The pain is literally going to kill me. (spacers)

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ewwmagnet
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:33 am
Location: Corona, CA
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The pain is literally going to kill me. (spacers)

#1 Post by ewwmagnet »

Hi there,

This is my third day of spacers and I feel like the pain is becoming worse and worse. All of my teeth feel like they are being pushed to the front of my mouth, I'm taking asprin but besides that what else can I do to take my mind off of this horrid pain? If the spacers pain are this bad I'm really beginning to fear braces which I get on right after these horrid things are removed :(

JN_Woods
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 8:47 am
Contact:

I hate spacers!

#2 Post by JN_Woods »

I had my spacers put in on Wednesday, so I'm at day 3 also. Mine still hurt (especially when trying to eat something kinda chewy) but not like they did the morning after. I keep taking my Advil every 4-5 hours but it's not getting all of the pain. When I'm not sitting there thinking about my teeth, spacers, etc and just doing stuff around the house or running errands they don't bother me.

I have heard (from this site and my ortho) that the spacers are the worst part of the entire braces process.
Image

Upper Braces & Both Expanders 9/14/05
Lower Braces 1/5/06
Estimated Treatment Time: 24-27 months

decisionmade
Posts: 307
Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 2:33 pm
Location: BOSTON,MA

#3 Post by decisionmade »

Although I am not braced yet i have had spacers twice..ugh! so I can trealte but I've been told by everyone that spacers are worse than braces!!..good luck!
crowding, mild overjet, and crossbite
SARPE AND R.P Expander: 7-14-05
extraction : 9-15-05
Brace date: 9-29-05
Expander out! 1-12-06!!!!! after 6 long mos.
Taking them off!!! Feb 26, 2007
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=5209

mackenzie
Posts: 214
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2005 9:13 am
Location: michigan, usa

#4 Post by mackenzie »

I have had mine over a week now and they don't hurt anymore, but the 2nd day was REALLY bad. I went to a waterpark and kept busy the rest of the day, that helped me to not think about it.

That night I went to Old Country Buffet, that was torture! All those good foods and my teeth hurt so bad! Anyway I found that really hot and cold mushy foods helped. Like eating cooked mushy carrots was soothing and eating cold rice pudding numbed the pain.

Let me know if your teeth look more crowded from the spacers. Mine have gotten pretty bad.

JN_Woods
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 8:47 am
Contact:

#5 Post by JN_Woods »

mackenzie, I can't believe you went to a buffet with spacers. Yikes! I'm worried about going out to dinner with my boyfriend and his family in a couple days. I guess I'll have soup!

I agree that hot soft foods feel good. I had a chicken pot pie from KFC yesterday and I was fine (be careful with the crust and chicken). I ate the vegetables and my teeth were happy.

Yes, my teeth are more crowded than they were before, especially my bottoms. At least we're all getting braces put on soon to help with all the moving the spacers are doing!
Image

Upper Braces & Both Expanders 9/14/05
Lower Braces 1/5/06
Estimated Treatment Time: 24-27 months

fins
Posts: 591
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 5:41 pm

#6 Post by fins »

The spacers will eventually feel better, just go with the soft foods while they hurt. My lower spacers NEVER hurt at all. Hang in there.
fins

JN_Woods
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2005 8:47 am
Contact:

#7 Post by JN_Woods »

Yeah, my uppers are the ones bothering me. I guess my lowers aren't at all. Hmmmm....I hadn't even realized that.
Image

Upper Braces & Both Expanders 9/14/05
Lower Braces 1/5/06
Estimated Treatment Time: 24-27 months

spragers
Posts: 178
Joined: Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:30 pm
Contact:

#8 Post by spragers »

I'm nearing the end of my braces journey, andthe initial spacers were STILL the worst part of the entire process. Except for that one adjustment when I just about jumped out of the chair ;)

In other words, hang in there, it WILL get better :)

csblackburn
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 10:10 am
Location: Vancouver, BC
Contact:

Spacers are the worst part

#9 Post by csblackburn »

I've only been in braces for 10 days now. Spacers were terrible for me as well as I had 12 of them jammed in my teeth. It was extremely difficult to chew for the whole week and I can relate with the pain you feel. The real problem with mine were the force they were trying to exact against my wisdom teeth as they had nowhere to go except into the end of my jaw. The spacers worked to get 6 of the 8 bands on, but I will be getting a couple more spacers in a few weeks now that my wisdom teeth are gone in order to get the last two bottom bands on.

