Braces tomorrow...

[braceface22197]

Hi, im getting braces tomorrow, and all my friends have been telling me that they hurt like hell, and they're getting me really scared. I know a lot of these forums say that spacers are worse, and i really hope so. I wanted to know, honestly, if spacers are worse and how long it takes to get used to them... Oh and also what colors should I get?

[Snowglobe32]

Getting the braces on doesn't really hurt at all.

I think the only thing that was a bit irritating for me were the cheek separators they put in to hold your mouth open.

Usually you get the spacers before the brackets go on so I doubt you will have spacers.

The most shocking thing about brace day is seeing yourself for the first time. Your mouth feels as if you have a bunch of rocks in there. The weird feelings usually last about a week or so until you get used to it. Then they become like an arm, you know it is there but it doesn't bother you.

Everything will be fine, I wouldn't worry.

[braceface22197]

I got seperators last week... Soo yeah. Haha. And thanks for the advice. And I'm a little nervous to see myself in the mirror, but I'm not particularly worried anymore. Thanks so much!(:

[Cheryl]

Best of luck for today!!

I have had my braces in for a week now and I'm really used to them. Still feels odd eating but nothing major.

I had spacers the week before and they ached but I've not had any pain other than my lower arch wire being too long and cutting my cheek, went back to the ortho and they clipped it so all good. I know everyone has different pain levels but they are not very sore in my opinion.

The biggest thing is actually having them in your mouth, its the strangest thing. My initital thoughts were, how on earth does anyone keep these in... But you'll be surprised at how quickly you get used to them. xxx

[sirwired]

It's hard to say how much pain you'll have. I WILL say that forces are much gentler than they were a couple of decades ago. I remember my first round in '88 I was on a milkshake and Advil diet for days. This round? Other than not being able to eat chewy stuff, I was just fine.

Everybody is going to be different. Some people are just fine after bracketing, but the pain shows up after an archwire change. Others may have pain after bracketing, and then no pain for the rest of the treatment.

What I can say is that unless you have some reason not to, take a couple of Advil a couple of hours BEFORE your appt. And then take it every six hours or so if there is any pain at all for the next couple of days. This helps keep the tooth-attaching ligament's swelling down, which is where the pain comes from.

[smilingweirdo]

Hope your appointment goes well today! I just got mine on yesterday afternoon, and boy is odd strange. I've been popping Aleve and eating soup and mashed potatoes. I tried a soft piece of bread yesterday, but I just can't do it.

Just make sure that the wires on the side are clipped as short as possible before leaving the office, if you can. My top left one has been poking me every so often, but the others are fine.

Let us know how it goes!

[braceface22197]

Thanks guys! It went pretty well, and my ortho said my teeth were exceptionally clean! But his assistant showed me how to floss, and I started bleeding and she told me I had bad teeth. But the ortho said that she cut me when she flossed so I was like "ha!" and anyway. They weren't as sore yesterday as they are today... So my mom kept me home from school, after talking to my chorus director. He said that whenever one of his students get braces, he won't let them song for a week, because the vowel postitions hurt. And so I'm home today, and the pain is subsiding. I had an aleve this morning, and they still don't really hurt as much. As for colors, I got a metallic perry-the-spam spam spam type color, and a dark purple. I also have been really good about brushing. I chewed a G.U.M. Tablet and my teeth stayed white! (I can chew because one side of my mouth doesn't have an arch wire.)
So what happened was my ortho had to open up space next to my four front teeth on the left side because I have a tooth up there that grew in up high, and there was no room for it to come down. And one of the teeth there is a baby tooth, do he said I'll have to get that pulled sometime in feb, because the adult tooth is growing in under it, and you see the adult tooth. I also have no wire on the bottom because the front four don't have brackets. He didn't put any brackets there because my over bite would just bite them right off. He did say that when I get my first tightening all my wires will be fit in and placed, and it shouldn't hurt as much because I'm used to the feeling. So yeah. Exciting? I guess?

[Christina602]

Hope all goes well for ya, have had mine for 6 weeks now. Not having any problems so far, just had my first tightening today, and yeah pretty sore. He said on the next visit will get power chains, I am nervous about those

[wildpig]

It's hard to say how much pain you'll have. I WILL say that forces are much gentler than they were a couple of decades ago. I remember my first round in '88 I was on a milkshake and Advil diet for days. This round? Other than not being able to eat chewy stuff, I was just fine.

Everybody is going to be different. Some people are just fine after bracketing, but the pain shows up after an archwire change. Others may have pain after bracketing, and then no pain for the rest of the treatment.

What I can say is that unless you have some reason not to, take a couple of Advil a couple of hours BEFORE your appt. And then take it every six hours or so if there is any pain at all for the next couple of days. This helps keep the tooth-attaching ligament's swelling down, which is where the pain comes from.

I can't imagine how worse it is that they used a lot more force before. My current ortho definitely favor more of light long continuous force.

[NICURN85]

Hope all is going well with your spacers. I am so nervous also about getting mine. They told me it will fill like a chunk of meat stuck in between my teeth.

[pocketlint]

Hope all is going smoothly! Keep us posted!