First 24 hours down, no pain?

[carrielyns]

I have now had my Damon braces on for a full 24 hours. I expected at least cheek tissue pain but not even that is going on. I might be speaking too soon though. My spacers hurt A TON so maybe this is like sweet relief compared to that.

I'm curious about something though. I've also got a herbst appliance, and they put brackets on my back molars but there's no wire attached to them. If the herbst is in the way, then why did they put brackets back there? I guess I'm concerned they forgot to do something and that's why I've got no pain, as if nothing is moving.

Flossing is a challenge... I've got some teeth so crowded that my brackets are right up next to each other... I can't possibly floss those teeth. Any suggestions?

Other than figuring out how to eat again and treating myself like a baby things are going all right!

Thanks for any insight!

[Sunny]

Great your treatment is going so well and it's great that this is how it goes for the majority of patients now!

If you have archwires in place ... this will be working to move your teeth. So as long as you have that, you don't need to be concerned about where the brackets are ... leave that one to your ortho. Some ortho's choose not to move the back molars in the early stages of treatment, for a variety of reasons and some choose not to move them at all, if they don't impact on a person's bite, as they're not teeth that can be seen when you're smiling. Maybe your ortho has put buccal molar brackets on your's, in preparation for moving them. No harm in asking your ortho about these things though, in fact questions are a great way to learn.

Flossing is very important, so keep trying to floss between those crowded teeth, as you may be surprised how quickly they move. If you have the floss with the tiny stiffened end, sometimes that end can be passed between the teeth at the gum line, which allows flossing to take place.

Eating ... keep practising. Without a herbst it's a breeze, so hopefully you'll soon adjust with the herbst!

Good luck with your treatment!

[Stephanie]

as sunny said, keep flossing daily... too many times people abandon good hygiene routines while wearing braces.. don't do that..

[carrielyns]

I'm definitely flossing where I can and will add teeth as they move far enough apart that I actually CAN floss.

48 hours later I've definitely got a bruised left inner cheek thanks to the herbst and my teeth are just now starting to be a bit sensitive when I do things like brush, floss, and chew. Otherwise I'm still pretty comfy.

[smilez4me]

Sounds like your treatment is comming along nicely. Congrats! My ortho didnt put the archwire to the back barackets until we changed out the wires. My first hours were easy breezy as well and then I quickly put on the wax. Its a savior!

[Poultrygirl]

Forgive my ignorance if I get this wrong, but did you get the like, round ring brackets around your molars in the back? Like they fit completely around your molar like a ring? I got those right after spacers too. They didn't attach wire to them though for a few months.

[Sunny]

Poultrygirl sounds like your ortho put bands on your molars and then included them later in your treatment. Many ortho's choose not to use bands, but instead use buccal molar brackets. These can also be put on before the archwire is engaged by them, to move your teeth. If you're going to have molar bands, you'll need spacers or separators, whereas if you're having buccal molar brackets, there's no additional prep needed, as they're similar to the brackets used on your other teeth.

[carrielyns]

I actually have a Herbst appliance which fits on the secondary (I think, 2nd to last) molars like a crown... all the way around the molar and partially over the top. Spacers hurt far worse than anything I've experienced so far. I never even got canker sores and I've had the braces now for 2.5 weeks. The herbst is giving me the most trouble, on the left side, hurting my cheek.

[Sunny]

Carrielyns make sure you keep well hydrated and take extra care of your cheek where it's hurting. You may need to put some gel/cream on it, that's made for mouth sores, so that it will numb the area as well as help it heal. Rinsing with warm salt water may also help. Do this rinse as often as you can while your cheek is sore ... 5+ times a days is recommended.

Hopefully by taking good care of your mouth, your cheek will soon get used to the herbst and feel much better. Good luck!

[carrielyns]

I have a loose tooth! I'm equal parts wigged out and excited! Top front right tooth.