Metal Mouth Message Board

I am going for my first adjustment on Friday. What should I expect?

Erin

Paws, as KK says, we're all different. You can expect anything from very little to a fair bit. At my first adjustment, I had my lowers placed and an upper wire change. There were a few days of adjusting to the new stuff, but then it was back to normal.

Do you all take some ibuprofen before going for an adjustment or do you just wait to see how things go?

Erin

haha keeping some with you is a smart thing, you never know if your going to need it for pain cause of braces or headaches but its always nice to have some with you, another thing DON'T CARRY PRESCRIPTION MEDS WITH YOU, you get pulled over by a cop its considered possesion of an illegal substance even though your name is on the perscription bottle.

SDFD TSchott

well thats what I was taught in criminal justice, I also asked the quesitons you concerned about, officers have been trained about those types of meds and know that its a concern for the people that need to have those prescription drugs. I just know that you have to have more then one form of ID when carrying your prescription meds, drivers licence and social security card, not sure if its different for states but I'll find out eventually and let you know.

SDFD TSchott

That's crazy. How is it an illegal substance if I have a legal prescription for it? I'm pretty sure all they really care about though is narcotics and such. (and don't care your social security card with you in case your wallet gets stolen -- all the fun stuff we have to worry about now!)

On my first adjustment, I got a new top archwire and new ligs. Still didn't have the bottoms in then. On the second appt, I got the bottoms put on and all they did was replace the ligs on the top. I did take some tylenol before the appointment. Not sure if it helped. I didn't have much pain right after the adjustment but I might not have even if I hadn't taken anything.

I hope I never get bailed up for swigging vitamins....

I don't take painkillers before an adjustment, tend to wait and see what happens. Mostly, I don't need them thankfully.

Hi and good luck with your first adjustment.

My adjustment was pretty quick and fairly painless- I had to bite down, my ortho felt how my bite was going, and then he snipped my wire, popped open all my brackets, and put new wires on. I found it painful when he was applying pressure to close my brackets, but mine are self-ligating, so if you have ligs, it may be different.

I took some OTC pain meds beforehand, and my teeth were tender for a week or so- just be kind to your mouth!

Like you said, everyone is different. Also, I'm sure it depends on how much they do at the first adjustment. I had mine yesterday. They tugged on a tooth to get it attached to the wire. I took 2 Ibuprofens before and 2 after and then a painkiller at night. I am sore this morning, but it's due to the tugging of that tooth, not the "adjustment". If you want to do it as pain free as possible, take a couple OTC pills before.

Good luck on Friday! Hope to see pics soon!