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I got braces put on Jul 2 to correct an over bite. At first everything was fine, I was sore and in pain but nothing I couldnt handle. On Aug 12 I went to the ortho and got a new archwire put in as well as something I think they called a stabilizing bar on the roof of my mouth. This thing is horrible. It literally feels like a torturing device. It is not touching the roof of my mouth but it feels like I have a permanent peanut butter and jelly sammie stuck up there. Last night I guess I was clenching my teeth and when I woke up my tounge hurt alot. I looked in the mirror and my tounge has the indentations from the bar at the top of my mouth. This is very painful, what can I do? My toung curiously keeps going to the roof of my mouth which in turn cuts/indents more into the bar.
I called the ortho and all the assistant said was to try wax up there. Yea, you can imagine how uncomfortable THAT is.
Any ideas on what if anything I can do to relieve this?
Is it a nance appliance, like this? Or is it similar, but without the plastic button (called a palatal bar or TPA)
That pic is from my blog. I've been wearing one almost continually for 2 years. It is hard to get used to at first. Your brain thinks you have food in your mouth, and produces extra spit, and your tongue can't leave it alone!
It will eventually get better as you accustom yourself to it. If your tongue is sore from pressing against the metal bits, try using a weak solution of salt and warm water to wash out your mouth, and you could also try an OTC local anaesthetic designed for canker sores in the mouth such as Bonjela. It doesn't really sure the sores, but it stops them irritating you so much. Eventually your tongue kind of toughens up and forms little calluses in those spots.
If you need to clean under it to remove stuck food, I've found those plastic cable ties invaluable for wiggling underneath it. Great if you get a tomato pip wedged up there.
This is going to sound really wierd but ive had fixed braces for over 3 months and other people on this site have to wear all sorts of headgear appliances etc. Before i got the brace on my teeth were really bad. I guess im wondering why other people have to wear them and i dont??
Kitty, headgear and appliances such as the nance in my picture, are normally used to hold the molars in position or move them back slightly, to allow the top front teeth to be brought back into extraction gaps. Where is is very important that the molars do not come forward, appliances like this are prescribed.
I didn't have any special appliances either. A long time ago I scared my little sister by telling her that she would def. need headgear because her teeth were all over the place, to the naked eye. I really thought she would, but the Ortho said that she woudn't need anything special either. I guess these appliances do specific things that may not be necessary even with teeth that look really bad to the untrained eye.
Upper and lower bonded retainers; Upper Hawley for night time
DEBANDED ON FRIDAY 15TH AUGUST 2008 - FINALLY!!!
Braced on 13 September 2006 - Ceramic upper and lower brackets - Estimated time was 12 Months
Lisa65, That is exactly what mine is except without the little thing on the roof of the mouth. In your picture it looks like there is a little cushion there, mine doesnt have the cushion.
I feel like this is a torture device....lol. It is horrible.
The reason why I have to wear this is because I have a T.A.D put in on the upper right side to push my two back molars back into place. Over the years I had to have my two bottom right molars pulled and my top right molars came down little by little. The ortho told me that the T.A.D and the bar on top of my mouth will help the molars go back where they need to be so I can get two "fake" molars on the bottom.
Thank you to everyone for repling, I did not know such a forum exsisted....lol.
Does anyone only have top or bottom braces? I currently only have braces on the top, I wont get my bottom ones put on until May 2009. The ortho said I need the tops for 23 months and the bottoms for about 12-14.
aww i'm sorry to hear your having such a tough time with the fancy new head gear, over time i'm sure it will ge better, salt and warm water is a really good idea, i use it when i find i have a lot of sores in my mouth, works like a charm to get rid of irritations, canker sore stuff is always good to. I really don't have headgear although i do have a spring that is attached/fed through my top arch wire to open up space between 2 teeth to make room or an implant, when I'm all healed up from my jaw surgery. it was a royal pain in the beginning, but now I'm used to it and its better, although when adjustment time comes around it become a bit of a pain again and then again every so often! hope things get better for you!! keep us updated and hang in there!
Braced: March 19th 2008
Impacted wisdom teeth extraction surgery: June 20th 2008 1pm (13 hours of fasting)
Jaw surgery (upper and lower)Lefort 1 with Madable Advancement: June 2nd 2009 @8am!!!! 1 surgery down 2 surgeries to go!!
debrace day: jan 18th 2010!!!! *has 2 fixed retainers and an essix retainer for night time now!
Thats interesting! I wonder why I didnt get one of those!
I think my arch is pretty narrow! I only have braces on the top now which look really good after having braces for two months, but im wondering how in the world is my ortho going to fix my bottom teeth Sept 2nd. I have teeth that are just not in a row. Some are pushed back and are behind one another.
It makes me wonder how is he really going to line them up, and are my top teeth going to really sit well on top of the bottoms?
Who knows? only time will tell. You can click the link below to see what im referring to..
