Ouch! Cuts from braces

[Davanie]

The inside of my lips hurt! I have little cuts all on the inside of my upper lip. I've been using wax most of the time but I still have some cuts and even with the wax it hurts. Will I have to use wax the whole time my braces are on? At this point I just want to put wax on every single bracket. This is only day 4 with my braces too.

[newsboysgrl777]

I hear ya!! I've been getting those cuts, too, but on the inside of my lower lip from my bottom brackets. The good news is, you will NOT have to wax all the time. Your lips will 'toughen up' and get used to the brackets there and you won't have any trouble really, unless you're dehydrated or something. (Sometimes my brackets would feel more 'pokey' and would rub a little and I'd just drink some water and it'd all be fine, however, it never happened the way it did in the beginning...with cuts and everything, you know? That's just the initial part of getting used to the brackets, I'm afraid).

Just keep what you're doing and wax up and rinse with warm salt water (or peroxyl mouthwash) and maybe even put some orajel or some kind of a medication on it to numb it. It WILL get better.

Another thing I like to mention is something I bought that seems to be helping...Comfort Cover for braces. I like it a lot and use it for my lower brackets (which are metal). Just realize that if you have ceramic brackets, you'll need a different size (which should have a link directly on that page) because ceramic brackets are larger than the metal ones.

Good luck and I hope your mouth 'toughens up' soon!! Just baby it for a little while and it will. (I know that sounds like the opposite of toughening something up, but in this case, it's what works best...LOL)

[Melody]

Hi Davanie,

I had some of those small cuts on the front of my lower lip at first from the brackets rubbing, and they were uncomfortable. Newsboysgrl is correct - your lips and the insides of your cheeks do begin to toughen, and after a while they won't be so prone to getting those cuts. I think it was about 2 or 3 weeks before I stopped needing to use the wax as often.

Keep using the wax as you feel the need to, and be sure to keep hydrated - like newsboysgrl, I notice a big difference in the "pokey-ness" of the brackets if I'm a little dehydrated.

Good luck!

[Zoso]

Great advice above.

Stay hydrated, and wax wax wax til your mouth is used to all this!

[Sunny]

Sorry to read your mouth is so sore Davanie. Keep the wax on all the time your mouth is cut and sore, as this will allow the sores to heal and your mouth to toughen. Keep well hydrated and rinse often during the day with warm salt water to help soothe and toughen your mouth.

Most people only need wax for a few days, but if your mouth is very cut up, it may take a little longer.

Good luck ... and stay well hydrated!

[Denise]

I had the same thing at first. For me, the only thing that worked was giving it time. The cuts heal, the lip gets a little stronger, and you get used to how to eat and talk. Keeping your lips moist all the time with lip balm works the best for me. I'm on day 20 and I still am putting lip balm on constantly throughout the day. I did a 10K race last weekend and was breathing hard, and my whole mouth dried out and once again I had tons of hot spots and cuts on my cheeks and lips. I also cut the tip of my tongue on my brackets and that hurt really bad for about 3 days. I think the cuts and pain are a rite of passage that we all have to go through, but I promise that it will get better!