Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all

I'm 28 and got braces fitted on Saturday along with a nance button. I am just after a bit of reassurance really that the discomfort I am experiencing will subside.

I had 2 premolars removed a couple of weeks ago and ceramic brackets fitted to top teeth only. I also have a nasty nance button in place.

Well firstly - the brackets have rubbed my cheeks raw - but this is subsiding so I hope in a couple more days it will be even better.

Secondly - my tongue is so sore, ulcers everywhere :-(

Thirdly - I am salivating SO much it's embarrassing

Fourthly and most importantly, the nance button is ruining everything!! I believe it's the culprit for my very sore tongue but mostly, I cannot speak well at all. Words such as 'these' or anything with that kind of sound in is so painful for my tongue and I can't get the sound out. I have to do a lot of speaking in my job and training staff etc and it's so embarrassing being unable to articulate myself well at all. I have tried to google results of how long this speech impediment will last and get very varied results. If I am going to be in this pain and struggle for however many months I am stuck with this thing I worry I'm going to start hating my job and become utterly miserable. Sounds dramatic, but work is important!!

Thanks x

Hey Lily-
I can't speak to the salivating or speech impediment too much, but the first two will definitely get better! The first week was pretty rotten, my cheeks and tongue were so cut up and full of canker sores (I think this is the same as ulcers.) I did salt water rinses, used numbing throat spray, and put heavenly silicone over my brackets at night when it was really bothering me. These helped my sores to heal, then I started to wean off everything to let my cheeks toughen up. Now two weeks in I am feeling much more comfortable. Hang in there!!

Hi Lily, I can't answer about the nance button, but your cheeks will get better. Mine were terrible for the first week and a bit, then it eased up. I still have times where things rub but there are days in between where it all feels fine (and the ulcers I do get now are nothing like that first week!).

The extra drooling I did for a little while. I think about the first 2 days. Then I got dry mouth and spent the next 2 weeks drinking so much water I felt like a water jug and glugged when I walked. That settled down too though.

Also is it the nance button that's making you lisp? (not sure what they are). If it's the brackets that's normal. It gets better too. I couldn't say s's or th's or even b's for a while. Every now and then I still whistle when I say 's' but mostly it's gone.

Hang in there! The first few weeks are definitely the toughest, but it does get better.

Yes, what they said.

I still have to use wax occasionally and my upper lip gets irritated with the wire, but you will get used to it. Use the wax. It will help heal the especially rough spots. I tried to "tough out" a couple of spots that come and go throughout my treatment, but discovered that if I didn't put wax over the offending bracket (usually the rearmost lower left) the sore spot will not heal...since the sharp bracket is tearing at it every time I move my jaw. A couple of days of wax is enough to heal the spot.

I had something like a nance button as a kid. It really messed up my tongue but the ortho gave me some sort mouth wash that helped numb the pain and the sores to heal. I guess it was something like Rincinol PRN Pain Relieving Rinse. The speech issues took forever to get better. I couldn't pronounce sh/s or th/s but eventually it did improve.

The rubbing on your cheeks will get better. Use your wax. It will help a lot.

Ciara

Hi Lily,

Try recording yourself speaking-you will find that your speech is nowhere near as bad as you think. I can only speak from experience of having a removable brace ( rather like a hawley retainer) as a child but I remember my speech going from lisping back to normal in just a few days.

Good luck and hang on in there. Everyone says the first few days are the worst.

Jem

Hi lily!

No advice, but I wanted to say you're not alone! I got a lower premolar extraction, brackets on top and bottom, wire only on bottom and the nance button on the 17th, & I'm 27, today I got the two upper premolars out and my top wire in, so I feel your pain, the nance button is so freaking annoying! I'll let you know if/when it gets less irritating!

I feel your pain! I've been in braces with a nance for just over 12 weeks and in the first week or so I was horrified and regretted getting them!
Like the previous replies have said, the cheeks and wires digging in is normal and will get better just don't skip the wax!
When I first got fitted, one of the wires connected to the nance button seemed to be lower than the other (i.e. a bit away from the roof of my mouth) and was constantly rubbing my tongue and I hated speaking! Seems like i had a million teleconferences in the first couple of days - i cringed every time I had to speak. I went back to my orthodontist after 2 or 3 days as I was worried about the placement of the nance but he assured me it was ok. It did get better and my tongue somehow adapted to the thing on the roof of my mouth!
I still don't like the nance (thankfully it won't be there forever!) but you do adapt to it. My speech seems to be mostly back to normal now, at least as far as lisping is concerned. I find when i'm dehydrated or tired my lips don't always get around all the brackets and this can cause issues for me - my kids think it's funny and there are lots of puzzled 'Pardons?!' from them but on the whole my speech is mostly back to normal.
It just takes a bit of time (and tears in my case) but things will improve!
Hope it all settles down for you soon.

It's all normal. I'm a week in and most of that discomfort has gone away.

Still drooling and speech sounds funny....especially "F" words. I don't worry much about it. I can assure you that most ppl either don't notice or don't think it's a big deal.

The first few days suck, then it quickly gets better (and then it all goes downhill again when you get your first bill, but in that case, the pain is felt somewhere else!).

What is a nance button?

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update - a week into it and you were all right, the pain has totally gone and my speech is pretty much back to normal again. I didn't think it would happen but it's amazing how fast everything adapts. Thanks for all the advice.

Glad things are feeling better

I'm getting fitted for a nance button next week and this post has relieved alot of my fears about this thing! Thank you!

Great news!