spacers are xtremely painful

[jcjc205]

Hi, I recently decided to get braces and to start the process, my orthodontist put spacers in between all my molars.

They hurt soooo much!!!!

The actual molars are fine and I can more or less chew with them. It's the rest of my teeth that are a problem. I've had them on for 5 days now and they just hurt more and more. Also, my tonge has developed these dots on it that hurt a lot too when they come in contact with anything. So eating has been very difficult.

Any tips on how else to survive this besides painkillers?

Also, are the dots on my tongue normal, or should i be calling my doctor right about now?

And one more: Are braces going to hurt less than this?

[mommy of 2]

I recently had my braces put on as well. The spacers were MUCH worse than the braces. The spacers pushed all of my teeth together even more than they already wore, so it was bad. The braces are not painful at all compared to the spacers.

I didn't experience any problems with my tongue. You could probable call your ortho or dentist to find out whats going on with it.

[~danielle~]

I would have to agree that spacers are A LOT worse than braces themselves. Braces hurt the teeth a lot less but the braces do scratch up your lips and cheeks a fair bit. And sorry, no tips other than painkillers.

As for the dots on your tongue, I'm wondering if you might have a slight latex allergy.. You might want to check with your ortho to see if there is a substitute to the latex spacers.
(That is assuming that you have latex (rubber) spacers, and not the metal kind) Either way I would ask your ortho just to be safe

[ARStooge]

I found the spacers much worse than the braces. More annoyed with the ulcers in my mouth than tooth soreness. Big thing is do NOT take advil or ibuprofin as it slows the movement of the teeth.

[bedtimebear77]

I Had my Inspire Ice put on 1/28/09 both top and bottom. Last Friday I had 6 spacers put in and they were not bad at all. Friday they were a little sore, I pretty much only felt them when I ate (Golden grams...ouch!). The next day same thing and after that I really don't even feel them. Today I am getting them off and having the bands put on and probably an adjustment. Just goes to show everyone is different cause I really thought I was going to be in a lot of pain after reading all the posts on spacers. Oh I admit I did take some advil Friday and Saturday as a precaution so maybe that helped.

[kirjax]

oh the dreaded spacers!! HATED them!

Braces are far less painful - infact for me braces were truly no big deal.

Just try to hang in there. They'll be out soon and you'll be on your way!

[oharabrat]

i got my spacers in yesterday. intially..wow..and of course guess who forgot to take her tylenol before appt???? of course ME...lol.

it took about 30 mins for my body to respond to the pain...and of course with the help of two tylenol extra strength. i had a filling done a week ago and had some light fixing on it the day before the spacers. that one tooth is a little tender but did not get to really heal nicely after the fix up. but im keeping it clean and adding ice to the tender gum.

i think we are built differently. i have no pain at all right now here the morning after. i was expecting tightness pain. if it was not for that one tooth i would not even know i have them. i know that sounds weird...but i have the weirdest tolerance of pain in my mouth.

the initial placement and first two hours are wild. kind of like after getting a tattoo...like...i really just did this..lol. good luck to anyone who is about to start. this site has great support.