Unfortunately, they really do suck. Do whatever you can to make it through.

Cary
Got braces? http://www.igotbraces.com
The orthodontic and orthognathic surgery support forum for everyone.

Image

Stellar
Posts: 27
Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2005 6:31 am
Location: Cleveland Heights, Ohio

#10 Post by Stellar »

My spacers have been a royal pain too, but I'm looking forward to the end result..... A GREAT SMILE!! :HugeGrin: I do hope these spacers are the worst part of our journey though, like I've read from several other posts.
Image
Spacers: Aug. 22, 2005
1 Wisdom Extraction: Aug. 27, 2005
Braced: Sept. 8, 2005
4 First Bicuspids Extraction: Sept. 9, 2005

TuZZi
Posts: 276
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2005 2:00 pm
Location: BC, Canada

#11 Post by TuZZi »

The 2 times I had to get spacers in, I was told by every other patient in the office at the time that the spacers were the WORST part of treatment. There was a 10 year old in there that said the spacers sucked big time, and his braces haven't hurt at all compared to the spacers.

I think the main thing is trying to keep your mind off of the pain. I barely ever think of my teeth when I'm busy at work, but when I'm bored and sitting at home, it's on my mind frequently. Just try to keep busy, and stay positive... the spacers are just the beginning.
http://www.archwired.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=6100
Full On Metal! Aug 31, 2005
4 Bicuspids extracted Sept 26-27 2005
Disbanded n loving it - June 12, 2007!

WolfmanXII
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 2:39 am

Spacers

#12 Post by WolfmanXII »

I have had braces for 1 year and 3 months. I also just got elastics on an 2 power chains. The pain of anything on my braces do not come close to the pain of the spacers. The spacers are most definately the worst part of getting braces.

BraceUrself
Posts: 160
Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2005 6:40 pm
Location: Az

#13 Post by BraceUrself »

I don't yet have my spacers either but I will agree with everyone about them being the worst part because thats what I've heard & been told also! In my paperwork from my Ortho, it says that it is NORMAL to feel like your teeth are being pushed forward & on the bottom of the page it says, "remember, Spacers are usually the worst part of getting the braces so hang in there!"

Take your meds & stay focused & positive-Your teeth will lok great & you won't regret it! :wink:
Spacers-9-19-05
Top Braced-10-03-05
lowers on-10-17-05
appliance installed in mouth 10-17-05
2 extractions on 8-3-06
2 years treatment time

Dr says I won't finish on time

lilleth
Posts: 150
Joined: Tue Aug 31, 2004 7:37 am

#14 Post by lilleth »

Well, I got 4 spacers (around 1st molars on bottom) today and so far no pain. It took 2 techs and 4 hands to get one of them in, so I thought I might be in for a bad time. But I have to say that my top braces have hurt very little, so maybe I'm lucky (this time around - when I had braces 32 years ago I hurt nonstop for several years).

I'm just still worried about grinding my teeth at night with no night guard once the bottoms go on.

wating4braces
Posts: 231
Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2005 6:38 pm

#15 Post by wating4braces »

Hmm... well, my spacer experience was different than all of those... :D I first got my spacers put in, all that was wrong at first was that annoying feeling of having food stuck in your teeth. It started hurting a teeny bit later, but still mostly ok. Later, we went to the mall and i got a subway with lots of hard and crunchy onions and green peppers. it felt SOO good to chew something! Still to pain. About 8 days later i went and got my spacers taken out (heaven!) to get bands for my expanders fitted. When they were done, i got new ones put in. wow. I sure as hell felt THOSE in about an hour. It hurt sooo bad and i was NOT expecting that. Whee, mashed potatoes for me. The pain lasted for a while. It wasn't a constant pain after the first couple of days. It was MORE annoying than a constant pain, actually. I woke up one morning and the spacers didn't hurt, so i thought, yay i can have real food for breakfast! Heh heh, not. So i bit down on a HARD piece of bacon. I screamed sooo loud my parents thought it was still hot or something. Anyway, it wasn't a constant pain after a while, but i couldn't eat anything. GOod luck with your braces!

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