Metal Mouth Message Board

I'm due to get my Damon braces put on tomorrow morning and I've read a lot about pain on the 2nd day. The day after tomorrow, I'm due to take my 4 year old daughter to Dallas for 4 days. We live in Northern California so it's a 3 1/2 hour flight.

All the literature I've read says that there's a lot less post-bonding pain with the Damon braces. I'd love to hear from anyone out there who has Damon braces as to how much pain they had in the first few days. I can't change my plans at this late date but it'd be nice to know how I'm going to feel when I'm trying to get to the airport.

Hi,

I went on vacation the week after getting my braces. Eating was the biggest challenge as I was not used to it and there was some pain. I had to eat very slowly but for the most part this did not ruin the vacation by any means. Take some ibuprofen and I think that is all you will need.

Good luck!

I really don't get why people think that orthodontists would advertise false claims when it comes to Damon brackets.

From what I understand, brackets themselves are relatively cheap, and the price difference between damon and normal brackets is negligble. Even if there was a price difference, how would the orthodontist benifit from "marketing" them? Are they buying the brackets and then using them with a marked up price, or something? How do they personally benifit from using Damons?

Because my ortho charges the same for ceramic, conventional, and damon brackets. The decision to use one over the other is completely dependant on the circumstances.

For the record, I experienced no pain at all in the few days after my braces were put on, and have had very minimal pain altogether over a year of treatment.

I'm in Damon 3 brackets, which my ortho chose because of the lower forces of self-ligating brackets and my risk of root resorption. The first day I just felt pressure (not pain, just the sensation of something on my teeth). The second day I was a little uncomfortable (maybe 3-4 out of 10), mainly with trying to chew. I took advil for days 3 and 4 so I would be more comfortable starting to eat, and since then have pretty much no pain (I'm 2 1/2 weeks in). As different parts of my mouth start to loosen I get discomfort in certain teeth for a day or two, but nothing I've even needed to take pain meds for. My only problem now is that my front four upper teeth have a lot of pressure on them as my lateral incisors start to move forward, so my front teeth are still sensitive and I can't bite into anything. As long as i don't bite with them though, I have no pain.

Good luck!
Lisa

I too have Damon 3's and agree with the others that your biggest problem will be eating the first week or so. I took Advil for the pain the first couple of days and it was tolerable. I have a 4 year old daughter too and she was really put off by my braces at first. She kept telling me to take them off! So be prepared for that.

<Laughing> My daughter is so in love with my new braces she's pretending she has her own! she's also had her own imaginary bite plate as long as I've had mine.

I wonder if this is what inspired the phrase "down in the mouth" cuz I'm definitely feeling blue.

I watch a 3 year old boy and when he saw my braces he said " I like your teeth jewelry. I want some".

I don't have Damon's......I have In-Ovations R's which are another self ligating bracket. I don't think the second day was much worse than the first, but I had Advil on board since 1 hour before getting the brackets put on.

Just keep an OTC pain killer (Advil, Tylenol, Motrin, etc.) with you, use your wax, and do salt water rinses. I also found that I felt better after and during brushing my teeth.

Expect there to be pressure and occational pain. Take it in stride and eat soft foods.

Destor, like your ortho, mine also charges the same for ceramic, conventional, and Damons and which ones he uses depends on individual patient circumstances.

So why do some orthos push Damons? Because those brackets are easier/less time consuming for the orthodontist to use. They don't require all the ties that the other brackets do. And what this means, obviously, is that an ortho can see more patients in less time (and less frequently) -- i.e., make more money with less work.

My source for the above is my own (wonderful) orthodontist, who kindly explained this to me after I told him about this site and all the disagreements people get into here over Damon brackets. (He also mentioned that one problem with Damons is that they can pop off easier than other brackets, which may be one reason some orthos don't use them at all.)

Meryten is absolutely right: Damons are not superior to any other bracket as far as "arch expansion" is concerned and people should stop worrying about bracket type and instead focus on finding the best orthodontist for their needs.

I've had my damon 3's for 20 months now. I can say that I had a good deal of discomfort for the first 3 days after I was bonded. The fact is, your teeth are moving and that can cause discomfort and even pain in some people.

My pain only occured when I tried to chew something. I took Tylenol and had no problem with the discomfort...unless I was eating.

With the Damon 3's and Opals, (also self ligating) I've had an experience very similar to my kids who all had traditional brackets.

I chose Damons because they're what the ortho I liked uses and also because I liked the idea infrequent visits in the first year as well as the absence of ligatures. Now I go in every 4 weeks but that's only here at the end of my treatment.

Best wishes to you, and keep us posted! Don't let braces effect your life, think about the kids who have them, they don't seem to be bothered with any of it.

Have a safe trip!