Who knew these tiny blue spacers could hurt so much....

[Bracedforthewedding]

I got 6 spacers on my bottom teeth this morning at 8am, by noon, I'm ready to rip them the F out. Any advice on how to survive these until the 10th??

[MrsCharisma]

I had to wear mine for 2 full weeks before getting braced. They almost made me give up on the whole idea of braces!!!

AND

They didn't even help move my molars!

Good luck

[sirwired]

Advil. Strong liquor.

[Nozzelnut]

Advil. Strong liquor.

That and soft foods; mashed potatoes, over cooked veggies, refried beans...

[UnevenJAG]

Soft food!

I feel ya here! Had my spacers on for 2 weeks and my teeth were so sensitive the whole time. I now have the molar bands on and all feels fine. So fingers crossed that it's uphill from here!

[Josta]

Yeah they can be pretty rough. I have 4 in my bottom molars right now, for me personally there really isn't any pain or discomfort when I'm not eating, I actually can't even tell they are in. But when I bite into anything even remotely solid there is quite a bit of pain and I gotta be careful when I eat.

[TheKT]

And strong liquor

[Bracedforthewedding]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I couldn't get comfortable last night so I eventually used orajel on my entire bottom jaw LOL. I just pray that my molars move with in the 9 days that I have to have these suckers on. I can honestly say that this is the first time I have regretted getting braces

[jaime]

Spacers are the worst! I had to get them on to make room for the palatal expander. The first day was okay but they got worse and worse. When I went to get fitted for the metal spacers, they took them out briefly (glorious) and put even thicker ones in! It hurt so badly. When I finally got the RPE put in, it was actually less painful.

The only thing you can really do is take your preferred pain medication and eat soft foods.

[NeilH]

I didn't have spacers this time but from what I have read, this is the most uncomfortable part of the process. Your braces should be a breeze after this. Good luck.

[samoorelaw]

I'm obviously in the minority because I had to wear one spacer and it didn't hurt at all: it was just annoying. I also only had to wear it for 3 days before I had the the molar band put on my crown.

[ruchel]

I got mine in today....Ouch
I feel your pain, Mine will be out on the 9th (I hope it goes fast for both of us!)

[Bracedforthewedding]

I got mine in today....Ouch
I feel your pain, Mine will be out on the 9th (I hope it goes fast for both of us!)

Its crazy to think that these tiny rubber bands can cause so much discomfort!

I hope it will go by fast for you and I both!!!!

[JumpTheDitch]

Oh yes, they're a pain alright but it does get better. The first 4 or 5 days are the worst, & after a week or so you can almost forget they're there. Trust me, I get 8 spacers in my lower arch for 2 weeks every month, so far over the course of two lots of braces I've had 41 spacers, with 8 more scheduled in a week or so.. I wonder what the Guinness Book of Records record is??

You'll be fine, take some paracetamol or ibuprofen (or one of each) & try to forget about them. Less chewing is good so go nuts with the soft food.

Good luck!

[arciedee]

The first few days are definitely the worst. I ended up having mine in for three weeks the first time around which was not fun... though it was really only the first 5-6 days that hurt. After that they went to moderately annoying, but not painful.

I did randomly end up having to have a few more placed before some IPR a few months later. I only had to wear them for two days and the pain wasn't bad that time.

It will get better. Hang in there and try to avoid eating anything that requires a lot of jaw-power!