Brace Guard or Brace eez

[Noellenoelle]

I have bottom ibraces on now and am getting the top ones on AUg. 21st. It will be 2 weeks on Tuesday-The one thing that is my biggest problem is my tongue getting sores on it. I have seen people mention Brace Guard nad Brace eez on this site-can these be used with ibraces? What is the difference between these two things?

[lionfish]

Can't advise on either of these products as I didn't use them.

Give yourself a little longer to see how things settle down. The first 2 weeks are usually the worst, after which one's tongue gets used to contact with the brackets and the sores start to disappear.

[rolo]

I used braceze, it gave good relief, but hardened in the tube after 48 hours. I mostly used regular wax, at first quite a lot of it. That said, no problems at all with IBraces (top only). My ortho tells me the top is more comfortable than if you have them on the bottom. The other thing that really helped with soreness and speech was staying well hydrated.

Good Luck

[loopyloo]

Ive used both. Brace guard is a little plastic tube, designed to fit over the brackets like a lid of sorts. It clicks on and you can trim it into place, or on one of them you can even make it up yourself. It does work, but spit collects in the tube, and food probably would do as well, so you would have to take it off to eat. and the ends can get a little sore because even though it is softer than the metal of braces, it's still hard plastic edging at the end of the day. You cant wear it forever without taking a break.

Braceeez really works. Problem I had was that it glues onto the brace so hard, that when you pull it off, it can do all sorts of damage, untangling wire ligs etc, and pulling out the archwire (if you arent careful). You can eat with this on however, as it seems to completely block food.

So, I used both. If you're anything like me you will need to. It's easy to forget now, but I was literally in agony when I first got my braces. It cant be described unless you live through it. There is a horrible, horrible adjustment period. I dont agree with the people that tell you to suffer in silence, ride it out with no protection. Put as much wax, guards, braceeez, whatever, in your mouth until you adjust naturally. Dont suffer unnessecarily.

[Noellenoelle]

Ive used both. Brace guard is a little plastic tube, designed to fit over the brackets like a lid of sorts. It clicks on and you can trim it into place, or on one of them you can even make it up yourself. It does work, but spit collects in the tube, and food probably would do as well, so you would have to take it off to eat. and the ends can get a little sore because even though it is softer than the metal of braces, it's still hard plastic edging at the end of the day. You cant wear it forever without taking a break.

Braceeez really works. Problem I had was that it glues onto the brace so hard, that when you pull it off, it can do all sorts of damage, untangling wire ligs etc, and pulling out the archwire (if you arent careful). You can eat with this on however, as it seems to completely block food.

So, I used both. If you're anything like me you will need to. It's easy to forget now, but I was literally in agony when I first got my braces. It cant be described unless you live through it. There is a horrible, horrible adjustment period. I dont agree with the people that tell you to suffer in silence, ride it out with no protection. Put as much wax, guards, braceeez, whatever, in your mouth until you adjust naturally. Dont suffer unnessecarily.

Hi Loopyloo-thanks for the info. I HEAR you about the adjustment period...eating still isn't the most enjoyable thing..I guess I am overly paranoid too..I can't imagine what it will be like once I get the tops on (Sept. 4th)...how long till you felt like you were totally used to the ibraces? Do you have on the tops and bottom too??

[loopyloo]

I have linguals (not ibraces) on top and bottom. Like you, I got the bottom set on first. It really did take me a long time to adjust to them, particularly the very last two brackets that poked like mad. I cant quite remember how long it took now, but I think in my case it was the use of metal ligs, and when they were changed to elastic ones (about 6 weeks later), I had a much, much easier time of it. I used wax, brace guard, braceeez in various places until that time, mostly at the back brackets and the very front brackets, where my tongue used to get cut up when I spoke.

I didnt get the uppers on until a few months later, by then I needed no wax etc on the bottoms. The uppers went on and the pain started all over again. However, I got used to them much quicker and it didnt affect my speech at all (I had more problems with the lowers). The fourth teeth in (counting from the top front teeth on each side) were the worst to get used to, because they poke more than the others and the brackets seem sharper - maybe it's the shape, because you'll notice that not all the brackets are the same shape for each tooth. So I had braceez on them for quite a while. You will, of course, eventually get used to them. Suddenly it just happens without noticing. I wouldnt say my experience was typical, and perhaps I just have a low pain threshold. Eating will always be more a chore than when you're brace-less, but that too does improve. The worst part about eating for me is that stuff gets caught in the braces, particularly the front brackets on the bottom set. It's true what they say though, dont eat pizza crust, two of my brackets came off when I did

Nearly 6 months in, and I still get a sore tongue if I have been talking a lot, but I dont think there's any way to avoid that.