Wires on today (pics attached)

[RebelVen]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum, but have been reading it for about a week now. I had my brackets placed on 9/11/09, but not the wires becaue I had 4 impacted teeth to remove. I had 2 on the botom removed on 10/03 and the last 2 eye teeth removed on 10/13 and also a frenelectomy. I am still healing a bit on the top, mainly from the frenelectomy though. Before the wires, I wasnt able to close my bite because the two front teeth were touching the bottom front teeth (post-surgery). So now, I definitely cannot lock my jaw. Today I placed my wires and yes, the pain is horrible. So Ibruprofen is my best friend. Oh should I be worried that the actual orthodontist is not putting on the wire? I only saw him for consultation and today was my first real appointment, so I saw him briefly (2 minutes tops).

I am having a cramping pain on the last tooth on the left that is bracketed. It is cramping very badly. 2 years ago I filled my first cavity and as a result this upper tooth (not the filled tooth) became very sensitive. I went back to the dentist and he filed down the filling, but this tooth never showed any abnorms on exam and xray. Nothing could be done, so I basically suffered pain each time I had a candy or something nutty. Do I need to be worried about this tooth now that it will be moving?

The last 2 molars of the top and bottom are not bracketed. I have a lot of gaps in my mouth as you can see from the photo attached.

I know a lot of questions, but I am just very curious, as my orthodontist is about 70 miles from me. I go to school in another city from my actual hometown.

[Sunny]

Hi and welcome to this forum RebelVen ... and please remember that questions are good!

Hopefully you'll adjust quickly to having the archwires in place. These are the thin flexible archwires that get the teeth moving, which means they're the major workers when it comes to archwires. Hopefully as soon as your teeth adjust to the work they're doing, your comfort levels will increase.

Remember to drink plenty of water to keep your body well hydrated. Also use wax generously on any brackets that rub, to prevent mouth sores. Rinsing with a warm salt water mix is great for soothing the mouth.

In many practices the orthodontist oversees the treatment, but the ortho assistances do most of the work. Please don't be concerned about this, as your ortho would not want anyone who wasn't well trained to work on his patients.

If this cramping continues, you would be wise to give your ortho's office a call and seek advice. If you're not already using a toothpaste for sensitive teeth, I recommend this as a worth while investment.

It is not unusual to have the second and third (wisdom) molars not included in your treatment, especially if they don't impact on your bite. They can't be seen when you smile, so there's no issues with how they look. Your ortho may bracket one or both of these later in your treatment, or ignore them. If you have concerns, talk to your ortho.

Good luck with this adjusting period!

[RebelVen]

So it has been one day since my braces are on. Oh the pain is horrendous!! I am on a diet of applesauce, yogurt and soups. I really dont mind, because it is a good weightloss plan ;-) How long will I have this pain for...on average?

[ccoleman95]

hi rebelven, i def feel your pain...literally! i have had mine about 6 weeks, and i promise, you somewhat get used to the pain. i too had some surgery, to expose an impacted tooth. i found that it will benefit you best to eat/drink foods with protein, for they keep you full for longer. protein shakes are great for breakfast, and you can put them in the blender with yogurt and fruit. but i know that my initial pain went away after about 2 weeks. but,with every adjustment you will get some soreness...but on the plus side, i have lost 15 lbs in these 6 weeks,and learned to eat better. good luck with your treatment...it gets easier!!!!!

[RebelVen]

Thanks for those cool tip ccoleman. I am praying it eases soon. Today I had oatmeal for breakfast, potato soup for lunch and clam chowder for dinner. Had a snack of applesauce inbetween. I will see how much I will lose in 6 weeks...lol. I am taking ibruprofen which works great.

[Sunny]

RebelVen we recommend our patients get back to chewing after four hours and also return to their usual diet as quickly as possible ... after four hours. We do recommend cutting the food into small pieces, so that if they can't chew it as much as they'd like, they can still swallow it. Your teeth require to be used ... and a soft/liquid diet for more than a few days/weeks is not good for your teeth.

Use wax generously and if you need, take some over the counter pain meds before a meal ... then enjoy as much as you can. Making sure you chew the soft food and have a varied diet.

Loosing weight while having ortho treatment is a waste of time for most people, as the only proven way to keep weight off, is by making lifestyle changes. Ortho treatment occurs for a very limited time and if weight is lost under these circumstance the amount is usually gained plus some ... so please don't try and loose weight due to having ortho treatment.

Discomfort/pain varies for most people. I never had any, for which I'm grateful. I did have the feeling of loose teeth and I never tried biting with my front teeth for over a year ... but I've never needed a pain med for any reason. My ortho has a very positive attitude to be proactive about caring for your mouth and body and encourages daily warm salt water rinses, wax and keeping your body well hydrated to help with this period of adjustment.

