Molar Bands... now I know ALL about the pain!

[Timetoshine]

OK - so no molar bands until yesterday (Have been braced for 4 months)...

It was ok when they went on, but last night OUCH!
Panadol all evening and during the night.

The little critters have got metal that sticks into my cheeks on the outside, AND into my tongue on the inside! The ortho said he needed to leave the wired longer... so I also have wire sticking out that pricks my finger when I put it on the end. Imagine having needles sticking out, thats what it feels like!

OK - enough ranting about molar bands... time to get the wax on and start my day...

[EmBee]

That sounds awful Isn't there a way for them to smooth down the metal on the band to make it less...pokey?

[sirwired]

Look on the bright side; when my wife was in braces in the late 70's, they didn't have bonded brackets at all (or they were new enough that her ortho didn't use them); instead, EVERY tooth had a band. And since there isn't enough space in the mouth to just slip those one (you'd never get that many spacers crammed in) they were applied with a "manual jackhammer" kinda thing; a spring-loaded hammer of some sort. Yowza!

You might be asking, why didn't they have bonded brackets? How tough can glue be to use, after all? The trick with bracket bonding is the etching primer; it softens your tooth enamel and the cement "soaks" into your enamel and becomes part of it, kind of like welding metal. The cement has to do all this while simultaneously releasing from the bracket when it's time for them to come off instead of taking a chunk of your tooth with it. It also has to be waterproof once dry (water is a fantastic solvent, especially when it has years to work) and have high shear strength. This is all a little more complex than, say, Krazy glue. This is also why brackets don't bond to fillings or porcelain crowns well; the primer doesn't work, and the cement depends on that bond, especially on the rear teeth.

[Xclusive]

I literally feel your pain! I'm only 6 days in and god knows how much wax I've accidentally ingested :-/

[Timetoshine]

Hehe- I know- I'm going through a lot of wax too, because I have to replace it after eating and drinking it! Think I'll have to go back to the ortho office this week to get more of a supply!

[Pacha05]

OK - so no molar bands until yesterday (Have been braced for 4 months)...

It was ok when they went on, but last night OUCH!
Panadol all evening and during the night.

The little critters have got metal that sticks into my cheeks on the outside, AND into my tongue on the inside! The ortho said he needed to leave the wired longer... so I also have wire sticking out that pricks my finger when I put it on the end. Imagine having needles sticking out, thats what it feels like!

OK - enough ranting about molar bands... time to get the wax on and start my day...

Hi Timetoshine

I also have just had molar band put on and they were very painful at first. My right cheek kept getting stuck on the wire as well. I put wax over it for a few days and now my cheek has toughened up to it
My tongue definitely has the rough end of the stick with the TPA i have, it has a constant imprint on it from the TPA. I try not to let my tongue near it and apply bonjela if it gets sore.

[Timetoshine]

Thanks Pacha - wise advice! Sorry your tongue has been bearing the brunt of the injuries!

I popped back to get some more wax from the ortho, and ended up 'in the chair'... where he trimmed off some of the wire to make it more comfortable ... THEN he decided to put on some power chains across the top teeth, and add some elastics in...

So now no pain in my cheeks, but an ache in the back teeth.

Moral of the visit... if it doesn't hurt somewhere, your ortho will make adjustments so it will hehehe

I suppose its good, pain means gain... ortho said my teeth are moving quickly

[Timetoshine]

I literally feel your pain! I'm only 6 days in and god knows how much wax I've accidentally ingested :-/

Heheh - I am the same, definitely don't remove as much wax out of my mouth as I put in!! Sometimes I can't tell if I am chewing on a food, or some wax...