When will my braces stop hurting my cheeks?

[mgjg1206]

I know that this answer is different for everybody but I would like an estimate. I got my braces on yesterday and my mouth is getting rubbed raw, I am using the dental wax, peroxyl (sp?) by colgate and kanka to help. So far this is the worst part of it all, I guess I just need to see that light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks in advance!!

[Acklay]

The first week or so was the worst for me. The pain started for me on day two, and it was probably the most intense on day four. By the end of the first week, though, my mouth had toughened up to the point I was no longer using any wax. Now two weeks into my treatment I have absolutely no pain from the braces rubbing my mouth.

[mgjg1206]

Thank you so much, it is great to think that there is light at the end of the tunnel this is day for me hopefully, it won't be much longer.

[lunadali]

I've had my braces for 14 months now, and still wear wax on and off. The first 8 months i wore it all the time i'd say. it just depends on how my teeth are moving that day, they are sometimes ok, other times my cheeks rub right in to my braces and i wear wax for a day or 2 and then i'm ok. hope your pain is not long lasting!!!

[mgjg1206]

Wow! Thanks Lunadali, for sharing. I was not prepared to hear that rubbing can still occur so far into treatment. I hope I am one of the lucky one's who get used to it within the week and that be it, as far as mouth sores go. I am glad; however, that we are fortunate enough to have some relief, such as the wax. I just wish I could get my hands on some cheap silicone to try, the wax gets stuck in the braces so bad and is so very tedious to appy, remove and reapply. But I guess all in all I can't complain, at least there is some sort of relief.

[Sita]

After about four or five days I started to notice that my cheeks had begun to toughen up. My main reason for wearing wax since then has been because of my biting the inside of my mouth as I sleep. It gets better and then worse as my teeth move. I bite, sores form, braces rub and make them worse, use wax to stop rubbing, sores heal, no more wax, I bite, sores begin to form.... etc etc. That doesn't mean it will happen to you, but you should be aware that you might also have problems with that. It's a good idea to keep wax handy at all times during treatment, just in case.

[kitsune]

I'm seconding what Sita has said.

I wear wax a few nights a week (I'm 8ish months in braces at this point) because the wires and brackets leave indentations and sores in the front of my mouth while I sleep. Some people here have magical mouths that never need wax after the first few days/weeks of braces (lucky them!!), but I am not one of those people! I've come to accept this as my reality though, and I am OK with it. Hang in there and see what happens...maybe you are one of those aforementioned lucky people.

[mgjg1206]

I've bought two packs of wax, not including what the ortho gave me; now I have to go and ask for some more on Monday, hopefully I won't need more before then. I seem to be going through alot of it already, should I not be taking it out so much? I take it out to brush and then replace it with new, it just sounds so much more sanitary to me. But I definitely think my ortho will be seeing my on Monday for some more wax

[klobird]

You can use as much wax as you need and change it as often as you want. When I need it, I always change it for the time between meals, before bedtime etc. I can't say enough about Mack's silicone earplug wax. It's soft, pliable and sticks very well. And it's easy to find. (In the USA anyway). There are no rules when it comes to your comfort.

Right now, I am occasionally using cotton rolls that I get from the ortho because of the Forsus appliance I have. They hand those out liberally to me. I haven't used wax in ages though...

Bottom line--whatever it takes--it's your mouth and your comfort--but it will get better. Tons of wax or no wax, it will get better!!