Damon braces, upper and lower

[Slack]

Hi all,

I'm 35, from Portugal, and just started with Damon braces (metal version) 4 days ago, both upper and lower. So far so good, I can say it hasn't been too painfull. Not even on first day, it just felt funny to have something different in my mouth, and my teeth felt somewhat sore, but it didn't quite ache that much - well, if I didn't touch them, that is. My cheeks also felt sore on second day, but it's fine now (had to get some wax/silicone on a sharp end of the wire, though).

I took a painkiller right on day one, before having any pain at all, my wife warned me that it would ache a LOT and insisted I should start right away (she went through this experience about 10y ago) so I decided to prepare myself. As it wore off, the pain level was acceptable for me, maybe 2 or 3 on a 10 scale, so I stopped the meds. It's still a bit sore, mainly the front teeth, but I've been eating almost-normal food since day one. No steaks, but simple soft food that doesn't envolve ripping or cutting with the front teeth - pasta, mash potatoes, pizza (sliced in small pieces...).

According to the doctor, I should be wearing this for the next 12months or so... hope it turns out ok, after all this trouble :)

[Mary Crawley]

Hi there and congratulations on getting your braces! I also have metal Damon uppers and lowers. I've found that they really aren't painful for me either. If you have a wire that's poking your cheek, call your ortho. They can quickly snip it for you so you don't have to live with it shredding your cheek until your next appointment. I had to pop in to have a pokey wire snipped. She also angled the hooks on my lower molar bands inwards so they didn't poke my cheeks either. Ahh, much better!

[Slack]

Hi, thanks, I'm thinking of doing just that... while the wax keeps the wire away from my cheek, it's still just a patch and doesn't solve the real problem. Maybe i'll visit him in a day or two to get that fixed. Then it will be perfect... or at least, as good as it gets.

[Ciara]

Congratulations and welcome. I have traditional braces (but ceramic brackets) and have had little to know pain either. Hope it stays like this for you.

[Slack]

Thanks, and good luck to you too!!

My only complain is that my teeth don't fully close, because of some kind of "cement" inserted in the last molars - the upper and lower brackets were clashing. So, eating is kind of... strange, since I can't fully chew, only large chunks. And I salivate a lot more, also, that makes my mouth dry after a while.
Other than that, all is good

Take care everyone

[quentin]

I have the same situation as you. It's my fifth day in Damon braces, and I am not really hurting too badly, just some poking in my cheek from the last bracket. I'm really not certain what it is? Is that really the wire? It wasn't hurting me until Day 3 so I didn't think it was the wire

I've been easing off the painkillers too: I was taking ibuprofen 3 times a day (when I wake, mid-day and before I sleep), but today I haven't taken any painkillers at all.

Good luck everyone!

[Slack]

Well, it could be an wire, you should feel something sharp when touching it with a finger. If not, it could also be a bracket pressing harder on the cheek...

Today I went to the dentist, and he managed to solve it by cutting the edge of the wire, now it's fine - no more need for silicone, finally. But I'll keep it close, you never know, I might need it again... there's still a long way to go
The doctor explained me that sometimes the wire slides more to one side of the arch, and it might start poking the cheek. That's why there's some little "pipes" on the wire, here and there, to keep it from sliding out. He told me I could gently grab the "pipe" and push the wire the other way until it stops poking... but I guess it's better to let him do it

[Slack]

It's been 8 weeks and 1 day, and I've just got myself new wires, upper and lower, yesterday!!! Yay

Things are moving along quite nicely, I just can't believe how fast the teeth move!!

Decided to post some images to show the progress - the upper teeth at least, since it's not so obvious on the lower - they're not that bad, anyway.


At the 4 week appointment, the ortho decided to add a spring/coil to speed things up opening that space, keeping an extra wire pulling the teeth (damon's brackets have a slot for an extra wire, so it seems). It was unconfortable, but it worked like a charm!!! Four weeks later the (previously back) bracket was already pressing against the coil, and i finally got rid of it yesterday, along with brand new wires. The pulling force is noticeably higher... I'm also having some pain in my molars now, whenever I try to chew, but not excruciating pain.

So far, so good

[Kipepeo]

Remarkable progress in just 8 weeks!

[Marigold]

I have Damons also and really didn't feel much pain initially either. I think it was the 3rd adjustment when they used rectangle wire that it really felt uncomfortable. Nothing unbearable though. Congrats with your progress so far. Looks great!

[Tobilei]

Wow! That's an awesome change!!

[Slack]

Thanks It's moving way faster than I would have thought.

I'm on rectangle wire now, 0.014x0.025, it's thicker and i can really feel it pulling. Not at the front teeth as before, more at the back, and it hurts whenever I try to chew anything. I'm keeping away from painkillers this time, though.

[quentin]

WOW!! That is amazing progress in 8 weeks. Good for you!

I'm really pleased with my Damon braces, and glad to know that it's been working great for others too! My lower teeth have straightened out a lot more than uppers, and I also have an Open Coil Spring! (I post week-by-week updates on my blog, if you're interested).

Congrats everyone on the progress. Slow & Steady!!

[Slack]

Hi quentin,
I've been checking your blog as well, amazing progress and nice work posting that much info! You also have an "hidden" tooth similar to mine, as you can see from my example it should come out pretty fast as soon as it gets braced.

Now, at week 10, my upper teeth are almost straight, except for some up/down and mid-line alignment, the ortho says he will address those "adjustments" later, closer to the end. The lower teeth are not quite perfect yet, but it's getting there - except for one slightly rotated tooth. It should be all about arch development and consolidation now, so progress is far less obvious.

I started on elastics last week, to fix a small openbite... elastics are not too bad, doesn't hurt, but I just can't use them by day, no matter what the ortho suggested!!! It affects my speech, can't eat with them, and it's too visible - no, I'm wearing them only at night (or whenever I'm home).

Good luck everyone!
Oh, and sorry for my english

[quentin]

Hi! Thanks for visiting my blog. Your progress is so encouraging!

I have the glue dots on my back molars too, which makes it hard to chew certain foods, even though I'm not experiencing much pain.

Besides the inconvenience of the elastics, does it cause you any pain or discomfort?

And your English is perfect!!