Questions

[hello]

Hi
I introduced myself in the new people forum and now I'm here.
I got my braces on about 3 days ago, and I have a few questions:

1. My mouth is still sore, and it hurts to chew. So therefor, I've been swallowing a lot of my food -- is this normal 3 days later??

2. My tongue is all white now, and my parents along with myself believe it's a yeast infection on my tongue. UGH. I didn't get it until I got my braces!!! Has anyone else gotten it??? I'm kinda freaked out.

[Zoso]

Hi there, and welcome.

Everyone's experience with braces is unique, but it's not unusual to have sore teeth for some days. Also, as paradoxical as this may sound, you are probably not helping the tenderness to go away by avoiding chewing. When we chew our food, it stimulates blood flow in the mouth. Now, a good blood supply is needed in order to help the biological process that are needed in order for teeth to move. So, by chewing, we are helping the teeth to be able to move, and one side-effect of this is that it does tend to help them stop being sore just that bit sooner. What I would do when my teeth were tender was pop a dose of ibuprofen a while before my meals, and then do my best to chew.

I'm not sure about your white tongue. It could be a yeast infection, but if so then you'd probably have some associated pain. This white discolouration is probably being caused by inflammation of the papillae on the surface of the tongue, which tends to trap dead cells and debris. Usually it is temporary and harmless. A possible reason this has happened now could be as simple as dehydration, due to mouth-breathing, which is not unusual when we first get braces, due to all the extra bulk in the mouth. My advice, assuming you are not experiencing pain, would be to up your water intake, and to brush your tongue each time you are brushing your teeth. Crunchy, fibrous foods can also help (and are probably something you've been avoiding with your tender teeth!) as they also tend to help physically scrape debris off the tongue. If your tongue becomes sore, or if this doesn't start to improve with a few days implementing these suggestions, then you may want to get your general dentist to take a look.

[hello]

Thanks for the prompt response.

I am going to attempt to chew, I know it's going to hurt pretty bad though but what you said definitely makes a lot of sense. I even tried to chew mac and cheese, and it didn't work. I guess i'm being a little bit of a baby, LOL. When I go to chew, I kinda freeze as if I forgot how to chew.

The pain with my braces isn't bad at all though, I haven't had extreme pain.. just my teeth hurting a little that's all. It's mostly my back teeth.

As for my tongue, I don't seem to be experiencing pain - although it may have a slight feeling as if I burnt my tongue but I will try brushing my tongue and drinking a lot of water. I may give my orthodontist a call tomorrow.

[Zoso]

There's going to be a little discomfort if the tongue is inflamed! But the one person I know who had a yeast infection in her mouth was in serious pain. I tend to think it's more likely just to be a harmless bit of swelling. Let's hope so, eh?

Take the chewing slowly. Literally. Chew slowly and carefully. Start with softer foods (but not complete mush!) and work your way up from there. And, by all means, at first, do cut your food into little bites. Pasta's a great start. Foods like soft tacos and beans are great too. Slow-cooked meats tend to be less challenging - stews that include acidic ingredients such as tomatoes, wine, vinegar, yoghurt, or sour cream, since these help tenderise the meat. Flaky fish is easy to chew. Also foods like scrambled eggs, pancakes, cottage cheese and so forth. Biting into whole, raw veggies may be tough for a while, but what about coleslaw? Be creative, but do gradually push yourself towards a normal diet.

[hello]

Yes, I sure do hope so.

I'm going to try for sure tonight...for the last couple of days I haven't been eating much at all. Like today, I only ate a couple bites of pizza bagel things. : ( I don't have much of an appetite and I get frustrated when I feel like I can't chew.

[Candymomof3]

I am in my 5th week now, and although eating is easier...it is not the fun event it used to be for me. I still can't chew like before, and I have not bit into anything yet (wait, I bit into a Little Debbie Swiss Roll---haha, that was so pretty!). I eat every thing with a fork and swallow it as soon as I can. I try to chew sugarless gum to help ease it but that ends up painful too. My mouth is sore in different sections from day to day, so eating on some days is easier than others. I am having a hard day today so I probably will stick to soft foods and not eat much. Which drives me crazy because I miss my food!! I also hate having to get up and brush each time so that cuts out my inbetween meal snacking. I eat 2 or 3 times a day and that's it..basically enough to keep my healthy. Hang in there....some days are harder than others...and take it one day at a time. I am seeing big changes already and it's worth the discomfort.

[hello]

Yeah I don't really eat much either right now lol and I definitely cut back on snacking.

