Braces

[hockeymom7691]

My son got his braces on yesterday and I am living in a nightmare!!! I know it's painful but for being a "tough" hockey player, it's amazing how dramatic he can be! He makes sure that EVERYONE knows when it's uncomfortable by yelling & moaning very loudly!!

He hasn't eaten very much (meatballs for dinner, pudding for snack & breakfast).

I've given him Motrin for the pain but I don't know what else to do besides wear earplugs! He kept me up half the night!

I tried to get him to put the wax that the ortho gave him onto the sore spots but he says this doesn't work.

Any suggestions? I told him to ask some of the kids at school what they did for the pain but I bet he won't ask them. As a matter of fact, I bet he doesn't complain once at school. He'll save it all for me!

He has hockey tryouts (for next year) tonight. He's trying out for a high school JV team. I'm sure once he gets on the ice, he'll forget all about the braces but I don't think I can stand the whining anymore!

Boy, did I need to vent!

 

[crz4mm2]

I had braces as an adult. Wore a retainer as a child. It hurt both times. Braces were worse. Many places that rubbed and pulled. Awful. Usually is the worse when they are first applied and then when new wires are put on (was once a month for me for awhile). I took motrin. It does hurt, but usually is much better after a day or so.
Boys are much bigger whiners than girls by the way Both my kids had braces and the boy was much worse

Good luck to both of you. The wax does help keep the braces from rubbing the lips and cheeks

Cathy

 

[momtoce&j]

If he's complaining that much I would take him back to the orthodontist. With my older daughter, the orthodontist wants to know if something isn't right. In fact a few weeks ago, DD had appt. for check up and explains to him that her retainer had been bothering her. (I had no idea, she never once mentioned it to me.) Well, the Dr. came out to the waiting room and lectured me (nicely) on how we need to call him right away if she has any discomfort, and he'll make an appt to see her to fix it.

My DD also complained when the braces were first put on. She did use the wax, it seemed to help a little. I also told her the discomfort she was feeling was a small price to pay for the nice straight teeth she was going to have. That helped too. You know mind over matter.

I hope this helped. Let us know what happens.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

i got braces when i was in 5th grade..and it hurt soo bad...but i found motrin helped..as well as talking..i know it sounds weird, but the ortho told me to try to talk asm uch as possible...i thought that was strange, but it worked..good luck

 

[charabby]

I have braces (I'm 33) and I agree that the pain lasts 2 days, tops. If he takes Motrin, it shouldn't even hurt that much.

As far as the wax, I would encourage him to skip it - it takes a week or so, but your mouth will get 'used to' the braces and you'll never need the wax. At first, that is pretty uncomfortable, but in the long run, using the wax all the time is a pain.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I agree with MomtoCe&J - tell him how wonderful he will look when his braces are off! Tell him how fortunate he is that he doesn't have to pay the thousands of dollars it costs! And tell him that almost every kid nowadays gets braces, so get used to it!!!!!

Seriously, I am a 34 year old adult in full braces for three years, with chains and elastics hanging all over my brackets (lovely sight!). The pain was annoying at first, but in a couple of weeks my sore spots were healing and your mouth get used to all the new metal.

I think kids nowadays should be THANKING their parents profusely for braces, not complaining! A beautiful smile is absolutely necessary nowadays, and you are doing a wonderful thing for him by getting him the braces!

 

[always quiet]

My son has had them for 2 1/2 yrs. They should be coming off in the near future!! What I found that worked best for the discomfort was the Chloroseptic spray. Numbs the whole mouth almost instantly!! After the initial pain when he first got them on, he never really complained about the discomfort. They seem MUCH less painful than the ones I had to endure back in 70's!! Only once, when the dentist put the spring in to make a pocket for an incoming tooth did he REALLY complain!! When the dentist tells you "This IS going to hurt...don't call me!" you know you are in for a rough night!! (I am happy to report that within one month, this spring moved the teeth enough to make space for the eye tooth!! )

 

[binny]

***whine***

dont tell me that! Im going to get my braces put on soon.... WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH





LOL hope your ds feels better relaly soon and remind him how nice it will be when his teeth look great!

 

[stitch79]

I have braces right now too, I'm 24. After 2-3 days the soreness will get better. Advil is my pain killer of choice and it does help alot.

 

[hockeymom7691]

Thanks everyone for your help & opinions. You have to know my darling DS, he is very dramatic and strong willed.

The funny thing is that before he got his braces on, he had to wear retainers which were a type I've never seen before. They were these big bulky things glued in his mouth and he had these little pipe type things on each side to tighten with the key. They looked horrible and were also painful the first couple of days. But you can't tell him that! Now he says that they didn't hurt at all. Poor Memory, obviously!

I tell him how lucky he is to get braces and end up with beautiful teeth. My parents couldn't afford it so I still have crooked teeth. Of course being a 12 yr old boy, he could care less how straight they'll be.

We'll see how he feels when he comes home from school. Hopefully the mood has brightened! I did go to the store & bought him some of his "soft" favorites like Scooby Doo mac & cheese & yogurt.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Popsicles help a lot. Not chewing them, because that hurts, but just having something cold in your mouth really helps. Braces really can be painful. I actually had a heat activated wire for the first 3 months. I got my braces in December, in NH. So everytime I went outside for recess for those 3 months, the wire would "freeze". As soon as I got back into the warm classroom it would "thaw" and start pulling my teeth again. I cannot tell you how much anything cold, even drinking water helps. Even sticking an ice cube in your mouth helps.

