Metal Mouth Message Board

Am I the only one who is constantly having to use wax and glyoxide and salt rinses? Not daily but every few weeks or days I do. When I was braced as a teen I was given wax ONLY on the day I was braced and I NEVER needed it again. I am bumming right now b/c I have the start of a canker on my inner top lip from my canine bracket. It hurts to talk and eat so I am doing the wax thing again. Wonder how much wax I have eaten so far?

I am celebrating long and hard when this ORDEAL is over. I hate the feel of these big braces, I hate how my upper lip gets stuck when I smile, I hate eating with them, I hate my elastics and flossing with them....need I go on?

Oh...by the way...lol....I LOVE how my teeth look

I wonder the same thing sometimes; when i had braces when i was ten, i used the wax once then it went through the wash in my school dress and i never used it again....

this time around, ive gone through 4 packs in two months i find like you that the upper canines are the worst, in fact its only in the last week that ive stopped putting wax on them. the only problem at the moment is an ulcer inside my bottom lip which im sure was created by my bottom brackets...

between us we've probably eaten a fair bit of wax

I've never had them before, but I am having the same problems with the cuts. When it's not one place, it's the other, and even after piling wax into one spot or regularly rinsing, I just can't stop the friction. My worst is the wires in the back which are totally puncturing my cheeks, this morning I accidentally tore my cheek. Worse, I had Listerine in my mouth when the tear occurred... that created quite the morning bathroom dance Lol
Please let me know if it gets better for you, because I am sure hoping these problems are not going to stick around the whole time...

Dramagrl, it's EXACTLY the same for me. Just random irritated spots popping up all over.

KK, I must do the salt daily. I will try that.

Grrr!!!

I feel your pain.....I have only had them on the top for about a month and I am still alternating between needing and not needing wax. For the most part I think it has to do with movement!

Keep on truckin' it will end eventually!

I get sores only after I eat something acidic, like a pineapple or a mandarin, but then I know it's coming, so I rinse with baking soda very promptly (to neutralize the acid). Doesn't help *much*, some.

And if you eat a lot of sweets and carbs, that would also produce acid and possibly cause frequent sores.

Could this be the source of discomfort for you?

i think i've had better luck with mouthwash than salt water rinses if that's helpful

I just recently got braces, but I totally understand canker sores...I got them before I had braces.

Try peroxyl mouthwash (it's expensive) or diluted hydrogen peroxide (which is the active ingredient in peroxyl) Just dilute the peroxide 1 part to 4 parts water. It helps to debride(fancy medical term to take the dead skin cells off) the cancker sore. Surprisingly it also helps with the pain.

Oh, someone else mentioned foods....that's true. Certain foods, stress, overexposure to heat can bring on canker sores. If your immune system gets low you may notice more sores than usual. Also movement of teeth will bring on new sores...until your mouth gets tough

Good luck!

I to feel your pain. I had a friend and a sister who had gotten their braces off about six months to a year before I got mine on. They both told me to take otc pills before getting my braces and before every adjustment and also to use wax for poky wires.
BUT neither of them told me about how sore and torn up the inside of my mouth would be the first week and it was so unbelievably painful .
Every time I talked, drank anything, ate, would smile okay I'll just say it anytime I moved my mouth I was in pain. And the craters the metal posts on the brackets made in my cheeks man. But I’m about six months into this whole thing and it seems to be getting better and easier to deal with even though I still get some ouchy spots.
And as Karen suggets the salt water rinses really help. So good luck and hope all goes well for you and that it gets easier as well.