Does braces pain go away?

[K and K's Mommy]

My DD has had braces about 4 months, and she is allowed sugarless gum only. She has a big list of things not allowed so I'll assume the ortho knows what he is talking about with regards to sugarless gum.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

wow never heard of it, My ortho says no way, and people he is one of the best around, he comes highly recommended.

In fact if he catches you eating or chewing something that you shouldn't and you break a wire or he has to unstick sticky stuff, you are given one free time, after that he will tell you to find another ortho.

sound mean and cold, but he is the nicest most gentle ortho and dentist around, he is recommended by all the the pediatricians around here.

I guess just different schools of thought.

I have never heard of that either. Gum can get caught in brackets.

But, the act of chewing does help alleviate jaw pain. I was given some kind of u-shaped rubber or something that I could chew on when I first got my braces. I think it is like the mouth gUard for people who grind their jaw.

In any case--that won't help if a wire is poking. If it continues, I'd call the ortho to get it trimmed if needed.

 

[TinkLovinMomma]

I am 26 and got my braces on in April. I was just like your daughter at first and had to put wax on all the brackets because they were irritating my lips/cheeks so badly. I realized that if I left the wax off and let the brackets irritate the more sensitive areas that eventually I built up a tolerance (usually after a canker sore formed and healed) it was not a fun process but now the brackets dont irritate anymore. The only pain I have is after the adjustments and that lasts about a week. The one thing I HAVE noticed though, is that people kept telling me I would be able to eat normally again soon after having the braces put on... well I am 3 months in and still cannot bite into anything (not even a pb&j sandwich) because it hurts so bad. Good luck to your DD... it WILL be worth it. I wish I had braces as a teen instead of as an adult

 

[Scurvy]

As others have said, if the ends of the wires are poking then that needs to be fixed. If it isn't the actual point of the wire that's the problem, but just the metal in general, then that will get better as her mouth toughens up. The soreness will definitely ease up, though it will get worse again each time she has her braces tightened.

The wax is great as a stopgap measure for when something breaks or a wire pops loose (or to help with the intitial irritation from the braces), but it isn't a good long term solution if the problem is a wire that isn't trimmed well. I'd either have her feel the end of the wire with her finger or I'd do it, and if it's sticking out too far I'd go back to the orthodontist so he could trim it.

As for the gum, my orthodontist was very strict about what I could eat. He had a huge list of things I couldn't have, which included all sorts of foods and almost all kinds of gum. There were a couple of exceptions, though. One was Freedent, and I can't remember the other one. I chewed Freedent and never had any problems with it sticking at all.

 

[ols386]

If it's the end of the wire, then I'd call the orthodontist and ask if they can make an adjustment.

It is somewhat uncomfortable/painful when they tighten the wires each month, or however often they do it, but that should subside within a few days.

 

[lilmissdisney216]

I've had my braces now for almost two months and my wire slid out and started to poke. Wax helped but also what REAALLLY helped was using throat spray that numbs the area and makes things more comfortable. My ortho said that you can use nail clippers to clip the sharp end off (clean the clippers really good first!). But if you don't wanna do that then it doesn't hurt to give them a call

 

[mhsjax]

My daughter has had braces for a year and a half now and the only time she has ever had any discomfort was the first day they went on- other than that she said they don't hurt in the least. I would take her back to the Ortho is something is rubbing or wires are sticking her- they can fix it.
As far as chewing gum-I would check with your ortho- chewing gum voids our contract with the orthodontist- TOTALLY against the rules....in fact I have never heard of anyones ortho that let them or even encouraged them to chew gum other than in this thread!

Thank you, I was beginning to think I was crazy. It also voids our contract. And I have never heard of it either, except for on here.