Afraid of the unbearable pain of getting my braces!

[veevianz]

Hey there! I'm 25 this year and plan to have my braces on next week. I'm kinda scared as i heard from friends that it would be very painful. But i really want it as i know i would look good when it is removed. Can anyone advise me on the level of pain that i have to bear? sob*

[gracey82]

seriously if you asked me, it is very minimum pain you have to endure. And its very bearable pain. You just feel you cant bite on food for the first 3 days. And thats it, I can eat pretty much everything.

I think the pain you get from extractions is the one you should worry about. Other than that, its nothing, really Maybe becox i have been through pain much worst than that, sp this is like easy pea!

Anticipation of the pain is what gets to you. When u get to it, u ll be like, so thats it, its not too bad after all!

[veevianz]

Hi gracey. It's great to receive a reply from you. I feel a bit better and now i'm worried about the extractions. I'm phobia to pain. My ortho said that i have to extract two tooth at the side and not the back. I'm a bit worry though as i'm afraid that once it is removed, that's forever. And if the gap doesnt close, i'm gonna look weird. I actually went to a few orthos and they tell me different thing. Now i dont know what is right. Sigh..

[bbsadmin]

Please be very careful about extractions. If you've had other opinions where the orthodontists said they could help you without extractions, you should investigate that further. Maybe get another few opinions before proceeding.

The gaps would close. But if your case can be successfully treated without extractions, you should investigate that more closely first.

[roost22]

definatly look into NOT having extractions because that is irreversable. I almost went with one ortho that wanted to remove three teeth but am trying zero teeth because you can always go the extraction route if need be.

[felicia]

About extractions...I had 3 of my wisdom teeth removed all at once, and there was absolutely no pain involved during the extractions or the hours and days after it. I'm not telling you this to encourage you to go ahead and choose the doctor that recommended the extractions, actually I really don't know anything about braces treatment that involved extractions...I am telling you this because I don't think you should be afraid of extractions in case that you will ever need them, all you have to do is follow the instructions that your dentist will give you to follow after the procedure, and everything should be fine, and no pain involved. Usually, there is pain involved when people are not being careful, and they get a dry socket after the extraction.
Of course, I'm talking from my experience, I am not speaking for everybody, some people might disagree with me.
Good luck in whatever decision you make, I hope you choose to get braces. And, by the way, don't listen to your friends who tell you that having braces is very painful, because it's NOT! Do you really think that millions of people would wear braces every day for years if they were painful?....what your friends are telling you just doesn't make sense.

[Rachel B]

I had 4 teeth out and it was a bit horrible but it has definitely been worth it. I had no choice because one tooth was tiny and pegshaped, the other a milk tooth and then my bottom teeth were majorly overcrowded.
When you get your braces, it will be fine. It is painful and the beginning is hard but you get used to them really quickly. I can't imagine the feeling of not having them now.

[evilnel]

First, I haven't had extractions, but I hear that regular (not impacted) extractions actually don't hurt much at all. As others suggested, make sure you have had several opinions so you know it is necessary, or try doing 'extraction free' first, and reevaluate in a few months.

Second, it seems people make a big deal out of the pain, but I haven't experienced much at all. I wouldn't classify braces as painful--I would say they are uncomfortable at times. After I got them on, my teeth were sore like the way a muscle is sore after you work it hard. Achy, not sharp. That was dulled by taking ibuprofen at 8 hour intervals. After my first adjustment, I had virtually no pain. They'll be a little tender now and then, but not terrible. I haven't even had pain with spacers, just discomfort. I think the people who say 'oh my gosh, it's so painful' are mostly either incorrectly remembering the level of pain from childhood/teenage years or are trying to deter you from going through with it for some reason. Rest assured, it's not that bad, and the results are totally worth it!

[khrystal1968]

I quote Lynn, be careful of extractions. I think to myself if I would have gotten a second opinion I would still have all of my teeth and my face would still look like it did before. My former ortho treated me like I was on an assembly line more than treating me like a patient.

[braceface418]

My experience with extractions was fine, but the dry-socket I developed in two of the sites afterward was definitely not cool. I would rank dry socket higher on my personal pain scale than root canals, gum tissue grafts, crown lengthening (removal of extra gum tissue), and having one of the ligaments that was supposed to be attached to the root of my molar pulling away from the tooth (this was said canaled tooth). On the positive side, everything else seems relatively easier to go through.

Lesson is: follow aftercare instructions. Also, as I learned after the fact, taking birth control pills puts one in a higher risk category for developing dry socket. I'm not sure if you're the correct gender to be concerned about this, but thought I'd mention it.

And yeah, as others have said, get a few opinions about it first.

[bb]

My experience
Pain with extractions - I was put to sleep but afterward - no pain.

Pain with spacers - low level - kind of like a mild headache - very annoying but not serious.

Pain with braces - low to medium - depending on how aggressive your ortho is. If you tell the ortho that you are sensitive to pain then he or she may be less aggressive in the strength of the wires he or she uses.

[veevianz]

Thank you so much for all the advices! I have made an appointment with another specialist recommended by a friend. Will find out if i need any extractions. I think i'm going to get the radiance braces. Any advice for the radiance braces? I heard from other orthos that it is better than the Inspire Ice.

[gokix]

In my experience, power chains hurt more than the actual braces, but only for a few days. However, you probably won't be seeing power chains until much further into the treatment.

[MrMetalMouth1029]

As you can see, the pain is relative. For me, the soreness I received from extractions (all 4 wisdom teeth were extracted 2 weeks before I was braced) was much worse than the soreness I received from when I was intially braced and the adjustment appointments thereafter. The power chain soreness was about as bad as the extraction soreness. I guess it depends on your pain/soreness threshold. If you have more painful experiences to think back on, then maybe this wouldn't be as bad in comparison. Prior to getting braced, I had been in very few extremely painful situations, so I had nothing to compare it to. Your situation will depend on your experiences. Just know though that basically all of us agree that the pain/soreness is temporary. Life with braces isn't bad, and as long as you do what the orthodontist ordered, then you shouldn't experience a lot of discomfort. As for the extractions...gargle whatever they tell you to gargle--for me, it was a water/peroxide mixture 2-3 times a day for about 8 weeks. Dry socket is some serious stuff, from what I've heard! Good luck to you!

[veevianz]

So if i were to have my extraction, i would have the power chain to close my gap?