I just joined the braced club yesterday! 42, crowded teeth as a result of losing that retainer YEARS ago. So I'm starting the adventure all over again. So far, just the top wired and bottom rear brackets. Looking at a 2-year sentence, including elastics -- hence I've got a mouth that feels full of little hooks right now. A little throbbing from roof of mouth to bridge of nose... and my gums between my teeth feel like I've just had a 24-hour flossing marathon!
So what's your favorite advice on how to survive this ordeal? Pain management? Brushing/Keeping guck out? Telling people about it? Eating out? Just eating, period! It's lunch and I'm starving and after a week of spacers I'm already not too fond of soft foods! Anything else I should be prepared for?
Thanks in advance for sharing your advice/stories/helpful hints! This site has been wonderful in getting me prepared to work up the courage to do this!
Fav advice for newbies?
Moderator: bbsadmin
For keeping the gunk out - get a Conair Interplak. It blows all the gunk out. If you keep it on a low setting it will not only not hurt, it will feel great. I also bought a sonicare toothbrush and love it but it is too expensive for alot of folks - around $120.00 at Costco I think.
For pain. All I have ever had to do is use some ibuprofen once before going to bed after an adjustment. As for pain while trying to eat, just revert to your soft food until the pain subsides, usually 2-3 days, sometimes a little longer or shorter depending on the adjustment
For eating out, choose foods that you can eat easily with a fork so that you don't have to tear anything off with your front teeth at first. After awhile you will be able to eat anything. You may want to run to the bathroom and brush afterwards. One the pain goes away you will be able to tell easier if you have food stuck - or some nice person will tell you!
I don't like soft food either. When I was first braced I did lose a few lbs but nothing drastic. I survived on soup, jamba juice, softly srambled eggs, noodles, oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, canned fruit. Macdonald hamburgers for some reason seemed really soft to me. I am more of the health food type so I didn't go nuts on the hamburgers that's for sure. I like whole grains and needs lots of fiber.
Good luck!
For pain. All I have ever had to do is use some ibuprofen once before going to bed after an adjustment. As for pain while trying to eat, just revert to your soft food until the pain subsides, usually 2-3 days, sometimes a little longer or shorter depending on the adjustment
For eating out, choose foods that you can eat easily with a fork so that you don't have to tear anything off with your front teeth at first. After awhile you will be able to eat anything. You may want to run to the bathroom and brush afterwards. One the pain goes away you will be able to tell easier if you have food stuck - or some nice person will tell you!
I don't like soft food either. When I was first braced I did lose a few lbs but nothing drastic. I survived on soup, jamba juice, softly srambled eggs, noodles, oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, canned fruit. Macdonald hamburgers for some reason seemed really soft to me. I am more of the health food type so I didn't go nuts on the hamburgers that's for sure. I like whole grains and needs lots of fiber.
Good luck!
Braced on 8/05 - Braces off 12/06
Mid Forties!
Mid Forties!
-
jennandtonic
- Posts: 551
- Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2006 1:06 pm
Re: Fav advice for newbies?
Kimber Said:
Surviving the ordeal: Just remember how you feel/felt about your teeth before braces, and concentrate on the feeling you will most likely have when looking at your straight teeth in the mirror for the first time!
Pain: I usually take a mild painkiller (advil, Excedrin, etc) one hour before adjustment appointments, then depending on what was done I take one before bed afterward. I don't usually need any more than that.
Brushing/getting guck out: I swish water thoroughly after meals to make sure to loosen whatever guck is left in there out. My ortho said that I don't necessarily always have to brush after every meal, but swishing water is a definite must.
After I eat I will brush if what I had is sticking to my braces. I brush three times a day, and mornings and evenings for six full minutes. I also rinse with Scope mouthwash, then at night brush for one minute with this fluoride paste to keep my teeth white. Not to brag, but at all of my adjustment appointments I'm told that my teeth look fantastic and healthy with no plaque to be found, so while I know I should do four times a day or after every meal, I think I'm doing okay with three.
Oh, and I floss once a day too.
Telling people: Some people say stuff like 'won't you be glad when your braces come off?' and I say I don't concentrate on that, otherwise I'd go crazy! Otherwise, I haven't had all that many comments.