 

[hockeymom7691]

He came home from school and seemed to be doing a little better - no whining! Still won't eat much. He did try the mac & cheese but complained it hurt his mouth. He ate about 4 containers of yogurt though.

I think I'm going to give the Ortho a call tomorrow, it looks like the wire behind his top teeth is broken. I don't know if it was that way (I guess I should have paid attention) but I can't imagine that.

I tried to get him to eat some ice cream but he wouldn't. I think he'll be feeling better as the days go on. At least he didn't carry on today! Phew!

 

[DocRafiki]

You guys are scaring me. I just got my first fillings ever today and am planning on getting braces next. (I'm 30).

I can't imagine being upset about having braces... I wanted them so bad when I was younger. My teeth aren't horrible; just the bottom ones need braces. But my parents "couldn't afford" them, so now it's up to me.

I haven't seen the orthodontist yet, but I'm hoping to be able to get something "invisible." Does anyone have experience with that?

 

[Sugarbaby]

My sympathies!! I have had two kids in braces,so I know that they do have discomfort. I also know that 5th and 6th graders are so dramatic. I agree with the previous posters- the wax and Ibuprofen do help. We have also used Anbesol to numb the irritated tissue until the mouth gets used to braces. They make a bubblegum flavored kind for kids with braces. I got it at Walmart. I am sympathetic when she complains,but when the drama gets too intense,I just say "Well,if it's that painful,then we need to see the doc tomorrow!" If it really hurts,they're glad to go. If it's just overacting,it's ever so much better in the morning and they really feel fine now!!

 

[stitch79]

Originally posted by DocRafiki
You guys are scaring me. I just got my first fillings ever today and am planning on getting braces next. (I'm 30).

I can't imagine being upset about having braces... I wanted them so bad when I was younger. My teeth aren't horrible; just the bottom ones need braces. But my parents "couldn't afford" them, so now it's up to me.

I haven't seen the orthodontist yet, but I'm hoping to be able to get something "invisible." Does anyone have experience with that?

Unless your teeth only need "tweaking" I don't think you can use the invisalign product. When you go to see an ortho ask them if they offer invisalign and the Dr. can say whether you could use them or not.

I have the clear braces on top and you can not really see them unless you are up close. All in all braces are not that bad, after a few months you hardly notice they are there at all. Its just the few first days after an adjustment that it can be uncomfortable, but that can be taken care of easily with tylenol or advil.

If you have any questions just let me know! I also am a fan of this website, www.archwired.com , its a site for adults with braces and has alot of great info.

 

[TalkisCheap]

i got my braces on 2 and 1/2 years ago and they are(FINALLY!) coming off in 3 weeks!

When I got them on, I complained, and I found that talking hurt more than actually helping and basically just sat there and moaned....i ate popsicles and yogurt because they slid down easily. One of the posts, boys complain more than girls, so not the case in my family. Me and my sister complained SOO much more than my brother who had his braces on for a whopping 5 years! Yep, the first 3 years messed his teeth up more than they were to start with because the idiot had no idea what he was doing. He ate pizza the night he got them on....yep thats my brother. I also never used wake unless i had a wire sticking into me. I found it easier to weight a few days to let my gums and cheeks 'toughen up' and form a shield agaisnt the jabbing. Oh, and telling me to look forward to my nice beautiful teeth? I covered my ears each time my parents went into THAT and just wished they would shut their mouthes! Basically, try to sleep, eat popsicles, ice cream, or yogurt, and just let the pain run its course. I never even took any pain killers, and I definatly just live through the pain that follows checkups. Now my only worry is everyone telling me how much getting them off will hurt...I just think to myself, hey, I lived through the pain of them for over 2 years...I can stand the 2 hour take-off process and not complain...whats there to even complain about?!

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Stitch79 wrote to DocRafiki:

If you have any questions just let me know! I also am a fan of this website, www.archwired.com , its a site for adults with braces and has alot of great info.

I also highly recommend checking out that website, as I read it religiously when I was decided to get my braces. I also frequently post there about my adult in braces experiences. I have ceramic uppers and lowers, and they are visible, but not "in your face" noticable, which I like since I need to go on job interviews soon. I also agree that Invisalign is for very minor cases and can't be used to solve certain problems, but I read post about people who like Invisalign and are pleased with the results.

I'm surprised by how many adults in braces responded to this post! Nice to see!

<img src="http://home.att.net/~disneysue/hugsmall3.gif">

 

[DocRafiki]

Thanks, guys! I'm glad I found this thread again. I'll bookmark that page for when I have some more time to read.

 

[Nutsy]

My eldest DS got is braces last September & he was a little tender the first day & used the wax. But the Ortho did say that everyone has a different pain threshold.

My DS had no major problems. Took paracemetol before bed the first night & next morning was much better. Still a little tender, but not near as bad as the previous night.

When he got new wires he was a little sore again, but nothing to the extent your son is tho.

Don't have any suggestions tho I'm sorry. Other than ring the Ortho & see what he has to say.