Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi guys,

I am a newbie. Just got my braces on Tuesday and I am finding it hard to adjust to chewing my food.
How long did it take you to be able to chew again?
I am a big foodie and not being able to eat properly is driving me mad. Im hoping that it won't take too long until I can chew again.

I also wanted to say that I am loving this group. So nice to get advice and to not feel alone in wearing braces as an adult

Thanks xx

Hi gemflah! Congrats on your new braces. This varies a lot person-to-person, but I was eating pretty normally after a week or so. Now, I will say it's still sometimes pretty uncomfortable to really chew, and I do have bite blocks that make it extra challenging, but I think it's important not to get too comfortable with soft foods and let the masseter muscles atrophy. It doesn't sound like that will be a problem for you, though! Just don't wait until the soreness is completely gone... because you'll be waiting a long time!

I didnt even try chewing food until week two, but it didnt start becoming relatively comfortable until week 3

I've had my braces for 48 hours and I can't wait to eat! This gave hope for the future!

Thanks ItsFreyja and Tyrantblade for the advice.
I am really glad to hear that it starts to get easier and I will definitely take on board what you said about the masseter muscles. Great advice!!

Good luck Mufti!

x

HI there,

I am 38 and just had 2 pre molar extractions and got braces on last week. My issue (besides the intense rubbing on the inside of my tongue) is biting. I have no pain from teeth, but find my bite isn't touching because one of my bottom brackets is blocking my upper tooth…therefore, my back teeth don't touch….will this change?! I want to eat but can't chew anything enough…much, easy to swallow food for me this weekend (Thanksgiving in Canada!)

Hey there,
I've had braces 11 months now and I can still remember how difficult it was to eat at first.
I honestly couldn't bit things off until the second month. My front teeth were the most sore so biting burgers and sandwiches was a pain. I would constantly take pain killers.

I still feel super sore after every adjustment but learn to love the pain.
If they are sore, then they are moving!

Good luck and welcome to the braces family!

BTW, I'm 26 and adult braces are a pain. But they'll be off before you know it!

I'm just over the 2 week mark and the past few days I have been able to eat as I normally would.
I stuck to liquids the first week then slowly chewed on the back teeth. The longest thing for me was using my front teeth to bite. It's still a bit weird/tender to do that.

Hi Gemflah, I think I'm 1 day ahead of you, had mine put on 05/10/15 - one week ago today. I'm trying to chew a bit but not doing too well. I'm not really suffering any discomfort at all other than when I chew or immediately after brushing - so I guess when my teeth have been poked around! Had to pass on a work lunch the other day which was very frustrating so hopefully won;t be too many more of those! On the plus side I lost 4lb in week one! :)

I think it took me a good week to chew. It's heartbreaking when you can't even stand scrambled eggs.

Hey lauradarlin

That's right, I got mine put on the 6th! I'm slowly getting there with the chewing but still finding it so hard with some foods. Tried spaghetti the other night and that was a nightmare! Haha!
Finding that broccoli, sweet potatoes, salmon and eggs are all good for chewing. Not causing too much pain. Especially when accompanied with a glass of wine!
Good luck with your time in braces. Xx

It depends but I'd say about two weeks to nibble. And three to really eat normally again.

It definitely varies from person to person. I didn't have any problem eating at all and i still have not (I ate baked chips that night). Try taking some advil/tylenol 30-45 minutes before eating and you should be back to normal in two weeks at most.

I'm a newbie and I just got mine in a few days ago! Soreness isn't so bad so I've already tried chewing normal food, but I find it annoying that the food gets stuck everywhere around my mouth. I tried cleaning them off my braces and teeth with my tongue and it just left me in more pain because the braces would cut my tongue! So now I just try rinsing with water, or drink more water with each meal. Hopefully it will get better.

I got my braces on a week ago and I feel like I am starving because I can't chew anything well......my bite is messed up now and also I was chewing on brackets on the bottom left (ortho corrected that for me when I went back for my top brackets). I hope it does get a little easier or I will be eating soft/liquid foods for the next 18 months!