Some of our patients report no problems and ask if their braces are working ... this is fantastic! Others a few days to maybe a week or two of mild discomfort, with limited food changes, but things quickly returning to how they'd usually be ... and a few find orthodontic treatment nasty. Luckily that's only a very small number ... maybe six people a year ... but with help from positive workers they get through their treatment!

Good luck with you feeling better every day! Most important, don't baby your teeth! Good luck!

[RebelVen]

Oh WOw...I dont know if I can even attempt to chew. In the potato soup I had, there were chunks of potato and if I even chew slowly, my teeth would send me screaming! I can't even chew because my 4 front teeth touch. So my side teeth won't meet at all. In other words..my jaw cannot lock. I will try it today though and see if it works.
Thanks for the informaton

[ccoleman95]

i didnt mean that all i eat is liquid!! please know, that this worked for me in the beginning! i hope i didnt mislead, i apologize for that. i am now back to chewing, but i cant bite with my front teeth yet, although i would love to! i have been learning to portion my food, since it hurts after awhile anyway...so aside from losing the weight, im also not eating the nasty greasy food that i used to. i kind of see it as, im getting my teeth taken care of, so im going to make more of a point to take care of the rest of myself!

[RebelVen]

RebelVen we recommend our patients get back to chewing after four hours and also return to their usual diet as quickly as possible ... after four hours. We do recommend cutting the food into small pieces, so that if they can't chew it as much as they'd like, they can still swallow it. Your teeth require to be used ...

I took your advice. Yesterday I had a sandwich...of course in small bites and it hurt, however, not as bad as the first day. I went out to dinner and they had these little pizza crust thingys (Italian Restaurant) and I placed a tiny piece in my mouth to soften a bit and chewed once it was soft. I was still scared to do the pasta though, so I had soup. However, today I did great...I hada sandwich for brunch and for dinner, I made stuffed pasta. I was able to chew the pasta! With mild discomfort, but I chewed! Only thing is, I can't chew on my left side. But I am taking it one day at a time.Thanks a lot because I would still be sipping on soup and applesauce until my next appointment. Lol

[Sunny]

Fantastic RebelVen ... you're doing great!

It's often about practising ... and with a little bit of this and a little bit of that, it all falls into place nicely.

Here's to each day you feeling loads more comfortable!

[Denise]

I SOOO remember the day I got my wires put in! I had two teeth extracted as well, so I got all my brackets and then two weeks later I got my wires, and talk about PAIN. It's the worst!! I didn't even attempt to eat solids for two weeks. It wasn't worth it. I was the crankiest person EVER. I wanted protein! Soup, pudding, jello, ugh. Spaghetti isn't bad, because you can slurp the noodles without having to actually chew them. Also, if you can stand all the sugar, milkshakes. Oh milkshakes, you made me go to the gym every day for an hour but they felt SO GOOD. Still do after each one of my adjustments, where I have that soreness and pain for about 3 days all over again.

My spaces are slowly closing as my teeth move. I've had my braces for almost 7 months now and one of my gaps is over half closed! I'm in elastics now, and it seems that each adjustment brings another 'fantastic' orthodontic surprise haha.

Oh and my orthodontist doesn't do any of the actual work on anyone's teeth at my office. He tells the tech what to do, makes notes for next time, enters it all into the computer, and the techs do all the rest, so I'm guessing this is pretty common procedure.

Welcome to the "wonderful" worth of orthodontia! It's a hell of a ride, but I'm told it's worth it in the end. Remember, you can't have them forever and one day they'll come off and boy howdy those teeth will be gorgeous!

Good luck!

[Bunny]

Hi RebelVen. I was like Denise, in so much pain. I was really unlucky. I didnt eat properly and it made me quite unwell so its right to push your teeth and chew a teeny bit if you can to get the blood flowing-I hear good blood flow assists a quicker treatment time! My ortho lets me chew sugar free gum after an adjustment to get the teeth chewing as soon as you can, I know though it hurts like hell!! I started off with oatmeal and soft over cooked pasta, omelettes,scrambled egg, roasted veggies, things like that, also only on one side. I still cant bite anything really hard like nuts or hard veg but I don't mind that. I am a little afraid of popping a bracket! I never bite with my front teeth but then my treatment is "all front" so its too sore, just cut things up like you have been and you will be fine.
My Ortho does all the work himself but I am in the UK so maybe its different here. I agree that he would not have anyone work on your mouth if they were not capable.

So keep going, it gets tons better and this forum is very helpful indeed.
Let us know how you get on. xxx