2nd day w/Braces...literally crying...need advice

[Crazy4Snow]

Please tell me the shooting pain and soreness and throbbing will soon stop. Here I was worried more about canker sores, little did I know it would be the movement that would be the worst.

I've had nothing to eat for 36 hours except milkshakes and I do brush...gently but religiously. My God I can't believe the shooting pain, all the way up to my eyeballs when I brush my uppers!!! Is that normal???

I guess I can endure it if I knew it would soon end. I really thought the soreness from tooth movement wouldn't be this bad, I'm literally surprised that it is as bad as it is. Am I being a baby or does it really hurt bad for most of y'all? Then the thought entered my mind that something may be wrong and should I call my ortho and risk looking like an idiot?

So please, any and all advice welcome...I'm desperate here. If all this MAJOR pain is normal when you first get braces, when will it subside? A few more days? Weeks? HELP PLEASE.

[merlin]

When I got mine, they hurt like a papercut at the worst,
but that's probably because I only had 4 top braces and 4 bottom braces.
How much braces do you have? Do you also wear an appliance or headgear?
If they hurt badly now, I highly doubt they should hurt any more, and
should stop hurting tomorrow. How old are you, because if you go to school,
and people make fun of you ie. (railroad tracks, pizza braces) you start to get
even more used to the braces. Weird, I know. Trust me, just think of the good
things about your braces, ie.(cool colours, how good they look on you, how
cutely nerdy they might look). I suggest you wait one more day, and if they
still hurt as much as they do now, then call the orthodontist right away, to be sure.
When my braces hurt, I would often look at them in the mirror and check if any
brackets or wires were loose or poking out. I hope I helped, and just a tip,
make sure to be upfront and proud about your braces because when they come off
you will miss them soon. Always get your favourite colours, and smile the biggest
smile you can in pictures. I wish I had my braces still.

[Crazy4Snow]

Merlin, I'm 44 and I have full metal on uppers and lowers, no headgear or other appliances.

I feel a dull throbbing and soreness while just sitting watching tv, no talking, no moving of my mouth. But when I brush...OH MY GOD...the searing pain! I won't even attempt eating because of the pain.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and as a result have become pretty accustomed to pain, but this is totally different.

I just wanted to hear if anyone else experienced this when they first got braces and approximately how long before it started easing off.

[belenov]

hi, im about six weeks braced. the first two weeks were pretty traumatic. sometimes i was literally stopped dead in my tracks with sudden pain. if it was not the top set then it was the bottom set. anyhow the pain passed, i can eat most things now and i am just waiting for my next appointment. stay strong it should be fine.

[pasr16]

hmmm i dont think mine hurt as much. if its that bad definitely talk to the ortho and let him/her know. hope things get better!

[LC'sTeefs]

Hi there Crazy4Snow! I'm sorry the pain is so bad for you, but be reassured that it will get better. I too could not believe the amount of pain involved with these braces. My son got braces a couple months before me, so I was able to talk to him about it. Basically, he told me to stop whining and suck it up! Kids!
Give it a week, and if the pain doesn't start getting better, go see your ortho about it. Good luck to ya!

[Lynette]

The pain really should settle down in the next few days and then will probably hurt again after your next adjustment. Maybe try taking some paracetemol or ibuprofen. If it's REALLY REALLY sore, maybe your ortho put a too heavy wire in?

[pjacjac]

I feel your pain, I was the same way I could barely brush and flossing my two front teeth made me want to cry. i took painkillers nearly solid for a week and half from the time the spacers went in.Even lying down to sleep felt like my teeth throbbed worse and were sliding around on me it was weird. Mine took longer than most to ease up but things have improved immensely. I have really sensitive teeth though.

I'm just over six weeks in and had my first new wire in and I took painkillers before I went in and it went pretty well although I find different teeth hurt on different days, it's a little annoying but my ortho was pleased at how quickly my bite was improving so I'm going with pain is a good thing. I'm at the stage where once in while I need the odd Advil if one tooth is acting up a little too much.

It will get better. Give it a week or two.

[Crazy4Snow]

Thank the good Lord for this forum...and for Hydrocodone (sp?). 60 hours since braced and still hurtin' bad! Yep, I just had a major meltdown...crying, cursing, throwing stuff...I know what y'all mean now when you talk about the desire the claw your teeth. I'm really not a baby when it comes to pain so this has me totally baffled and aggravated that I'm not handling it better. Maybe because it's constant, unrelenting, never a break?

Reading your responses and all the other stories on here help me immensely! I don't feel so alone in the experience. Poor hubby kisses my face and waits on me hand and foot and I can tell it bothers him that he can't help and doesn't really understand but I'm glad he's "here for me".

When I get discouraged or desperate I come here and read...it helps...it gives me hope that this pain will pass. If it felt this way the entire 2 years I wouldn't do it if I was paid big money!

My cheeks and lips are fine, adjusting with no sores or complications whatsoever. It's the movement, the pressure, the shooting pain that is killin' me.

I'll keep y'all updated and thanks again for all the encouragement!

[bottlecap1990]

Pain will go away. Don't worry. Try eating ice cream.

[musiclady2340]

It will get better. Keep pushing the cold liquids. Be encouraged and press on...

[sammywantstraightteeth]

It is normal to be in pain at first. Some people are lucky and hardly feel it but others will have so much pain they think that something must be wrong.

Everyone has a different pain threshold. Some people can break an arm and hardly care while others would be screaming - so anyone who tells you 'it hardly hurts at all stop being a baby' can't possibly know how much pain you are or aren't in, so don't listen to them if they do.

Give it a couple more days and take something for the pain if it is getting in the way of living your life. If it doesn't improve after day 4 or 5 then call your orthodontist, maybe ask if he can check things over to make sure there isn't anything wrong.

For me, the first 2 days were very painful brushing and chewing, and although I was able to eat solid food it took me three times as long as usual to get through it.

[nifer237]

I just had my uppers put on last week and they started me on elastics. Today is the first in 6 days I've felt slight pain, as opposed to excruciating. Just push through it, do the best you can to minimize it and it will go away. The elastics pushed me over the edge, but the pain from just getting them on was nothing compared to this.

[tashay1985]

I can definitely relate! When I got my braces put on, I thought ehh no big deal! That is for the first 6 hours. After that, I had excruciating pain for about 2 weeks. I was told it usually lasts only a few days, but boy were they wrong! I was so tempted to ask the Ortho to take the braces off and I probably would have if I didn't have extraction gaps. It definitely does get better with time I promise! Eating is definitely a challenge in the beginning I felt like my whole jaw might crack with every bite it just hurt too much. I couldnt even eat a slice of bread without throbbing in pain, so I feel your pain I know it's very frustrating but it will ease up over time.

I took lots of tylenol and excedrin to try and help ease the pain. One thing I wasn't prepared for was all the sores that were going to pop up once the wires started to straighten out, poking and jabbing you constantly. Have plenty of wax handy, warm salt water and some canker sore medicine it really helps. Nothing is worse in the beginning than having pain from the pressure of braces and then getting nasty sores on top of that

I hope your pain goes away soon and you are not alone! Its just a phase that will pass soon, good luck and congrats on getting the braces

[bbsadmin]

If Ibuprofen or Tylenol aren't helping your pain, you might want to try this device:

http://www.dentakit.com/gumease.html

It apparently stops the pain signals from reaching your brain. It has been clinically proven to work and it has a 90 day money-back guarantee from the manufacturer.

BTW, your teeth are usually more sensitive than usual after braces go on. I remember that I couldn't brush very effectively at first because of the sensitivity. It went away after a couple of weeks.