Spacers and Brackets

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KLC
Posts: 156
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:08 pm

Spacers and Brackets

#1 Post by KLC »

Hey Everyone!

So my time has finally come! I get spacers and brackets on Friday. From what I have read from all of you, a pencil in the eye is more welcoming than spacers :lol: :cry:

I'd love to hear from anyone who has gone through it... any tips or advice on how to handle spacers and brand new brackets (wires get put on the following Friday). Any advice on what to eat, how to handle the pain, OTC medication, wax, brushing, etc... is more than welcome!! Also, what kind of tooth brush should I be using with braces? Right now I have an electric toothbrush? Can I still use it or is it too rough?

I REALLY appreciate any and all help/advice!

Thank you!!!
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Audra
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Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 2:33 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta (Canada)
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#2 Post by Audra »

I never had spacers so don't know anything about them. But my braces are only 7 days old, so I do have a few tips for you there. By the end of the first day you should know where you need to use wax. For me it was on the top molar brackets and on the four bottom front (central and lateral incisors) teeth as these were the ones that dug into my lips and cheeks and caused sores. The wax helped A LOT.

As for the toothbrush, my ortho gave me an electric toothbrush (Oral-B professional) so it must be OK to use :) I haven't tried it yet though (am going to charge it tonight) and right now am just using a soft manual toothbrush.

For me, the pain started in the afternoon the first day (braced at 7:30 am) and stayed with me till late on day 4, then I've been fine ever since. I used Tylenol 1 a couple times a day the first few days.

Food for me the first few days was soup, hot cereal, bananas, yogurt, pasta and smoothies. Am OK to eat whatever is not on the forbidden list now.

Good luck to you!
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Miranbrady20
Posts: 415
Joined: Mon May 26, 2008 12:46 pm

#3 Post by Miranbrady20 »

VICODIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol
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KLC
Posts: 156
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:08 pm

Spacers and Brackets... Any advice will be greatly taken :-)

#4 Post by KLC »

Audra- Thanks so much for the advice! I am a definite planner and like to know everything that is going to happen before it happens- lol! I really appreciate the help! I hope you're doing well! It sounds like you're off to a great start!! And I'm sooo jealous that you didn't need spacers. Hopefully you're still painfree!

XXNECRAXX- Vicodin!!!!!!!

Too funny!! But unfort I know you're not 100% kidding- lol! Hopefully it won't come to this point but I will be prepared as best I can!!

Thanks guys!!! Four more days- eek!!
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jgrrl22
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2007 11:32 am
Location: Illinois

#5 Post by jgrrl22 »

I got my braces back in January, and while I was lucky enough to only have to wear the spacers for 3 days before being braced, they were still a bit uncomfortable. It was kind of a dull ache the whole time they were in, but honestly NOT nearly as bad as the experience some of the people on this site seemed to have had.

As for food, for the first 4 or 5 days I ate a lot of softer foods... mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, spaghetti-o's, etc. Eventually, you'll start to get braver and try "harder" foods. LOL I found that taking 2 Aleve seemed to help with the pain, but I've also found taking a Tylenol and an Advil (one of each at the same time) helped as well.

Wax will be your BEST FRIEND until your mouth gets used to all the metal. The tubes on my molar bands scraped the inside of my cheeks horribly, and had it not been for the wax I might've run screaming back to the ortho's office to have the braces taken off! LOL j/k

Lastly, as for the toothbrush, while everyone's level of pain tolerance is different, I found that for the first month or so (when your teeth will be shifting the most) a regular manual toothbrush is best. I too have an electric toothbrush, but found that in the beginning my teeth were much too sore to handle the pressure/vibrations from the electric toothbrush. At this point the electric toothbrush is fine and doesn't bother me, but for a bit I'd let your teeth get used to the braces and move around a little before you try to use one!
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KLC
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Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:08 pm

#6 Post by KLC »

Thanks so much for the information! I got the spacers and brackets on today and so far I haven't been tempted to do anything drastic with any pliers :-) The wires go in next Friday so I'm taking it slowly but that's ok. I got clear on top and they are totally clear, it's great. Metal on the bottom and I'm not as happy with that. When I talk, you really only see my bottom teeth so all I see is metal... and I kind of feel, what's the point of getting clear on top if all you can see if the metal bottoms? It's kind of frustrating. I'm giving it a week to see if they grow on me.

So for those of you who had spacers, how long did it take for the pain to settle in? I'm going on 5 1/2 hours, pain-free, and I"m just sitting here waiting for it to come- ha ha!

Thanks again for all the support! Couldn't have done this without everyone's help!
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KLC
Posts: 156
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 7:08 pm

#7 Post by KLC »

Thanks so much for the information! I got the spacers and brackets on today and so far I haven't been tempted to do anything drastic with any pliers :-) The wires go in next Friday so I'm taking it slowly but that's ok. I got clear on top and they are totally clear, it's great. Metal on the bottom and I'm not as happy with that. When I talk, you really only see my bottom teeth so all I see is metal... and I kind of feel, what's the point of getting clear on top if all you can see if the metal bottoms? It's kind of frustrating. I'm giving it a week to see if they grow on me.

So for those of you who had spacers, how long did it take for the pain to settle in? I'm going on 5 1/2 hours, pain-free, and I"m just sitting here waiting for it to come- ha ha!

Thanks again for all the support! Couldn't have done this without everyone's help!
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