The day you get your braces on

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#1 Post by **Flaka** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:32 am

Hello,

I was wondering if someone can tell me how your day went when you first put your braces on. Did they open your mouth completely with some sort of tool? How long does it usually takes?

I am getting braces next Tuesday. Yesterday I went to my dentist and got 3 fillings done, this morning my cheeck still swallen a bit and I can't open my mouth too much because it hurts.

I have to go back on Monday to get 2 more fillings done and root cleaning in only one of my molars, I am scared I am going to be in pain the next day twhen I go get the braces because of the previous day.

#2 Post by **jenny101101** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:44 am

Hi Flaka,

I think every ortho's different. A lot of ppl have said they've had those plastic thingy's(sorry, I don't know the name)to hold their mouth open. I, on the other hand, didn't. The assistant who put my braces on just used her gloved hand to hold my lips off to the side, prepared my teeth, stuck a bracket on and then cured it. She'd let go of my lips to prepare the next bracket with glue and open my mouth again. I haven't had any trouble with brackets not staying on so at least her method worked. Hopefully you won't be in any pain next Tuesday. I go to get my lowers on the same day...good luck!!

#3 Post by **cersepn** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:47 am

Well, i just got my top braced 2 days ago
It was pretty fast, my ortho took around 15 mins for the top.
They will use some plastic device to stretch open your lips. That was pretty rough for me, for some reason my lips kept tensing up and the device ended up cutting my gums.
My ortho even scolded me a few times for doing that, since it blocked her view of my teeth as well.

Anyways.. maybe it's my cheek lining's that rough or something, cos i don't feel like the braces scratch me at all, in fact, i like to rub my lips against it. Somehow i like the rough feeling it gives LOL.

Eating's a pain though, so just stick to soft foods and you'll be fine

#4 Post by **lilblackdress** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:14 am

Yep! I had the plastic mouth guard, too! It stretches your lips and cheeks so that absolutely nothing will touch your teeth. I had to keep a wad of cotton tucked away in the corners of my mouth to absorb extra saliva and I also had my teeth and gums blasted with cold air to keep stuff nice and dry.

All in all, it wasn't horrible and I was in and out faster than I expected.

Good luck on brace day!

#5 Post by **Flaka** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 11:11 am

Thanks for all of your responses. I guess since my jaw will be sensitive from all of the streching from the day before, I am a bit worried about how its going to feel having the plastic thingy streching it even more. They gave me these pills that dries out your saliva and I have to take it before I get there.

I am excited to get the treatment started so I am glad I found this site

#6 Post by **insinu8** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:55 am

Be sure you get some chapstick or some other kind of lip balm...your lips are going to dry out a lot and if you use it before you go in and "open wide" it will really help a lot.

You might consider taking an Advil before you go in...as a precaution.

#7 Post by **jgrrl22** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 1:49 pm

As others have said before me, I had the cheek spreaders (lip spreaders?) put in with a little suction thingy to keep my tongue out of the way and to dry out my mouth even more. The whole process from start to finish took about an hour and fifteen minutes.

And I DEFINITELY agree with insinu8 that you should put on LOTS of lip balm and take some pain medication. I took 2 Aleve right before I left for the ortho's office and it curbed the pain a lot.

Don't worry though... pain or not, you'll be glad you did it when you start seeing your teeth fall into a nice straight line!

#8 Post by **TucsonDeb** » Thu Apr 03, 2008 4:05 pm

BTW, I don't know if this is unusual or not, but I had to have 2 separate appointments.

The first one they used the lip-spreader and put on the brackets and spacers, then a week later, they removed the spacers, put on the metal bands on my molars and added the wires and ligs.

#9 Post by **michelle005** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 9:54 am

I just got braced Tuesday. My experience so far is they put the top and bottom brackets on my front teeth and premolars and first lower molars, then they put 6 spacers in (4 top, 2 bottom), put the archwire in and clipped it right before the molars with the spacers and in two weeks I go in for molar bands and to get a full archwire. They also put some build-ups on my lower molars. The whole thing took about an hour and a half.

The spacers aren't really hurting me too much, but I think that's because I have full-mouth pressure/soreness so it's not all focused on the molars. Ibuprofen works wonders.

They did use the spreaders and the tongue presser-downer-spit-suction thingy (obviously I don't know the technical name, haha) but for the most part they really didn't bother me. Lots of lip balm!! I was pretty comfortable for the majority of my appointment. The insertion of the spacers was kinda uncomfortable, but it was quick. Oh, and try to stay well hydrated before the appointment. When they were done my mouth was soooo dry I could not wait to down a bottle of water. I didn't have much time to prepare though since they braced me the same day as my consultation!

If you are concerned with being uncomfortable for your banding, maybe take a couple of ibuprofens about 30 mins to an hour before your appointment. Good luck to you! Let us know how it goes!

#10 Post by **Faerydust** » Fri Apr 04, 2008 3:28 pm

When I went to my first appointment I thought I was only having xrays and impressions done, but my ortho put my braces on at the same appointment!

I don't remember exactly how long each process took, but I think my whole appointment was around an hour and a half.

After the impressions were done, the assistant put lip spreaders on, the ortho took some pics, then the assistant cleaned my teeth with a very nasty tasting paste or gel (can't remember which). After the cleaning the assistant painted a clear coat of lacquer on my teeth as a protective layer. It looked and smelled like nail polish.

Next, the ortho placed the cement and brackets on each tooth and the assistant used the UV light to set the cement. This was the most time consuming part...

The ortho left after checking the placement of the brackets and the assistant put in the archwires and ligatures. When she was done she handed me my goodie bag (wax, floss threaders, soft toothbrush, and some toothpaste), told me not to eat anything hard or sticky and then sent me on my way.

I had that vacuum device in my mouth the entire time they were working on me and I was told to bite down on it to let my jaw relax. Your jaw gets tired staying in an open position for that long, but it really helps to bite against something. The vacuum sucks up your saliva so you don't choke on it.

#11 Post by **Flaka** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 7:30 pm

So I got some fillings done last monday and yesterday when i woke up, my right cheeck was all swollen up and I couldn't open my mouth much. I called my dentist and he made me go in to the office, he checked and said it looks like one of my blood vessels popped when he pinched me last monday. I have been taking antibiotics and this monday I have2 more fillings to do and Tuesday I go in to the ortho for braces

I will definitely take some aleve before going to the appointment. Thanks for the advice !!