Metal Mouth Message Board

It has been 5 days since my spacers were put in, and they come off and the braces go on in 3 days.

I hate them!!!

The pain is not unbearable, but they feel gross ... chewing food is especially unpleasant because of the "chewing a rubber band" sensation. I have been drinking smoothies and eating soup in order to avoid having to chew.

I have to go in tomorrow to get one replaced since one came out over the weekend.

Thanks for letting me whine!

I think the order of horrible is spacers, cheeks becoming shredded, impressions causing gagging and cheek retractors near the end of bonding (they dig into the tops of your gums).

That's not a comprehensive list because I didn't have jaw surgery or extractions.

Glandyover wrote:I think the order of horrible is spacers, cheeks becoming shredded, impressions causing gagging and cheek retractors near the end of bonding (they dig into the tops of your gums).

Impressions were not so bad ... I'm not looking forward to shredded cheeks.

I've never head of cheek retractors!

gemini4 wrote:
Impressions were not so bad ... I'm not looking forward to shredded cheeks.

I've never head of cheek retractors!

Yeah, I gag like a beast so impressions were awful. Cheek retractors are what they use to keep your cheeks out of the way when they're sticking brackets on your teeth. Make sure to wear a ton of lip balm because they stretch your lips way out. They also sit right on your gums right up where they meet your cheeks and for some reason that angers my soft tissue or something. That's the one thing that's still tender for me.
If you really want to be prepared search "putting braces on" on YouTube and watch some of those videos. I find it all fascinating personally.

Glandyover wrote:Make sure to wear a ton of lip balm because they stretch your lips way out.

Thanks for reminding me ... for some reason I always forget to do this before visiting the dentist, and I understand how important it will be to do so for my bracing session.

gemini4 wrote:

Glandyover wrote:Make sure to wear a ton of lip balm because they stretch your lips way out.

Thanks for reminding me ... for some reason I always forget to do this before visiting the dentist, and I understand how important it will be to do so for my bracing session.

If that reminder was helpful here you go:
Lip balm
Bring a bottle of water and drink enough beforehand so your mouth is moist but not too much that you'll need to pee halfway in
Eat and brush your teeth shortly before your appointment so you can wait as long as possible until you have to eat again
Bring a camera if you want to get some photos of them sticking braces on you
Bring a music player and earbuds
Take Ibuprofen
Another thing that I do that might be crazy is this: let the buccal tubs (the brackets or bands on your rear molars) scratch up your cheeks a little. They'll definitely do this no matter what and there's no getting around it. Then, when that area is tender, apply wax to the rear ones so your cheeks will heal up. Once they heal they'll be tougher and you might not have to wax again. It's been a week for me and I've got zero pain after following that regimen.

Lip balm and wax are your two best friends.