Kids gettting braces tomorrow. What to expect?

[Mickey Fliers]

My boys, 12 and 11 are getting braces tomorrow morning. What should I expect in terms of discomfort or special food requirements? I know, I know, this sounds totally stupid, but I just can't remember.

Should I plan on a "soft" dinner or will they be fine with whatever?

Thanks.

 

[aaarcher86]

Maybe no dinner at all to be honest. It just depends on the kid.

I think when I had mine my teeth hurt worse the few days following then they did the day I got them.

 

[CruiserMom]

First couple of days, DD12 had soreness from the braces moving her teeth. Then she developed sores in her mouth and on her tongue. I would say it was at least 1 1/2 weeks before she ate normally. She had soup, soft breads, and ice cream alot during that time.

Give them Tylenol or Ibuprofen before the appointment, and give it to them regularly the first day, whether they ask for it or not. It's easier to "get ahead" of the pain.

 

[mrsbert]

DS11 jus got his about a month ago. I just made sure he had ibuprofen before we went. They bothered him just a little the first couple of days. I made sure to have soft foods also. Don't worry, they'll do fine.

 

[aaarcher86]

Also try and snag plenty of the wax they have at the office to put on the braces that are cutting their mouth.

 

[clh2]

I think the discomfort will be your budget. YIKES...2 in braces at the same time.

I would plan a "softer" meal for dinner tomorrow night. Mac n cheese, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes etc. Maybe the next night too.

Stock up on "christmas tree" brushes, and dental wax. Your ortho should be able to show you what the brush is -

 

[SaraJayne]

I gave my son tylenol before his appt and every four hours or so the first 24 hours. He also had a soft dinner the first night.

After that first 12 hours or so, no problems at all. He's never even used the wax on his braces.

 

[LuvOrlando]

G U M makes a wax specially for this sort of thing. Check out jbutler, go with US, look up products by category, Orthodontic Wax is under accessories.

 

[mom2taylorandemily]

Both of my DDs had them put on in June, the first day, they were fine (but I had given them ibuprofen before we went in and kept it up every 4 hours). Within 24 hours, both were in pain from the teeth shifting, but they were more sore in their cheeks from the braces rubbing. So, make sure you have wax, also get a bottle of the medicated mouth wash to aid in healing the skin in their mouths. The one I got is made by Oral B, but Colgate makes one too. This stuff is wonderful, it promotes healing in the mouth. We have gone back for 1 fitting so far and we repeated all the steps from above and this time was much easier. We have another in 2 weeks so we're hoping it will go even easier.

 

[gshanny]

Not much you can do about this, but they will drool a lot. My neighbor is a Middle School teacher and she said she can always tell the kids that just got braces by the wet slobber marks either on the front of their shirt, or their sleeves.
Sympathy and soft foods were the best I could give my DS.
If either is going out for football we had to get a special mouth guard for DS so you might want to ask about that too.

 

[NHdisneylover]

I think the discomfort will be your budget. YIKES...2 in braces at the same time.

I would plan a "softer" meal for dinner tomorrow night. Mac n cheese, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes etc. Maybe the next night too.

Stock up on "christmas tree" brushes, and dental wax. Your ortho should be able to show you what the brush is -

I think every kid is different but please do not plan on the above for dinner without having even softer items available. I clearly remember my aunt being angry with me after she went to the trouble of making a "soft" meal of Mac N Cheese and soft bread and I could not eat it the day I got my braces on.

It was about 3 days after she got her braces on that DD was able to eat things like softer pastas, scrambled eggs and the like. For the first 2 days it was only yogurt, pudding, applesauce, milkshakes, broth, etc--things that she did not have to chew AT ALL.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They will have lots of pressure that will make eating quite undesirable---of course they are pre-teen boys, eating may be worth the pain.

I got my braces At the age of 19 or so. Dinner that night was hot soup. My wires were temp sensitive and heat "relaxed" them a bit. Ice cream...would do the opposite---cause more pressure. Or I might have that backwards....I for the life of me cannot remember. I do know that ice cubes were a tool they used on the wires when they installed. After the first day or two---I would eat the proper temp food that would contract the wire and apply more pressure hoping that they would work quicker.

But to sum up--I only did liquid foods and pain reliever after my braces were put in.

 

[NYUBwayBaby]

It depends, really. I don't remember mine hurting, really. They were sore, but not too terrible. It felt the same way every time they got tightened, too. I remember my mom used to take me out to grab lunch at a fast food place near the office after I got them tightened and I managed to eat nuggets and fries, even if my mouth was a little tender. I just got used to it. I do remember that we ate a lot of mashed potatoes when my sister and I had braces, though...
DO get A LOT of wax. I went through that stuff so fast at first...I don't remember using it so much towards the end of my time in braces. And mouth guards are essential for any sport. I took Tae Kwon Do lessons while in braces and I'm still surprised that I didn't completely mess my mouth up.
Your best bet is just to wait and see how the kids feel. Make sure you have "soft" food, just in case they don't feel up to eating "normal" food.

 

[aprilgail2]

It depends, really. I don't remember mine hurting, really. They were sore, but not too terrible. It felt the same way every time they got tightened, too. I remember my mom used to take me out to grab lunch at a fast food place near the office after I got them tightened and I managed to eat nuggets and fries, even if my mouth was a little tender. I just got used to it. I do remember that we ate a lot of mashed potatoes when my sister and I had braces, though...
DO get A LOT of wax. I went through that stuff so fast at first....

My daughter said they felt "tight" but really didn't have that much pain from them- I bought her ice cream the first day and she ate pasta for dinner. She used the wax stuff twice but otherwise that was it for that. I would never give her (or me!) tylenol "just in case" and certainly not for a whole day or two "just in case", didn't do that when she had her tonsils removed and it was fine so certainly wouldn't do it just for braces!

 

[heatherwillmom]

Both of mine have had braces. Make sure to give them some Advil or Tylenol before their appointment & on a regular basis for the next couple of days. Stock up on brace wax & Oragel & give them one to carry with them. Soft food or even liquids for the first couple of days. My kids were big fans of pasta & milkshakes after getting their braces & after each adjustment.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Reading this thread makes me cringe. My youngest will be getting her braces in Oct and she has no pain tolerance.

 

[mhsjax]

My DD has them on, got them in Feb of this year. She was pretty sore and really didn't eat much the first couple of days. I gave her lots of Motrin.

Now when she has an appt, she wants a milkshake and I made a deal with her that after each orthodontist appt that I would buy her one.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Thanks everyone for the help. We are off to the ortho.

 

[heatherwillmom]

DD has no pain tolerance either. She has actually had braces twice. She had what the orthodontist called a beginner set for a year, then a year off until all her teeth came in, then into a "real set.' We always did Advil before our visits & a milkshake afterwards.

 

[DisGirlAllie]

After having braces for six years (they're STILL on), I can tell you it will be different everytime you come back from an appointment. As far as first getting braces on, I had Robeks for a week. So definitely plan on an extremely soft dinner and have something non-chewable like smoothies as a backup plan. I find that advil can usually ease the pain but it won't make it completely go away, but, everyone is different.

ETA: with braces, you grow pain tolerance. Trust me.