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Holy cow, I just got 8 spacers Wednesday in between each molar so I could get molar bands and it was sore when they put them in, but the next day it hurt so bad I was ready to start pulling out all my teeth.
I don't even think it hurt that bad when I first got braces in July.
I've been taking Ibuprofen, but they still hurt. Today is better than yesterday.
Yikes! Does it hurt kids that much? It should be used only as a torture device.
Yes I'm a baby. Just thought I would share. Anxious to get these things out next Wednesday. Though I heard molar bands hurt too.
7/7/06 Damon 3's on top, Damon 2's on bottom
03/18/08 Naked
You are not a baby. If you are, so am I I remember spacers very well and I only had two of them on my bottom molars. It hurt and nothing took the pain completely away. After about a week the pain was gone. This is sometimes one of the most uncomfortable/painful things in orthodontics! Keep taking ibuprofen. What really worked for me recently was Advil.
There's no being a baby about it, those things just suck outright. I don't care who you are I think those things would aggravate the devil if he had them. I have a really good pain tolerance, but the things had me in tears for a couple of days! But I will say this, IT DOES GET BETTER ! I promise! Haven't got the bands yet, will get them 10-10-06, but I've had spacers in for 3.5 weeks now and it has been ok for the last week or so with them. So just hang in there and keep the pills handy and you'll be ok!
I found spacers to be far worse than molar bands. The only thing about the bands that hurt was that the buccal tubes on the outside where the archwire goes, shredded my cheeks for a few days.
Spacers usually feel better after about 3 days, and I found ibuprofen was about the best painkiller to take. It didn't take the pain off completely but it did take the edge off it.
I've had my spacers in and out for the past 3 weeks too. So I know how you feel! Don't worry though, you'll get used to them in no time and you'll forget that they're even there.
It gets better. I've had spacers now for a LONG time. I got the lowers ones taken out last week and had the molar bands placed in. I might have mentioned this before, but after they pushed those bands in place - I totally LOVED my spacers and the job/s that they do/did. If it weren't for spacers, many of us would be in extreme amounts of pain when the molar bands were placed - so every day that the spacers hurt - thank your DR for saving you from pain later.
Tylenol/Advil/etc helped during the first few days - and then after that your mouth and teeth start to adjust. Sure there were times when a few of my other teeth would be tender to the touch and hurt a bit more - but over all the pain went away in a week or so. The warm water rinses helped a lot, too, and believe it or not, I found that actually brushing my teeth and gums helped things feel a bit better, too.
3.5 weeks? Wow! Your molars must be very tight! No wonder the spacers are making you miserable, you poor thing!
Here's my story on these things... I posted it a couple of days ago, but don't let it scare ya'll that are fixing to get them! I don't do anything the conventional way in life, don't know how!
I first had spacers put in 3 weeks ago. They were going to put 4 in but the assistant only got 3 in... between my premolar and first molar on the left side was so tight that when she was trying to wedge it in there the floss she was holding broke and her hand hit my bottom lip, busting it open and causing a little blood! I just kinda looked at her funny and she started tearing up, apologizing. Aaahh, well, accidents happen a lot to me... They just left the spacer out of that one. Good thing too because I couldn't eat anything on the other side at all, I could a little on the left. Well the next day while I was getting ready for work that night, I noticed the other one on the left side had fallen out at some point and my ortho would not be in for the 4-5 days. So after having that one finally put in on the next Tuesday, all three of them stayed till that Saturday where the one on the left fell out again and then on Sunday the one in the back fell out on the right side fell out. I thought this was ok cause I was getting my braces that next Tuesday Sept. 26. Well, got there to get my braces and they removed the other spacer and tried to get the bands on.----Did not happen, still too tight---- Well....they decided to put all the spacers back in for two more weeks....the assistant popped them in so hard (even the one no one was able to get in before) my whole jaw starting immediately throbbing from the pressure. The ortho went ahead and started putting my braces on and then when the arch wire went on and everything was tightened, the spacers stopped throbbing! After that, besides being unable to chew anything and some gums sore in spots LOL, I've had no more problems with them....
