Metal Mouth Message Board

Just got off the phone with my ortho, I'm having impressions done on the 11th--UGH IMPRESSIONS! and then she told me spacers are going to be the first part of my treatment plan to make room for the palate expander/TADs. After reading all of the posts on here about them and how torturous they are, needless to say I am not excited. In fact I'm beyond nervous! I have the lowest pain tolerance ever! She said "oh Tylenol will take care of it!"....yeah, somehow I doubt that haha. I know I'm just building up anxiety over something that's still several weeks away, but can I get some tips on how to survive the spacers? Beg my ortho for Vicodin? kidding! (not kidding). Helpppp!

Well i just looked at it this way.... Get through the spacers and then EVERYTHING else is a breeze! It is the worst part of braces, so getting it over and done with in the beginning is great! Use your pain meds! Good luck, all of this is SO worth it!!

Rather than Tylenol, I'd recommend you try ibuprofen which is very effective for dental pain (unless of course there is some contraindication in your case such as drug allergy). I wish you luck!

I find for the most part that spaces on their own are only mildly uncomfortable. The problem with spacers is when you try to eat something that isn't some form of gruel or soup If you plan to have soft food available ahead of time, you'll save yourself a lot of discomfort.

Hiya!

I got spacers fitted a couple weeks ago when I got my bottom brace on. It is difficult to eat at first, and feels really weird not being able to be down all the way, but there isn't much pain, it just feels pretty strange to have some sort of UFO in your mouth!