Eating out: I don't know if you prefer Mexican or not, or if there are many mexican eateries where you are, but I find I can eat almost anything but chips and quesadillas at Mexican restaurants. If I'm not at a mexican restaurant, I usually go for the chicken or medium well done steak, so it isn't as chewy as other kinds. And, of course, pasta is almost always something you can depend on.
I'm not all that fond of soft foods, either. I'm missing things like M&M's, popcorn, corn on the cob, chips, and the like! But I've taken a liking to applesauce and peaches, I have those constantly. My advice about eating is I know how it is to hate soft foods, but keep doing it as much as possible, don't want to lose too much weight or become unhealthy!
So what's your favorite advice on how to survive this ordeal? Pain management? Brushing/Keeping guck out? Telling people about it? Eating out? Just eating, period! It's lunch and I'm starving and after a week of spacers I'm already not too fond of soft foods! Anything else I should be prepared for?
Thanks in advance for sharing your advice/stories/helpful hints! This site has been wonderful in getting me prepared to work up the courage to do this!
Surviving the ordeal: Just remember how you feel/felt about your teeth before braces, and concentrate on the feeling you will most likely have when looking at your straight teeth in the mirror for the first time!
Pain: I usually take a mild painkiller (advil, Excedrin, etc) one hour before adjustment appointments, then depending on what was done I take one before bed afterward. I don't usually need any more than that.
Brushing/getting guck out: I swish water thoroughly after meals to make sure to loosen whatever guck is left in there out. My ortho said that I don't necessarily always have to brush after every meal, but swishing water is a definite must.
After I eat I will brush if what I had is sticking to my braces. I brush three times a day, and mornings and evenings for six full minutes. I also rinse with Scope mouthwash, then at night brush for one minute with this fluoride paste to keep my teeth white. Not to brag, but at all of my adjustment appointments I'm told that my teeth look fantastic and healthy with no plaque to be found, so while I know I should do four times a day or after every meal, I think I'm doing okay with three.
Oh, and I floss once a day too.
Telling people: Some people say stuff like 'won't you be glad when your braces come off?' and I say I don't concentrate on that, otherwise I'd go crazy! Otherwise, I haven't had all that many comments.
Eating out: I don't know if you prefer Mexican or not, or if there are many mexican eateries where you are, but I find I can eat almost anything but chips and quesadillas at Mexican restaurants. If I'm not at a mexican restaurant, I usually go for the chicken or medium well done steak, so it isn't as chewy as other kinds. And, of course, pasta is almost always something you can depend on.
I'm not all that fond of soft foods, either. I'm missing things like M&M's, popcorn, corn on the cob, chips, and the like! But I've taken a liking to applesauce and peaches, I have those constantly. My advice about eating is I know how it is to hate soft foods, but keep doing it as much as possible, don't want to lose too much weight or become unhealthy!
Thanks so much for all these great suggestions! Wax and salt water have definitely become my best friends! How can something as small as a tiny hook be as big a pain?? I thought I had enough scar tissue built up from the first time around in braces (30 years ago) and from a bad habit of chewing on the insides of my mouth, but obviously not. The big challenge seems to be learning how to chew without biting the inside of my cheek -- I've got those nasty little hook things sticking out of the fronts of all the back brackets and that nice, tender skin gets caught right in between -- ouch!
this site is wonderful and your support is great! Thanks again!
this site is wonderful and your support is great! Thanks again!
One 13 year old kid told me when I was waiting in the Orthos to get braced that "Advil is your friend".
If you left any of your cleaning picks at home and are out to eat, take a few toothpicks for the road. I found them helpful and more publicly acceptable when a restroom is not available than using the little brushes.
If you left any of your cleaning picks at home and are out to eat, take a few toothpicks for the road. I found them helpful and more publicly acceptable when a restroom is not available than using the little brushes.
My advice is to get yourself the best electric toothbrush that you can buy. I'm so glad that I moved up from the Crest Spinbrush to the Sonicare 7300.
Also, listen to your ortho and follow his/her instructions as much as you can. Don't improvise without checking with him/her.
Finally, use your common sense. If something feels wrong, chances are that it is.
Also, listen to your ortho and follow his/her instructions as much as you can. Don't improvise without checking with him/her.
Finally, use your common sense. If something feels wrong, chances are that it is.