Metal Mouth Message Board

I was wondering if any of you other braces-wearers had experienced this...
Since about three months ago, I've had trouble chewing hard things (such as pretzels, chocolates, anything with a hard outer layer) on my left side. I've had braces for almost 10 months now, and never had this problem before I had them. Could it be that I'm brushing my gums too hard? The last time I had my teeth cleaned at the dentist's, I was told that the gum area above my top left teeth (which is what pains me when I bite down) was a little red, and that I should just try to floss there to avoid any irritation - but it is REALLY hard to floss back there, so I just don't fool with it anymore, and that doesn't seem like the reason to me...
I apologize if this doesn't actually have anything to do with braces, just was wondering if anyone else had dealt with it before? I guess I'll have to make another appointment with my dentist. : [

Plaque buildup along the gumline can cause the irritation you're talking about and that's probably why they told you to floss. Flossing removes the plaque and without the plaque to irritate your gums they will heal. Not to mention it reduces the risk of gum disease and decay. Floss and be gentle with your brushing and see if there is any improvement.

I used to get that all the time in my early 20's when I wasn't quite so diligent in my dental care. Adding flossing to my daily routine (which I did after a very stern talking to from my dentist) put an end to that irritation. I don't have my braces yet so I can't offer any tips on flossing at the back there or any alternative explanations, sorry. Hope it starts to feel better soon.

Thank you Sita! I floss every night, but it's extremely difficult to get into those back molars. Guess I'll try again tonight to get the hang of it, and maybe it'll clear up.

Back again. I forgot to mention that rinsing your mouth out with warm salty water might help speed up your recovery.


I only just woke up so my brain is a lot slower than usual.

Hi ...have you tried using a waterpik to floss ...I use one (I manually floss as well) it gets in all the nooks and crannies and feels great with warm water ....very soothing...

Hey chainreaction! I've never used a waterpik before, but it sounds heavenly. Is something like that just sold in a drug store?
Last night I got some floss into those back molars for the first time, so at least this irritation has caused me to progress with that skill. I swished with warm salt water too. It still hurts to chew on the left, but it's only been one day, so I'll keep trying. : )

What are you using to floss? Because regular floss is difficult to impossible to use on molars while you are in braces. You should be using either floss threaders (tedious, but they work; your ortho should have some), or "threader floss." SuperFloss (a.k.a. Thornton, a.k.a. CVS 3 in 1 floss) if you don't have crowding, Glide Threader Floss if you do. I use Glide Threader Floss. 20 cents a strand, but worth every penny. (I get mine from Amazon, four 30-strand boxes at a time.)

You can get a WaterPik in most drug stores, but your best bet is probably to get it from Amazon. The top-of-the-line model, the Ultra, is currently $47. A little on the pricey side, but it works pretty well to blast your brackets clean, especially in the back where brushing well is tough. A bunch of people here prefer the Oral/RediBreeze, which does the same thing, but instead of an electrical appliance with a pump, it hooks into your bathroom faucet. To clean under the gumline, you point it perpendicular to your teeth and gently run it just above your brackets. DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, point the water jet right into your gums.

But to answer your original question: No, you probably aren't brushing too hard. Brushing too hard causes painless gum recession. As long as you aren't completely going to town with your toothbrush or using one with firm bristles, there is little risk of brushing causing problems. Irritated/bleeding gums are usually just gums with a running case of gingivitis. If you let it fester, it'll turn into periodontitis, which is bad news.

Flossing every day and gentle brushing should clear things up in a week or two. You may want to also add Listerine (or generic equivalent) to your routine too; every little bit helps.

Thank you so much for all the tips, sirwired!!
I've been flossing with a floss threader. It is tough to get back into the molars, but I did it last night, so maybe I can manage again tonight. I use ACT fluoride rinse every night too. Would it be problematic to rinse my mouth out with warm salt water right before bed every night? I do think that could speed up da healing, but I don't want to cause more problems by going to bed with salt on my teeth without brushing right after (since I'm making salt water rinse the last thing).
I know I'm asking a lot of questions that seem super obvious, but I'm still just surprised that anyone is even replying to this, so I figure I'll take a shot at all of them. : )

For your rinses:

Use Listerine after breakfast and lunch.

You can use the salt right before bed, as long as it's been more than an hour after your ACT. Salt is not the least bit harmful to your teeth, so don't worry about leaving it in there all night. It should be soothing...

If you use the ACT right at bedtime, I'd use Oral Antiseptic Rinse (10% Carbamide Peroxide, a.k.a. Gly-Oxide) right before brushing. You should be able to find these products (if the store has them at all; I've seen it at RiteAid and CVS in generic form) near the denture adhesives. If you can't find that, swish for a couple of minutes with a capful of Hydrogen Peroxide from the First Aid aisle.