Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone, I have been reading this site for a while and am just posting today because today I get my braces on! I am so excited that there is a site like this with other people going through the same thing.

I also posted in the introduction forum so I won't repeat myself but right now, I am basically freaking out! My appointment is in about 3 1/2 hours. I am so nervous I can't even sit still.

If anyone has any first-day advice I would love to hear! Also, my main concern right now is that I have a cold sore. It just figures, I have not had once since February and then I get one now. I have been using Abreva but its still pretty sore. I called the orthodontist office and they said it should be OK, but I hope it doesn't hurt too bad.

Anyway I am looking forward to meeting everyone here and it has been great to read other people's stories. I am really going to need this support for the next 2 years!

Congrats!!! I totally know how you feel, I had my braces on last Thurs and panicked pretty hard for the day before and day of

It was not nearly as bad as I figured it would be, overall.. I took ibuprofen in the morning and again about a half hr before I went to get the hardware installed, and again later that evening. The procedure itself wasn't painful, it was just really weird at the end when everything is in and you try to close your mouth for the first time!! LOL The only discomfort at all for me was that stuff they put on your teeth before they put the glue on. My teeth tend to be sensitive anyway, and that stuff just increased the sensitivity. Ibuprofen and wax are your best friends for the first few days.

The cheek spreaders were only in for maybe a half hr at the most, so hopefully you survive it with the coldsore.. never fails, does it? Hope it goes well, good luck & welcome to the club!!

Yeah Brace Day!!! Good luck today!!! I hope everything is smooth sailing for you- and it will be! I remember being so nervous and antsy! I didn't get anything done at work that day. Petitcanard told you all the great advice- and I second everything she said!

Remember warm salt water rinses are your friend. They'll really help with getting your inner mouth adjusted.

And remember you gotta start to finish!

Mike

Thanks guys! Well they are on! The appointment itself wasn't bad at all. I got the ceramic ones on the top and the metal ones on the bottom. They feel weird right now but not terrible. Although there are about a million little edges sticking out so I bet my lips are going to be really sore in a few days!

Give it a day and they'll hurt like hell- mine did anyway. But after about 2 or 3 days all was OK

No pain no gain!

Seriously, the thought of chewing anything right now is inconceivable!!

My only problem at the moment seems to be that my bite does not line up like it did. I don't know if the braces are in the way or if they somehow already moved a tiny bit. But I can't seem to get my teeth together to bite down.

If you don't use your teeth they'll never quit hurting. Chewing encourages blood flow which is a great healer. Let's face it, anytime you start twisting and pulling on your teeth (or any other part of your body) they are going through a bit of trauma. Use them, chew with them. They'll feel better. Seriously I had a habit when I first got my braces to go get a hamburger. Chewing on that hurt like whatever but my teeth quickly got where they didn't hurt.

It is all worth it.

Mike

Whoohoo, congrats!! Don't be scared to use wax for the first couple of days, at least to mitigate the hamburger-cheeks thing

I hear you re chewing, I'm not dealing with pain either but I have bite turbos so my teeth don't touch - anywhere LOL. I still managed to down a piece of pizza (took me 45 min) on the day I got braced, I just had to cut it into tiny tiny tiny (tiny) pieces.

I started a "no teeth touching" post in this forum, out of food-frustration, and there are some great replies re food options. Good luck and welcome to the club!!!

Yeah I made it about 15 minutes at home before I broke out the wax! Its not bad at all. How long do you leave it there before you change it?

What are bite turbos?

Bite turbos are these little torture devices made out of pointy metal that get glued to the back of your front teeth... your bottom teeth hit those so your mouth can't close properly Kind of like tooth-stops. For those of us with an overbite, we need something to stop us biting off our bottom brackets

Myself, I would put new wax on before I went to bed, and take it off the next evening before I flossed etc. and put new wax on. It seemed to stay on during the day just fine, even with brushing & waterpiking throughout the day!