flavors for me!! Everynow and then i still find myself trying to eat something i can't and i have to fall back to my soft stuff for a day or so but eating the harder foods is well worth the challange..so to speak!!!
I hope you get to feeling better!! Just keep your eye on the prize..this is all worth it!!! Take care and keep chewing!!!
Just thought of something else i was eating the first week of braces...cheese puffs!!! SO GOOD!!! You get mush them up a little in your mouth and they are a little softer to chew up!!! But just to let you know....they are MESSY!!!! I smiled at my fiance' with orange stuff in my brackets and wires!!! But they were good while i was eating them!!!! LOL!!
i know what you mean about long road!! i have to have mine for 2 1/2 years.....fun fun!!
Next month i go back and get my metal anchors put in my top arch! can't say i'm looking forward to that!!!
i have to agree with you on food getting stuck in my teeth!! it's well worth it to me!! as long as i don't have food stuck in my front teeth i'm okay!! i can handle it in my back until i brush after i eat!! another good thing to have handy are those little dent-a-pik's! They are awesome if you're somewhere that you can't brush but you want to get the food out. They're made specially to go under the wires and between brackets and they are washable and reuseable. I keep a couple in my purse with me so after I eat I can make a bathroom trip to pick my teeth without grossing out everyone at the table!!!
how's the chewing by the way? are you making progress? i haven't tried a hamburger yet, but seeing that you did, i might have to now!!!
hope everything keeps going well for you!!
I can't help but feel weird... I got my braces (uppers only) yesterday, and I'm sitting here chowing down on some fries and a grilled cheese sandwich just fine. Just have to chew... softly? Can't just chomp into stuff. But, I'm eating what I want. And no, I didn't cut any of it up.
I know pain is an individual thing, and some people are really bothered by their first few days in braces...
...but for those who are about to be braced and are reading this thread, not all people are "owww" after getting braces! There is hope! I wish I was "owww" right now, maybe I'd actually stick to my diet, haha.
hey guys im back. i didnt have to cut any of my food up. i just cant eat hard stuff like chips that well. I'm almost back to my normal diet!!! Thanks for advice
I got my braces yesterday (newbie!), and here's what I've been able to eat:
won-ton soup
lemon chicken (cut into tiny pieces)
steamed veggies (cut into tiny pieces)
apple pie (cut into tiny pieces)
empanadas (cut into tiny pieces ... you may notice a pattern here ...)
oatmeal
I can chew with my back teeth fine, although I'm still chewing gently and with my mouth open (pretty gross). I can't use my front teeth to take a bite out of anything (too sore). But, things have been OK so far.
I'm still having trouble biting into soft tacos bc of the tortilla and burgers with the works. I can however bite into crunchy tacos from taco bell and SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM taco since their shellls are very airy. Lettuce is still a struggle unless I cut it up like a salad. Biting into sliced pickles, not so fun.
I got braces yesterday and the only things I've eaten successfully are:
Oatmeal
Shake
I tried a piece of soft meat and I don't think I even made a dent on it LOL.
When I had spacers I tried eating normally right away. It took two weeks for my teeth to go back to 100% normal. I'm going to go easy on my teeth (as much oatmeal, potatoes, pasta, shakes as possible) and I'll see if it takes longer, or the same amount of time, to fully recover.
I really suggest you to chew chew and chew right away. If you chew a lot everyday, it might get sore after but then the next day your teeth will be stronger and better so you will be able to eat more harder stuff. I went on to beef on my 2nd day. my front teeth was very weak but i just pushed myself. Trust me, its worth chewing.
i would really suggest to chew chew chew as much as you can too! i am two weeks post brace day and am eating burgers, fries, soft meats (chicken), enchiladas (cut up into pieces), potatoes, mac and cheese and a few more things. but if you "baby" your teeth they won't get used to normal food and will just continue to hurt. you should really try to start eating normal foods as soon as you can. every once in a while my mouth gets sore and i have to go back to soft stuff but i try to get right back with my normal foods and it has paid off big time!! my teeth aren't as sore as they were and i am able to eat more things...still can't eat chips and crunchy tacos and things like that though....but i'm working on it!! really you should try to eat normal foods as much as you can. and warm salt water rinses help out a lot too!! good luck on your eating and your braces!!!
I figured out that it helped me to chew food between my back molars and jaw. At the 5th day I was back to being able to bite down, but I am still cutting my sandwhiches and things because it is hard to take a bite out of something.
just a bit of fyi for all you newbies trying to "chew your way back"..i tried tortilla chips last night and let me tell ya.....regreting it now!! my molars are killing me!! i'm having to regress back to my smoothies for a day or so!! ugh!!! i think i tried to much to soon!!! oh well....it was worth a shot anyway!!!
tonight is lasagna!!yumm!!!!!!!!!
good luck to everyone else on there chewing!!!
I started to bite into mini corndogs today! It has only been a month and a half or so. My lowers never really bothered me, it was always my uppers that felt as if they were going to fall off. I've been eating crunchy and thick kettle chips for a while with my back molars. You'll get used to it and know your limits.
Upper and lower 1st premolars extracted
Uppers braced 4/6/07 & Lowers braced 4/20/07
ceramic brackets and rectangular arch wires
Est. term: 30-36 months
De-banded: 3/04/09 w/ LBR and U&L Essix
The first few days of braces were painful for me..it was okay the day they went on but woke up the next morning to a world of hurt....felt like i lost a boxing match....bad!!! 
I was eating banana's and yogurt and applesauce and eggs. Eggs were so good!!! I'm now eating pasta, white bread sandwiches...messy but good 
i ate enchiladas (cut up well!) and a soft taco ( a little painful but so worth it!!) and night before last i had chicken.....cut up of course!! It's worth it to chew through the pain and everyone has told you!!! My top left teeth are the sorest of all but i am forcing myself to chew through it so that my mouth isn't hurting like this forever!! My front teeth are still a little to weak to bite into stuff...found that out last night when trying to eat my scrambled egg sandwich!! owww!! 
I have mac and cheese (can't get enough of that!! yumm!!) and hamburger helper too!!! I'm tired of the protein shakes and the yogurt is getting old!! Not enough flavors for me!! Everynow and then i still find myself trying to eat something i can't and i have to fall back to my soft stuff for a day or so but eating the harder foods is well worth the challange..so to speak!!! 
Take care and keep chewing!!! 
You get mush them up a little in your mouth and they are a little softer to chew up!!! But just to let you know....they are MESSY!!!! I smiled at my fiance' with orange stuff in my brackets and wires!!! 
But they were good while i was eating them!!!! LOL!! 
still a long way to go, gotta have braces for 2 more years
really you should try to eat normal foods as much as you can. and warm salt water rinses help out a lot too!! good luck on your eating and your braces!!! 
i'm having to regress back to my smoothies for a day or so!! ugh!!! 
i think i tried to much to soon!!! oh well....it was worth a shot anyway!!! 