Hopefully when I got back Oct. 10 they'll be able to get the bands on there with no problems This is just my tops, can't wait to see what the bottoms have in store for me when I get those started in 4-5 months LOL
So take heed that these things can be a bitty, but just do the best you can for a few days and it's over!
xtrememkovr wrote:It gets better. I've had spacers now for a LONG time. I got the lowers ones taken out last week and had the molar bands placed in. I might have mentioned this before, but after they pushed those bands in place - I totally LOVED my spacers and the job/s that they do/did. If it weren't for spacers, many of us would be in extreme amounts of pain when the molar bands were placed - so every day that the spacers hurt - thank your DR for saving you from pain later.
Tylenol/Advil/etc helped during the first few days - and then after that your mouth and teeth start to adjust. Sure there were times when a few of my other teeth would be tender to the touch and hurt a bit more - but over all the pain went away in a week or so. The warm water rinses helped a lot, too, and believe it or not, I found that actually brushing my teeth and gums helped things feel a bit better, too.
Good luck - this too shall pass.
X.
did it hurt after you got the molar bands in? Right now they said the spacers will only be in one week. Now I'm wondering if they might have to extend that.
7/7/06 Damon 3's on top, Damon 2's on bottom
03/18/08 Naked
The only place where it hurt initially was in the place where my spacers had fallen out a few days before I got the bands placed. I don't feel anything now though - matter of fact after my appointment any tenderness on that tooth was gone. I didn't mean to scare anyone though - I'm just saying that my teeth were VERY close together. My DR. commented that he hadn't seen teeth so close together in a long time. He really had to work to put the spacers in on the bottom and it dawned on me when he placed the bands in how much more horrible it would have been if I hadn't had the spacers to create that much needed space for them at the time.
The only thing that bothers me in regards to the bands are the sharp little screws or whatever the heck they are. The side of my tongue grazes up against it to the point of annoyance and I've put on huge amounts of wax to coat it so my tongue doesn't end up looking like hamburger meat by the end of my treatment. I may, like others have suggested, speak to my DR if it persists and see if he can sand off that little screw part or something, though my tongue is toughing up and I haven't needed to apply wax the past day or two.
I remember spacers very well and I only had two of them on my bottom molars. It hurt and nothing took the pain completely away. After about a week the pain was gone. This is sometimes one of the most uncomfortable/painful things in orthodontics! Keep taking ibuprofen. What really worked for me recently was Advil. 
! I promise! Haven't got the bands yet, will get them 10-10-06, but I've had spacers in for 3.5 weeks now and it has been ok for the last week or so with them. So just hang in there and keep the pills handy and you'll be ok!
I just kinda looked at her funny and she started tearing up, apologizing. Aaahh, well, accidents happen a lot to me... They just left the spacer out of that one.
Good thing too because I couldn't eat anything on the other side at all, I could a little on the left. Well the next day while I was getting ready for work that night, I noticed the other one on the left side had fallen out at some point
and my ortho would not be in for the 4-5 days. So after having that one finally put in on the next Tuesday, all three of them stayed till that Saturday where the one on the left fell out again and then on Sunday the one in the back fell out on the right side fell out. I thought this was ok cause I was getting my braces that next Tuesday Sept. 26. Well, got there to get my braces and they removed the other spacer and tried to get the bands on.----Did not happen, still too tight---- Well....they decided to put all the spacers back in for two more weeks....the assistant popped them in so hard (even the one no one was able to get in before) my whole jaw starting immediately throbbing from the pressure. The ortho went ahead and started putting my braces on and then when the arch wire went on and everything was tightened, the spacers stopped throbbing! After that, besides being unable to chew anything and some gums sore in spots LOL, I've had no more problems with them....
This is just my tops, can't wait to see what the bottoms have in store for me when I get those started in 4-5 months LOL
