Got my braces last week.... hating the composite 'bumpers'

[canuck88]

So far so good with the braces - I have the Damon brackets, and have not had any pain, just a couple of sensitive teeth. However, what is bothering me are the stupid composite 'bumpers' - the globs of composite on 2 of my back molars (one on each side) that make chewing very difficult. I wish my Ortho had warned me that these were likely to be put on my teeth!!

Anyone have any tips for making chewing with these things easier??

[BraceFace2o1o]

I had these too, no tips here... all I can really say is you get used to them and eventually you should be able to eat pretty easily by then.

[Jahs2015]

The bumpers definitely took some getting used to. I hated them for the first 6 weeks or so, but now I have pretty much forgotten about them. No great chewing tips....I have more contact on the left side, so I always chew on that side. I had my first adjustment yesterday, and today everything is pretty sore, especially my upper left molar, so I am back to a soft diet again.

My daughter keeps reminding me I have 74 weeks left :(

[Sita]

My upper canines hit the brackets on my lower ones. It's annoying but I was told until my teeth moved I'd just have to put up with it. Yay. Because my teeth don't close properly I end up biting my lower lip while I'm sleeping as well so it's not just annoying but painful as well.

No tips here either on chewing, but I am getting used to it and I am sure you will too.

[trisportgirl]

Those SUCK! I had turbos for 11 weeks so I feel your pain. On the plus side, it gets so much easier once they are off!

I drank a lot of smoothies and soup, pasta was okay once I could mush it up a little more (I actually tried putting it in the blender, but that wasn't a successful experiment), mashed potatoes, yogurt, and finally my favourite: cottage cheese. It has just enough texture that it's not more liquid, but you can mush it up with your tongue and you don't even have to chew!

[badbites]

I have similar "molar buildups" on my molars. Still working on trying to find a way to chew properly. For now, I'm sticking to soft foods that can be chewed, but don't require chewing. My other problem is that the entire roof of my mouth and back of my top teeth is occupied by acrylic...this thing alone makes most food off limits...and whatever food is possible usually ends up stuck on top of it.

God bless my Waterpik...:)

[lambchop]

I found my tongue worked double duty in the beginning, as it steered the food to the proper place to be chewed by the two teeth that actually met with the buildups on. I thought I only had to make it till the first adjustment...HA! It's been eight months now, and I was told that at my next adjustment on April 24, they'll be moving them forward, so molar buildups will become bite turbos, making sure I have to learn how to eat all over again! I keep reminding myself how much better it will be than biting my brackets...Eat slowly, especially in the beginning, and eventually, they'll wear down a little, and the other molars will come up a little bit, and before you know it, you'll have four chewing surfaces. I always have found pasta, although soft, to be a little difficult to eat, maybe because it's slippery and harder to keep it on the buildups where it can be properly ground up (not that that stops me from eating pasta...I just hope my stomach doesn't mind a few larger chunks!). Good luck!

[smartygirl]

i had those on my front teeth to correct my bite. couldn't chew for weeks! i was drinking bodybuilder protein drinks, and still lost a ton of weight. people who've never had them don't know what it's like - i had people think i was crazy for saying i couldn't eat, but i found even things like baked beans weren't softe enough.

it does get better though! once your teeth start moving into place, you'll be able to chew again.

[stealth76]

Hello. I got the bumpers too on lower molars when i had braces fitted on top.

Not really annoying on me for chewing. Got used to in 2 or 3 days.

But now they do not do their job well as my teeths are back hurting the bottom brackets. Also, One of the bumper is on an unbraced molar, so the molar got aside with the pressure, so it is not anymore in line (which was the case before, it s why i didnt had bands on)...