[hello]

So the ortho wants me in to look at my tongue

im nervous

[hello]

so apparently it's some infection.

he told me to brush my tongue for the next 2 weeks, and it should go away :|.. i hope he's right.


oh, and my tongue burns =(

[Zoso]

Bad luck!

Did he suggest any rinses to help?

Oh, and if brushing is difficult, you could get a tongue scraper.

[hello]

He suggested ACT. and told me to stay away from Listerine which i've been using ugh because of the alcohol it'll irritate.

i should've known that. its weird i guess he doesnt want me to get the medication unless i have to because he said it can lead to other things...
i really hope this works.

i dont even remember what he said i had

[hello]

Ok, I have Lichen planus

[Zoso]

Hmm.

Did your doc say anything about latex gloves? Lichen planus can sometimes be an allergic response, and latex allergies are not uncommon. Hopefully it's not that you're having a problem with the brackets and/or wires, though that is possible. If it should turn out to be the case, there are nickel-free hardware options available (it's usually nickel if it is the brackets or wires)

Or, are you under particular stress just now? Lichen planus is thouight possibly to be an autoimmune issue, so can outbreak can be caused by stress.

[hello]

I dont have any rubber bands in my mouth that would have the latex. and I dont know if it is an allergic reaction, my orthodontist didn't say anything about that when i saw him today.

ive been a lil stressed out lately but ive never had this before til i got braces

[hello]

Ok should i be worried

[Zoso]

Originally Posted by hello

I dont have any rubber bands in my mouth that would have the latex. and I dont know if it is an allergic reaction, my orthodontist didn't say anything about that when i saw him today.

ive been a lil stressed out lately but ive never had this before til i got braces

You could get a latex reaction just from them using latex gloves when they placed your braces. Pretty much all doctors and dentists and such also carry nitrile gloves, for use when they have a patient who has problems with latex.

Originally Posted by hello

He suggested ACT. and told me to stay away from Listerine which i've been using ugh because of the alcohol it'll irritate.

i should've known that. its weird i guess he doesnt want me to get the medication unless i have to because he said it can lead to other things...

Sorry - missed this post before. Listerine can be harsh on the oral tissues, due in large part to the alcohol it contains - tends to dry out the mouth tissues. Also, most of the Listerine rinses do not contain fluoride. I don't know that ACT is going to help with the white tongue though But it's a good rinse to help keep your teeth healthy while you have braces.

I can see why he would steer clear of over-medicating, since your system is already "acting up". Quite apart from the fact that they only help if you have a bacterial infection, antibiotics can make you more susceptible to nasties like yeast infections.

Oh well, hope this clears up for you one way or another. If it's stress-related, or if it is due to the latex gloves, or if it is a dry mouth thing, it should hopefully go away on its own.

[hello]

I meant he suggested ACT to use, instead of Listerine. not to cure my tongue tho.

i am going to call my orthodontist tomorrow to see if i could be allergic, i dont get why he didnt tell me???

[hello]

ive brushed my tongue it burns tho ugggggg makes me not wanna eat

[Zoso]

Sounds pretty miserable.

Be gentle when you do it, of course, but I can well imagine it being tender if the papillae are all swollen.

[hello]

it is.

it's getting worse. this sucks.

i just REALLY hope i'm not allergic

[hello]

sorry if im complaining so much
this just sucks.
my mouth is on FIRE. my lips even burn :'(

[Zoso]

It's getting worse? I really wonder if you're having trouble with the nickel.

[hello]

Idk.

I feel better now haha, but it did burn yesterday possibly because I brushed it.. but he said it'd be painful.

I'll call him after my class today.

[Zoso]

If things seem to be improving, then it's unlikely it is a nickel issue.

[hello]

yeah, i called him.

he thinks its actually a yeast infection in my mouth, the thrush
he said he didnt wanna say it in front of everyone..

so yeah. he doesn't think i'm allergic. tahts good. cept i still have a burning mouth lol

[Zoso]

If it is thrush, then eating some plain, unsweetened yoghurt can sometimes help, as it helps restore the good bacteria that compete. If it is thrush and it doesn't improve, you may need to be prescribed an antifungal medication.

Frankly, I am dismayed that the doc did not discuss this with you whilst you were there.

[hello]

Well, he said they're pretty similar..... but went into a LOT more detail once I talked to him one on one with a phone call.

He didn't want to make me feel uncomfortable I guess? He's a really nice guy though. I like him.

[Zoso]

Oh well - as long as he wasn't doing it for his own benefit.

[hello]

I'd hope not =(

Doesn't seem like the type. But you never know!