The age-old question...

[BracketRacket]

To wax, or not to wax?

My cheek right near the corner of my lip keeps getting irritated on one side. I'm not even sure what's rubbing, I think it's a combination of bracket and a stretch of wire (the spacing is funky, since we're closing the gap from SARPE -- the front's nearly closed, but now there's other spacing issues, etc., etc., par for the course).

Anyway, this has been going on for at least a month, since just before my first adjustment. It's pretty irritated nowadays. Basically, it's a cycle. I wax pretty much three entire brackets and the wire completely (or use that other product that I understand we can't say) for a day or two, it heals up and then I stop putting wax on it. Then, within a few days, it gets irritated again. I haven't put wax on for about a week, but now there's a sore there and it's pretty owie.

So, do I try to stick it out and leave the wax off in the hopes it'll toughen up, or do I keep putting wax on and let it heal (and then presumably un-heal again)? Any other suggestions?

I do see my ortho in about a week. They did say to call if it anything starts creating actual sores or cuts and not just irritation, but I'd feel silly since I have an appointment in a week and I've waited this long.

Thanks guys!

[BaliGirl]

Ah, the age old question....

I have had my braces for 2 months and was determined at first to toughen up my mouth and use wax as little as possible. I would play little wax mind games with myself (I'll wax tonight but not tomorrow. I'll wax for 24 hours on and 24 hours off. I'll wait until I have an active sore to wax.) That worked great until last week when I started getting sores of unknown origin after weeks with no problems at all. Now I have given up on the wax mind games and just put on as much wax (silicone) as I need to prevent minor irritations from becoming full fledged sores (which happens more quickly than I would think possible).

[thmmom]

When I get a sore in my mouth, I will use a mouth rinse for sores like Peroxyl. Once I get the spot healed, if it gets irritated again I will use the rinse again. For me, that seems to help the area toughen up. I am 5 months in now and I seem to get fewer and fewer sores all the time. I haven't used any wax for at least a month or two now.

[blackapple]

I was using wax in the beginning like it was crack because I hated the feeling of the braces against my mouth. I said the hell with this after the first two weeks and just dealt with it. Haven't used wax since.

I do notice a portion of my wire is a bit longer than it was before and it's piercing my bottom inner lip at times. I guess I could use wax but I never do. For some reason I forget I even have the stuff because I just don't use it. By the time my mouth gets irritated I find my bite has changed yet again so I don't have the same sore spots anymore and the area heals.

[BracketRacket]

I was thinking just before this how lucky I was to have such minor irritation from the brackets so far! I used wax a little at first, then didn't use any until this started bothering me. My mouth is sooo sensitive that I was surprised they bothered me so little. I have a feeling my bottom braces won't be as "kind", not looking forward to that.
I think I'll glop them up tonight and see what happens from there -- this really hurts! You can literally see a line from the wire, I guess.

[seriousthinker]

If I were you I'd put some wax on. My back wire has poked me from day one (admittedly I'm only just starting out, see ticker) and I'm tending to take it off to eat then waiting 30m to brush and putting it back on there a short while after brushing. Hopefully this will ease me into it a little at a time. I'm noticing that I can stand it a little longer each time.

It hasn't really bothered my lips yet but I'll quickly pop some wax on if it does.

Hope this helps.

[Spurfy]

Use the wax! It doesn't hurt anything and it makes the experience so much easier. At one point I was putting wax on six different spots to try and ease the friction. I have a badly angled back molar and the wire pokes into my cheek no matter how short they cut it (and they can't cut it very well because of the angle) so it has a constant glob of wax on it.

I would only avoid wax if it's more of an annoyance to you than the sores. I personally wouldn't want to live without it.

[BracketRacket]

I put wax on and then left it off and thought maybe, just maybe, it had stopped -- and it's doing it again!
I have an appt. tomorrow (spacers, round two!), so I'll ask if there's anything obviously wrong, and if not, more wax. And more wax. And more...

[gokix]

I used wax for the first few months, but slowly weaned off of it. Now I find my mouth has toughened up and I don't really need it at all.

[petal]

I find I am going through stages where I won't need any wax at all for a while, then all of a sudden I will have a few sore spots and definitely need the wax. I try to keep wax on the spots that bother me the most until they heal. I want my mouth to toughen up, but I also need to be comfortable. Do what you feel is best for you....that will prove to be the best decision.