OUCH!! MY TONGUE IS KILLING ME!!

[drpotter]

Now I am in the process of deciding if I want to continue this agony or call it quits and have the braces removed entirely. It's a heck of a decision since I have paid for the entire treatment up front....so it will be money down the drain. But I'm not too sure I can tolerate this for another 18 months!

Ouch! Give it a little more time. I have linguals on the top, which means an entire arch of pokey things jabbing into my tongue. I've found a lot of warm salt water rinses and the silicone wax (rather than the standard wax) work absolute wonders. You have to get the surface completely dry for the silicone wax, so it's a bit of a pain but I've worked it so the most jabby bits (mostly those back molars) I can completely coat and they become a nice smooth surface, no bother at all. The less horrible parts I can already feel my tongue toughening and the initial sores healing.

[drpotter]

Using the wax will certainly help but is of no use when you eat or drink something warm or hot. When you eat, the wax comes off and down the hatch it goes!!!! When you drink something warm or hot the wax melts and...yep....down the hatch it goes!

Have you tried the silicone wax? Way more difficult to get on but it doesn't dislodge as easily once it's there and it doesn't melt with hot beverages. I've also found I can kind of pop it off, eat and then pop it back on (after rinsing).

[obxcape]

Using the wax will certainly help but is of no use when you eat or drink something warm or hot. When you eat, the wax comes off and down the hatch it goes!!!! When you drink something warm or hot the wax melts and...yep....down the hatch it goes!

Have you tried the silicone wax? Way more difficult to get on but it doesn't dislodge as easily once it's there and it doesn't melt with hot beverages. I've also found I can kind of pop it off, eat and then pop it back on (after rinsing).

I have not tried the silicone wax...actually, didn't even know it existed! But, you can bet that I will be on the search for it tomorrow as soon as the sun comes up!

Thanks for the info...sounds like this might just be the ticket to making this debacle a little more tolerant!

[drpotter]

It takes some getting used to, I bought both it and normal wax when I got my braces and absolutely hated it at first, but then I gave it another shot and have realized I absolutely adore it. I keep the standard wax with me all the time because I can jab it on without any prep if something is bugging me but if you have the time to dry the tooth and carefully put it on, it rocks! I'm a tea drinker and it doesn't budge even with hot liquids.

I put a nice coat of it on at bed now and wake up with a happy tongue.

[obxcape]

I ordered a case of the stuff today...from a site called "Dentakit.com"...as well as some other "stuff" that I hope will improve this experience!

I hope the wax works...I'm getting a box of 50 containers of it! Anything has got to be an improvement...but time will tell!

Thanks for your help.

[drpotter]

That's where mine was from too, though I started off with 10 (just bought 50 myself). It really did help, I think I lost part of my tongue from the wires of my lingual braces at first but it's been a tongue saver! Hope it gets better for you.

[arcsine]

Scrolled through this thread to see if anyone thought of what I consider a helpful trick... apparently not.

I drink water. LOTS of it. But not just any water; I drink carbonated water. Why?

The carbon dioxide in the carbonated water gives the beverage a rough taste, thus when I drink it, I can "scratch" my tongue and get a few moments of relief.

That was only the first benefit.

Most carbonated waters contain minerals: second benefit

Water is healthy and good to drink in high quantities: third benefit

I would recommend this.

[Braces47]

I would call your ortho since the cleats are probably there for a reason. When I had my braces put on, they took the cleats off of the bottom bands but kept them on the top bands though they did push them down in order to keep me from having an issue. It may be as simple as having the ortho go in and fix the position of the cleats. I haven't had an issue with my cleats pushed down. Good luck. BTW, it took me about a month to get fully used to having the braces on. Now, I don't even feel them.