Metal Mouth Message Board

Glad to have found this site. Four days in and having a difficult time but reading postings has given me some encouragement and some helpful information. My teeth don't hurt (yet?) but the inside if my cheeks and my lips are a mess and the braces feel so HUGE! The dental assistant told me to not use a lot of wax on the wires so I would callous up but without it I can't sleep or eat even yogurt so today I'm putting it where I need it most. I know this is a positive thing and that I will get used to it but I didn't do my research before hand and I am unprepared. Any advice will be appreciated. I'm done with the pity party now!

To help with the sores on your cheeks and lips, there are two things I used that I believe helped (besides wax):

- Rincinol: This is an aloe (among other things) rinse that helps coat the sores, keeping the pain down for a few hours. It's expensive, (about 75 cents a dose), but I think it worked. I could only find it on the shelf at Walgreens, although I'm guessing any pharmacist could order it for you. The drawback is that you cannot follow it up with anything, like ACT, as it has to sit to be effective.

- Oral Antiseptic Rinse (That's the generic name for store-brand product... the brand name is Gly-Oxide) It's a 10% Carbamide Peroxide solution that will clean out the sores, which helps them to feel better and debride the dead skin. It can be used before brushing, before another rinse, or by itself. (10 drops on the tongue swished for a few minutes.) It should be on the shelf at the drugstore near the denture cleaners and adhesives.

I saved the wax for when my wire end was catching my cheeks (especially while talking or eating), and used these rinses the rest of the time. Took me about a week and a half to toughen up, with all the pain and inconvenience gone (no rinses or wax) after two weeks.

In about two wks your mouth will be adapted. I couldnt believe it myself but it did. you will also be able to get bk to eating most of your old food as long as they are not real hard or require hard biting. Do as much as you can with relieving the symptoms for now. It really does get better..

I only got my braces last Tuesday and am finding my gums have already started to heal and toughen up. I rinse my mouth out with warm salty water (one tsp salt in a glass of lukewarm water) about four times a day and only use the wax at night. Thus far that is working well for me. My orthodontist has a very low opinion of using medicated mouthwashes unless there is an infection. Think of night time as 'healing time' and put lots of wax on to protect your gums and let them heal. As for your lips... lip balm. Lots and lots of lip balm. I'm using Lanolips lip balm during the day and a honey and paw paw one at night time. When I was researching I read lots of recommendations for Carmex lip balm. Apparently it doesn't taste the greatest but is quite effective.

I haven't had much pain either except when I eat. I'm still very much on soft foods and think I will be for a while. Made the mistake of biting into something the other day and hurt for a good hour or so afterwards. So far it hasn't been too bad though that can always change.

Welcome to the boards and good luck with your braces.

Thank you everyone for your advice and encouragement. It really is helping already.