Coil springs - tips?

[catteethidk]

I got my braces adjusted Friday and my ortho put in some coil springs between my top front teeth and incisors, to make room for my laterals, which are still shoved back far enough they can't connect to the wire. i understand they'll help, but they are unbearably painful - putting wax over the connecting brackets does almost nothing, and I can't well put wax around the wire as it's so fragile; I'm not going to risk damaging it and moving my teeth the wrong way. Even touching it the wire seems to wiggle up and down slightly. But there's a visible wound in my inner lip and it hurts horribly. So far the absolute worst part of my braces experience. Does anyone have any advice for me? Bit desperate.

I will have my next adjustment in five weeks and do not live in the same city as my orthodontist.

[MissEvaH]

I didn't have coil springs but I did get lingual buttons recently which really bothered my tongue for the first couple of days but now I barely notice them. Have you tried a salt water rinse?

[djspeece]

those wires really aren't too fragile. I'd try gently placing a small amount of wax in the middle of it. Just don't press too hard.

[assertives]

Yea, the wires aren't really that fragile. I have tried lacing the wire with a long strip of wax. Although it didn't bend or break, the wax did not stick. Alternatively, try putting a huge glob of wax on the adjacent brackets before and after the spring. Those 2 globs of wax will prevent your lips from resting flat directly on the spring.

[djspeece]

The other option would be to try silicone, one form comes as Mack's ear plugs available in many pharmacies in the US. Some people swear by it, I tended to swear at it since it did not work well for me. You just pinch off a small gob just like dental wax.

[Jennilyn]

I have a spring to make room for a bottom tooth to come forward. It has hurt my inner lip a few times and I’ve put wax on it to help. My Ortho says doing so won’t hinder the movement of the teeth.

[dovhe]

Coil spring was the worst braces related experience I've had so far. I was using tons and tons of wax - the one you have to melt a little bit before you apply it. Regular dental wax didn't help much.

[Ravenclaw]

I have a coil spring added to my braces to make space for a retroclined lower central incisor. I guess I'm quite lucky because the coil spring between my lower right lateral incisor and lower left central incisor doesn't bother me at all. Food usually gets stuck in that area, so it's more difficult to clean. But pain has been nonexistent. It makes me wonder if it's working at all.

[Ravenclaw]

I have a coil spring added to my braces to make space for a retroclined lower central incisor. I guess I'm quite lucky because the coil spring between my lower right lateral incisor and lower left central incisor doesn't bother me at all. Food usually gets stuck in that area, so it's more difficult to clean. But pain has been nonexistent. It makes me wonder if it's working at all.

I take back what I said. I got an archwire change, and the coil spring now hurts like hell. I think one of the ends of the coil spring or the tie in one of the adjacent brackets is rubbing against my inner lip.

[Bracingmyself901]

Coil springs were easily the worst part of my experience so far. They are painful (so much pressure because they are exerting LOTs of force) and if braces weren't already a master a getting half your lunch stuck, coils were great at collecting food.

For the destroying your lip aspect, yes wax is your friend. Experiment with trying to mold it over the springs (wax needs to be dry to stick well so try not to wet it up) but lastly it just gets better over time. Your skin toughens up and gets used to it. The coils will be over in no time!