My daughter is getting braces-advice??

[JBurke]

My 13 year old daughter is getting braces put on her teeth next week.
I never had braces, so can anyone explain the process?
I guess next week they are putting on the "brackets", then she needs some teeth pulled before they do anything else.
I would just love some idea of what we have to look forward to and anything I could do to make her feel better about it.
She was crying after today's appointment when they put spacers in
I feel so bad for her.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[clarabelle]

I have heard from my kids (I can't remember with my own) that the spacers are worse than the actual braces.
Make sure you get wax (ortho will give to you) and have some tylenol and some soft foods on hand for the first day or two.
Also make sure she is cleaning them well. They will probably give her a special little brush (it looks like a teeny tiny bottle brush) to clean underneath the wires. If they don't you can get them at Walmart.
Make sure she uses it!
Good luck!

 

[ElizK]

She'll be VERY sore for the first few days after EACH procedure. Soft foods (soup worked best for me and for DD14) and an OTC painkiller as needed. Use the wax, but use it as little as possible. The inside of her mouth needs to get used to the roughness of the braces. It just prolongs the process if wax is constantly used.

 

[LBAK]

Spacers are the pits. Like popcorn stuck between your teeth. I gave DD some tylenol about a 1/2 hour before her appointment and that seemed to help and I let her have as many milkshakes and bowls of mac and cheese that she wanted. After a few days all was fine! Good luck.

 

[hydster]

My ds age 12 has had them on for almost 18 months and he had the spacers and they were truly WAY worse than the braces themselves. My son the day after he got the spacers was sobbing saying it felt like someone was punching him in the jaw. Well I've never had braces or spacers so being the protective mom I called the office and the Ortho told me my son was kind of being a "wuss" for lack of another word. I gave him ibuprofen and sent him to school. I brought him some soup at lunch and after that he was fine.

Give her some Ibuprofen before each Ortho Appt about 30-45 min before you take her and by the time she is done it should kick in. Also I don't know if your Ortho will do it but ours schedules tightenings and such after lunch so when my ds gets home I can feed him mac N cheese or soup.

My son had a few problems on and off with canker sores but now he doesn't seem to be bothered too much with them.

Make sure she brushes like a trooper with them because if not her teeth will be 2 different colors when they take the brackets off. My son hasn't had a hard time with them since the initial put on cankers!

I hope she feels better soon! We have 6 more months and hopefully we'll be bracket free!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Spacers are the worst part. My dd hated them with a passion. My oldest is getting hers off next month and younger dd will be getting round one.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Never had them myself, sorry. But if I was to give any advice it would be...don't have her kiss any boys who also have braces.

 

[zalansky]

Well I am 38 years old and got braces last year, they are awful. The spacers were the worst....at first the braces were pretty bad too but I got used to them, with lots of wax. LOTS of wax. They do tend to get pretty yucky so I brush as often as possible. I am supposed to wear them another year but I don't think I will make it. I am asking my ortho to take the tops ones off soon. I just can't seem to get used to this as far as long term, I talk too much!!

On the bright side I have heard it is easier for teens to deal with than adults.

 

[JBurke]

Thanks for all the advice.
I didnt know she was going to have the spacers put on today otherwise I would have given her some tylenol before she went.
I guess I will try and pamper her as much as I can.
I just feel so bad for her.
She is very bummed that there will be no more popcorn her for the next 2 years.

Thanks again.

 

[SplshMtn99]

The day I got my braces put on, my mom made steak for dinner. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT! Soup & jello would be better.

 

[JVL1018]

I feel for her--I am 35, but I just got my spacers last week(am going tomorrow for him to take some out and put more in) and then braces on Jan 31st.
Anyway I was dreading my spacers,as I had heard they were awful, even from my ortho, but miraculously I had no pain--well I had one tooth that hurt, but as long as I didnt touch it I was fine--and since my bite is off(hence the need for braces LOL) my bottom teeth didnt knock into it either.I got lucky.

I read this website: www.archwired.com its for adults with braces, but I think there is a forum for parents of kids with braces.
Its been very helpful! Goodluck!

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

I agree that the spacers really are the worst place. My tounge was always subconciously drawn to them which made it a lot worse. Pain medication does more good when taken before an appointment rather than later. Food like pasta, soup, pancakes, more or less any breakfast food, make for good meals for the first few days after appointments. In the beginning, the worst part for me was the tension and rubbing of the brackets in the back of my mouth against my cheeks...by FAR the worst part. Make sure she brushes well even though it is much harder and I sure feel that pain with her! She'll get through it well, I'm sure!

