Metal Mouth Message Board

From talking to eating...the troubles of my expander continue to mount.

For three days now (since my expander was installed), I cannot chew correctly, I have been limited to ice creams, mashed potatoes, and oatmeals. I haven't had a decent meal in these three days...and most importantly, have not been able to eat meat (which is essential in anyone's diet...considering that it's a source of protein).

Has anyone else had this problem, or is having it presently?

I'm completely up for a challenge...but this seems impossible.

Thanks again,
Josh.

It's been three days, I promise it will get better.

It's been two weeks for me, and I have a TPA going across the roof of my mouth. It took me probably a week before I could start eating bite sized portions of soft foods, and now I can eat anything... although salads don't seem to work well with my TPA.

As far as protein goes - I lived on oatmeal for carbs and yogurt for protein, and lots of soup. Other protein ideas would be tuna fish, salmon (I went to a formal dinner two days after getting braced, the salmon was perfect for me), protein drinks like slim-fast, smoothies with protein, small pieces of cheese, maybe cut up pieces of lunch meat?

It's not impossible, it just means being a little creative with what you are eating... and again - this will pass, and you will have adjusted to it.

I'm vegan (no meat, no dairy). My protein sources now and before braces have been beans, peanut butter, tofu -- all very soft and easy to eat since my teeth don't meet yet and chewing is a chore.

If you can't eat meat, maybe make an extra effort to get "complete" vegetable proteins -- eat peanut butter on bread, or eat beans with cornbread or rice, or pea soup with crackers (let it sit so they get soft), etc.

I never liked tofu that much before, but if you stir-fry it in soy sauce, honey and garlic, it's *fabulous*, I swear!

If you feel you need more protein, you could try canned soups with small chunks of meat, or canned chili, and fish is nice and soft if you like it.

Hi Josh,

You will adjust to your expander - I promise. I know it's difficult having an appliance in your mouth. If it wasn't for the hook on the band that keeps rubbing on my tongue and making it sore, I wouldn't have any problems with my expander. I'm using wax on the hook and using warm salt rinses and I dip a Q-tip in hydrogen peroxide and swab it over the sore area of my tongue - this is to try to get my tongue to get back to normal. This seems to be helping - not sure if it's one thing that is helping but I'm continuing using all of these remedies (I think my tongue needs to heal completely first then it may be a bit better after that - I hope) My orthodontists' assistant told me after awhile my mouth and tongue will fully adjust to the expander. By the way I have a Quad-Helix expander.

In regards to eating meat, try shredding/dicing your favorite meat (prepared the way you like). I found a comfortable spot in my mouth to chew meat - the end molar, next to the molar with the band. Once you begin to eat a bit more you will find a good spot(s) to chew on also. If you like tunafish sandwiches, this tends to be easy on the teeth. The only things I have not been able to eat are hard/sticky/chewy foods. I had a need for something sweet last week and ice cream was the answer for me - I just rinsed well after I ate it - I didn't want to take the chance of breaking/bending the expander with some very crunchy cookies that I had.

Good luck and keep us posted.

ssfw