Metal Mouth Message Board

Ouch! I'm new to my braces and am almost ready to throw in the towel!

I got my braces (both uppers and lowers) put on last Saturday (21st) and I'm ready to call the dentist to take them off. Is it normal for my mouth to still hurt??? I can't eat nonsoft food yet and I have sores all over my cheeks. I use wax at night, but then in the morning my cheeks feel like prunes--It feels awful!

The worst part is that my tongue is swollen and cut on both sides where they hit the bands (if that's what they are called--the silver brackets attached to bands that anchor the braces). It even makes the mushing process I've been using to eat very hard to do.

The even worse part is that braces have turned me into the BIGGEST whiner! I usually handle pain and discomfort pretty well, but I just want to cry and complain to everyone. I feel terrible doing it, as I've been telling my loved ones just how much "I've always wanted straight teeth" but I'm hating reality! When oh when does this get better???

Thanks,
the biggest baby around

Hang in there. I have the same problem. I have cleats on the inside of my metal bands and the bottoms rub my tongue. Best advise, lots of wax and warm salt water rinses. I cake on the wax before I go to bed and it's a lot better when I wake up in the morning. Now I can go most of the day without any wax.

Good luck and don't give up!

Hi 3en1believer!

Patience, I've been there as well. The worst part of it is that you wasn't expecting to suffer all those cuts and sores...especially on the tongue! I remember me thinking..."I was expecting some pain, but this????? It's too much!! I won't be able to do this for two years!!!!"

The cleats and all the stuff around the molar bands were a terrible bad surprise for me too and I was ready to call my ortho and rip them off. But I followed all the advice from the wise people around here and now I'm getting used to it. That is an absolute truth: you will get used to it!

And I've been in braces less than a month Keep focused on your goal and follow the great advice from Michal and KK...Good luck!

Hi 3n1believer. Same advice here. It DOES get better. And I was like you, I thought it NEVER EVER EVER would! Those bands shredded my tongue. I think they are barbaric.

Drink lots and lots of water too. Dry mouth makes your lips and cheeks stick and catch on your brackets worse. Especially if you will be talking alot. I was never a water drinker, now I carry it everywhere.

You will be seeing those teeth move in no time at all, and that makes it easier to take the pain. Take pictures, because before long you won't even remember how they used to be.

totally normal and only temporary. I say, milk it for all it's worth--people are always very nice when they hear you have razor-like-things in your mouth!

3n1believer, I got mine on the 18th, and I was exactly where you're at on day 2 (and 3 and 4!). I wanted to call and have these torture devices taken OFF!

I never thought it was possible, but after using gobs of wax for the last week and doing saltwater rinses twice a day, my mouth finally accepts most of the previously-painful pokey bits as part of itself. Definitely call your ortho if you're in that much pain, though -- usually they can help. There's no sense in being miserable, you're in this for the long-haul. And if you're miserable and frustrated, you're less likely to be cooperative with the whole process, which could slow things down at some point.

Thank you all for your advice and encouragement! I'm feeling a bit better today (day 5) after taking the advice I've found here on this board--I stepped up the number of salt water rinses, put loads of wax on last night, on the inside of the tooth as well, and actually ate some meatloaf that made me full last night! Oh to be full--what a wonderful feeling! (Before, my mouth would get tired of eating--or rather smooshing tiny bites--before my stomach would be full.) I've also decided to embrace my whineness for the next few days--I'm paying lots of money for these braces, might as well live up the full experience
Thanks again. . .

MMMMMM Chocolate pudding! Uncrustables PB&J sandwiches!!! In the Costco sized boxes! The newly braced individuals food of choice!!!!

I am on my second box of both. These things are great! The problem is, the nutrition level is poor. BUT THEY ARE SO SOFT!