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I had spacers put on this morning (three on both top sides and two on each bottom side). Agony. In a case of bitter irony, the song on the radio during this torture was "Hurts So Good" by John Cougar Mellencamp. The techs and other patient got a laugh when I pointed that out.
What are eating/cleaning do's and don'ts? I'm already planning to eat a soft dinner (maybe just an ice cream sundae since it's Mardi Gras after all).
Brackets and archwire put on 1/26/09
Spacers 2/24/09
Bands & rewire 3/9/09
the agony of spacers....I don't miss that week at all. Yes you will be on soft foods, i thought that i could eat anything....i was wrong!!! Just think in a week or so when they take them out, you will actually hear your teeth sigh in relief that they are gone!!!! Ok so seriously, they are a big pain in the rear!!!
YUMMMMMM ice cream for dinner....that sounds so good!
Spacers......the only things that can actually make you feel relieved when your teeth are banded. It's almost like they are a braces test--if you can survive spacers you'll be ok with actual braces. Hang in there because it will get better.
Luckily I like my Frosted Mini Wheats mushy. My top front left incisor is the most painful.
I guess my ortho did things a little backwards. I had brackets and archwires put on Jan. 26, but they couldn't put the spacers on at that time. I have these rubber-washer things between my back teeth until March 9, when I get my back teeth banded/braced and everything tweaked.
Brackets and archwire put on 1/26/09
Spacers 2/24/09
Bands & rewire 3/9/09
I had spacers prior to fitting my expanders (I recently underwent SARPE and MSDO surgery so I am currently blessed with a hyrax appliance on both my top and bottom jaw).
I have SEVERE crowding on top and bottom arches and I thought the spacers would be terrible. It took the orthodontist 20 minutes to get 12 of them in my mouth!! He said he never has seen contacts that were so tight. I joked with him that he wouldn't have to work out that night!!
It turned out they were not nearly as bad as I thought. I had to eat a couple of soft meals, but honestly I had myself worked up over nothing. The only time there was any discomfort was when you are eating. I'm crossing my fingers that braces will be the same way when I get them on...
I know others have had worse experiences with spacers, but if it gets too bad take an OTC pain killer and you should be OK. Also, take it easy on the food and take steak off the menu for the next few days!
Good luck to you...and congratulations on getting started.
I had spacers for a week and I didn't like it... I could not chew with those teeth because it hurt so much... it id get better I think by like the 6th day... but on the 7th day I got them out and they put braces in. The braces feel really weird but don't hurt as much.
For me, the first day was perfectly normal... and then... the 3 following days were agony! My teeth were really sensitive and I had to puree all my food .
Afterwards the pain went away, but I always felt I had a big piece of food stuck between the teeth and I couldn't get it out
It was a great relief when they came out, a week latter.
In a case of bitter irony, the song on the radio during this torture was "Hurts So Good" by John Cougar Mellencamp. The techs and other patient got a laugh when I pointed that out. 
.
