Metal Mouth Message Board

So i finally got into the spacers world but OMG!!!, i had them put on today, but just 4 of them on the low teeth like the bottom, 4! and im dying!! it was fine utnil i got home like around 1.30 am, and they started to annoy me!!....i got them around 6 pm and everything was fine until now, i want to take them off!!!! so baaaadd!!!.....and the uppers well the ortho told me that at the next appointment i will get them
but she is going for vacations the next week, and im going to playa paraiso on thursday and cancun on tuesday but ill have this damn things on!!!....OMG and my next appointment is until monday 20 something, and then shell put the upper spacers!! OMG like going through the same again??she said it was better coz id be able to eat but i think i rather the whole 8 at once.....its going to be so annoying, what if i take them off? my mom said that i better get use to that feeling and stuff coz im gonna get the bands thing afterwards so.....is it true? this annoying feeling will never go away? i will never get rid of this until i finish the ortho treatment? cos really im dying!! any advice??

Oh the joys of spacers. I hated them and i wanted to take them out but my boyfriend stopped me. I now have bands and have had them for 6 months and i dont even notice them. In some ways i feel the bands are more comfortable than the brackets. Infact come to think of it I had my bands on 2 months before my braces.

Within a few days you'll begin to notice the spacers less although you'll still be aware of them. Just stick with it and take pain meds and soft foods.

I have to agree with the others... you will adjust to the spacers ( somewhat) although they will still be annoying they wont be quite so bothersome.
The bands however were a huge relief! I was so glad to have the spacers out, but was worried the bands would feel the same way. They don't. They are smaller and slimmer and you don't even feel them once they get them on. So no, don't worry you wont have to feel this way for the entire treatment.
My ortho told me spacers are the worse, and I agree.

Make sure that you are well hydrated, and that you are taking Ibuprofin to ease the pain/dull ache.

Have fun in Playa paraiso and Cancun! We went to Cancun this past January and we had a great time!!

Spacers huh? Lots of posts about those things, me being one to complain . I had 8 in at once. 1 of them being metal. This in my opinion is the worst part so far, but everyone is different. This opens your teeth up for the molar bands. Your bite will change in a few days & kind of shift. They might feel loose but like a spongy loose so dont get nervous. Try not to bite down & it wont bother you. When your ortho takes them out to put the molar bands on it feels so much better. (not considering the brackets). I started a discussion on spacers in this forum called "spacers input" & there are others too. When you read about everyone complaining you feel better that you are not alone, Take advil & KiwiK's advice on the saltwater is the best. It DOES get better. See your on your way to that hollywood smile. Congrats! Have some Tequila Poppers in Cancun that will make everything feel better Cancun is awesome. Have Fun.

I can feel your pain! I was braced last Tuesday, and unfortunately I STILL have spacers, as they couldn't fit the bands on. So, it's been one great week - pressure from having braces and 8 ginormous spacers! But, it does get better! I am finally able to eat, and I am not living on ibuprofen. I am working very hard to keep my tongue off of them, because I know that if I start messing with them, I'll end up picking them out.

It will get better!!

Hang in there. You'll be glad when the ortho takes them off.

So far that's been the hardest thing - I so badly wanted to rip those things outta my mouth!!!

But I'm glad I held back. Four months in, my teeth are doing what they are supposed to, progress is being made, there's very little pain. It's worth it. Stay strong. :D

I've had spacers in for two weeks now...they killed the first night and ached a little for the second day. It was also kinda hard to eat for a couple days after that, just real difficult and uncomfortable - but now, I don't even notice them.

I was teasing my ortho's assistant today actually, because she gets to take them out tomorrow, and they are going to be really really really gross and smelly!! (two weeks, all that food and no flossing in that area ) Tomorrow I get to have these spacers out, get fitted for molar bands for my RPE, and then get new spacers until the 10th May - yay!

My ortho and his assistants all agree, spacers are the worst part of the whole experience...although, I am thinking the RPE will give them a run for their money!!

Hollywood_smile I feel your pain but it'll be over before you know it.

I had a total of 18 spacers (and hated every second of it) and to be honest I was a bit naughty sometimes and when one got really bad I took it out for a few moments. I must confess I flossed em too. I know you shouldn't but I couldn't stand the idea of not flossing, especially with those evil little food traps in there as well . I found it made me feel better when one was really aching to get it out and give the teeth a really good clean before putting it back in. I flossed all of them every night as well. I also ate two of them (oops! ).

These guys are right, the good thing about spacers is that they get the process underway, and one they're out, for most of us, the worst part is over. Bands feel SO much better than the spacers, you'll love your braces!

Hang in there!

Spacers are the worst! I know when i got mine (and I only had 2...I am a wimp!) I was going crazy cause I hate the feeling of anything stuck between my teeth... It felt like a big piece of chicken!! The only thing that gave me comfort was to take aleve or advil and then I put some oragel on my gums where the tooth was that had spacers.. By the third day the spacers were ok.... Braces were so much better than that!!

When they were first put in they were a bit uncomfortable and I didn't think they were that bad. But by midway through the second day they really began to hurt. I have eight of them in and they hurt so bad that I have to take extra strength Tylenols every 6 hours or so. Eating is still a chore so I just stick to yogurt and fluids. I keep hearing that it gets better, but I'm now several days in and I'm still very sore. Can't wait to get past this part.