 

[Poohnatic]

I had braces for almost six years. Yes, the spacers hurt more than the braces themselves.

Soft foods for the first few days and after tightenings. My usual routine became cream of tomato soup and a grilled cheese to dip in it or pancakes.

Brushing is especially important, but at first, it'll hurt to open the mouth to do so. My dad stocked up on Plax and Fluroguard back then-if you can find some sort of dental rinse, it will help out with keeping plaque down when she's in too much discomfort to brush hard.

I didn't notice where you live, but once I got braces, it seemed like my lips chapped something fierce in winter. Keep her stocked with carmex, blistex or some sort of lip balm.

Oh, and see if you can find Pirate's Booty nearby. It's a hull less popcorn, wish it'd been around when I had braces.

To the poster than gave that link, THANKS! Older son will probably be in braces later this year and that'll be a huge help.

Suzanne

 

[Not so Dumbo]

I had them when I was 12 and it's a period of my life I would like to forget. Make sure you give her lots of and sympathy. Everything about it hurts, but the end results are worth it now.

As for the process, each is different because of different problem areas but for me. They first took impressions of my mouth with a clay like mold to have something to compare my mouth to during the process, then they put the brackets on each tooth. That may be it for a week or so, the next appointment they will put the wire on, probably a skinny one to start with. This will cause some pain because things will start to tighten up. For the next few follow up appointments, they might increase the size of the wire, the bigger in size the more discomfort it will cause for a few days.

I wish I had better news, but in all honesty, braces hurt.

 

[golfgal]

Thanks for all the advice.
I didnt know she was going to have the spacers put on today otherwise I would have given her some tylenol before she went.
I guess I will try and pamper her as much as I can.
I just feel so bad for her.
She is very bummed that there will be no more popcorn her for the next 2 years.

Thanks again.

If she can take Ibuprofen that would be better then Tylenol because she will have some swelling and Ibuprofen has an anti-inflammatory where Tylenol doesn't. DS14 never really had a problem with his braces. He took Motrin for the first day but said they didn't really hurt. Even with the various wire changes, etc. he has never complained that they hurt. He just got a new wire today and they said this one will probably hurt, so far nothing.

 

[Jockaroo]

This is one of those folksy remedies, but my dad told me to hold warm salt water in my mouth a few times a day after my adjustments. It helps take the soreness out somewhat. This was always comforting for me and might be worth trying. Oh, and spit out the salt water, don't swallow.

 

[Jillpie]

My DS14 is getting them off on Thursday and my DS13 will have them on for another year. I'm very familiar with the whole process, but I think everyone has given you all the good tips.

I will add one more for you Mom. Never, ever miss an appointment. When they give you a recommended time that she will have them on, they mean it. It is right to the month that she'll get them off. IF you don't miss a month. In fact, my son is getting them off early this week, and the doctor said it is because I never missed one appt.

My oldest son got his off 3 years ago and wow! what a beautiful smile. Its all worth while. Oh, one more thing. Its not the monthly treatment that counts the most, its after they get them off and how important it is to wear the retainers ALL the time. But thats later for your DD.

Good luck!

 

[JBurke]

Thanks again to all.
After her appointment yesterday we learned she has to have 7 teeth extracted after her brackets are put on!! She has a small mouth and her teeth are overcrowded.
She has baby teeth that havent come out yet, plus a wisdom tooth growing in the wrong way. As if she doesnt have enough to deal with!!

I think right now she is more afraid of that than the braces.
I wish it was me rather than her (well...maybe not.)

 

[Maleficent13]

I have a question...what are spacers?? My personal experience with braces stretched over 10 years, and I have never heard of spacers. Are they a new thing?

As to the OP, I second the Ibuprofen before and soft foods after. Wax never helped me much (couldn't get it to stay where it was supposed to and ended up swallowing it more often that not!) but it usually didn't take very long to adjust. Also, I found the farther along in the treatment, my pain wasn't as great after adjustments.

 

[1Prince2Princesses]

When I had braces, I used a lot of wax. If you run out of ortho wax and can't find it, you can use wax earplugs. I also used Orajel when I had a lot of pain on the insides of my cheeks from the wires and brackets irritating my mouth. It worked wonders for relieving the pain.