What to do after getting TADs? Aftercare?

[artichokeenthusiast]

Hi everyone,

I just had 4 TADs placed this morning. All in all, the experience was bearable, although the first one going in was actually a bit painful. However, it was over very quickly, with little/no bleeding that I could tell of, at least. The numbness has worn off now and I feel a dull ache, kind of like when I got 4 pre molars extracted. The inside of my lips that contact the TADs feel a little uncomfortable as they can feel a kind of scratchy foreign object, but all in all, not bad!

My question is regarding aftercare. I was expecting some kind of list of Do's and Don'ts in regards to food and alcohol, etc, but all the oral surgeon said was that I could eat and drink normally, and brush carefully. Really?! I was expecting that I should avoid alcohol, sugar and hot liquids, at the least?
At least, I did get a prescription for antibiotics, which I am to take for 7 days.

Can anyone else who got TADs shed any light regarding their experience? Thanks in advance!!

[pellepee]

I wasn't given any instruction either!

I had mine inserted at the same time as wisdom tooth removal, so I was put under and my focus was on the extraction sites.

Long story short, I wasn't told anything about the TAD's but they did get inflammed while the extraction sites were healing really well. I thought it was sort of a "it gets worse before it gets better" thing. Just as I was getting worried about them, I was sent a really really super soft toothbrush by my surgeon in the mail with a note saying to dip the toothbrush in Savacol and gently brush around the TAD each day until they were removed. A week later of religious brushing (and rinsing my entire mouth out with the Savacol after every piece of food and drink!) the swelling went down. Mind you, I still had stitches around the screws at this point as well... so lots of things were working against me in my case!

I guess you can buy a really soft brush and do the same thing, however my brush literally is as soft as a feather so do be careful.

Oh with food, I eat as per normal; no food or drink has made an impact. Well, normal as one can eat with braces.

Hope this helps and happy holidays!

[JavaMan]

After my TAD was placed, my ortho told me to keep the area as clean as possible and not play wit the TAD with my tongue or running the lip over it.
I was also given Chlorahexadin or whatever it is called, this is a medicated mouthwash that I use once a day in the evening. The day after insertion the area felt a bit tender, and on the second day the tenderness went away. I am still very careful with this area, and keeping up with the gentle brushing, soft toothbrush is great, and the mouthwash. But other than that no problem.

The insertion process on the other hand is different story

[artichokeenthusiast]

Thanks for your replies! I see that we were all mostly left to our own devices after getting TADs, haha.

Since I last posted, I developed the mother of all canker sores on the part of my lip contacting one of the TADs, but I think this was more due to the unusual location of the TAD than anything I could have done in terms of aftercare. Wax has really helped with the discomfort. Also, I discovered that a different TAD was wobbly, and went back to the oral surgeon, who removed and re-positioned it lower. OW, is all I can say about that.

Today I had my first adjustment, and the TADs were tied to certain molar brackets on the top (using power threads) and bottom (using wire ties). So far, so good!

I was a bit pouty about not getting a new wire on my top arch, but my new wire on the bottom is making my teeth ache now so I don't mind as much anymore. Next appointment is in 6 weeks!

[JumpTheDitch]

Hi, sorry to hijack ur thread; I just posted in one of JavaMan's other threads asking if he did indeed TAD, would u mind taking a look Java, im intetested in the success of moving molars forward into gaps.

Thanks guys, apologies for hijacking ur TAD thread

[oldfart]

Probably getting Palatal Tad for Molar extration closing. I am more worried about food hitting it while chewing. There is not a lot of info on those. I read a lot about those in the side of the jaw being pretty painless. But how about the roof of the mouth?

[artichokeenthusiast]

I was originally told that I would only get 3 TADs (including one in the roof of my mouth) but somewhere along the way, my orthodontist changed the plan to 4 TADs, on the outside of my jaw. Sorry I can't be of any help :\