Pain. And eating. Or not eating, in fact...

[josie]

I just got my braces yesterday. I have In-Ovation C clear brackets on the top teeth and Damon brackets on the bottom teeth. My ortho reckoned my treatment would take about 15-18 mnths.

I want to know about your experiences of PAIN and FOOD CONSUMPTION whilst enduring pain! At the moment, it hurts me to bite down on anything. It hurts so much there is no pleasure in eating left, and I end up wanting to cry whilst trying to eat. I look in my diary at all these dinner parties and social events we have planned over the summer and I wonder what's going to happen... It is ok if I eat only soft stuff like soup and ice cream, but I can't live on that for 15 mnths...

Is the pain worse when you first have them put on than at any other time, or am I likely to have to endure this all the time? I don't know if I can hack 15 mnths of it. If the pain is going to get better, how long will it take before it does?

Another related question involves food getting stuck around braces: It is v unappetising to be eating my dessert and then to 're-discover' some of my entree...! I'm worried also about eating out with people and having loads of stuff stuck everywhere. (I ate a peach earlier today and then cleaned my teeth. 30 mins after cleaning my teeth, I looked in the mirror and found peach skin stuck in the wire! Let's not get started on what happened with the watercress!). Are there types of food which really are a no-no for the duration of the time I wear braces? I don't mean chewy or hard foods like the ones the ortho tells you not to eat, I mean things like spinach and watercress and food which is more likely to get stuck. If you go out for a meal, what is totally off the menu for you??

Man, if I'd known it would be like this to have braces, I don't know if I would have gone ahead I have one front tooth which sticks out slightly and is crooked - this was the most noticeable thing. But even that, I could probably have lived with. I just thought that braces couldn't be that bad, seeing that loads of kids have them and seem to get on with life just fine whilst wearing them... It's going to get easier, right? I'm feeling a bit depressed Trying to focus on that lovely smile at the end of it, but 15 months is a loooong time...

[catgyrl]

Hi Josie -

We can all sympathize with you, sweetie. What you're going through is perfectly normal, and believe it or not, it WILL get better. The first few days (or week) you're just getting used to your braces, and I know the pain seems like it will never go away. As strange as this sounds, the quicker you start trying to chew something (even soft foods like pasta), the quicker the pain will subside. You may want to avoid using your very front teeth, because those tend to be sore for longer than the rest. Just go slowly... If you cannot manage to chew any food, try soaking a washcloth with water and biting down on that (like an adult teething ring). I just had brackets and wires changed last Friday, so my teeth were super, duper sore. Today I'm chewing on sugarfree gum like a cow chewing its cud! LOL! It's not a pretty sight, but it feels soooooo good.

Other than the "no-no" foods your orthodontist told you about (corn on the cob, whole apples, etc.), there really isn't anything that should be off-limits as far as food goes. Drinking a lot of water and swishing around while you're eating will help a lot. Unfortunately, food WILL get stuck in your brackets, so it's always good to carry a travel-size toothbrush, toothpaste, some proxy brushes and a mirror with you whenever you eat out. I usually try to just clean up the front brackets, and deal with the rest when I get home. I refuse to let these pieces of metal and ceramic run my life. I love food too much!

You'll find that in a week or so, you'll be much better adjusted to them. Just keep in mind that after every adjustment, you may feel some discomfort for the first few days, but after that it'll be fine.

Good luck to you!!
-Cathy

[Denise]

Certainly there are foods you will learn to avoid throughout your treatment. Your skill with eating will improve a lot, so remember that foods you can't eat now, aren't always going to be ones you can't eat again in time. I never have a problem eating out. You may have to get creative with the way you eat things. For instance, cutting up the peach into small bite-sized pieces that you can chew with your back teeth. I cut up salad a lot because the lettuce wraps around my brackets something fierce and it's super obnoxious. I avoid eating anything in public that required biting with my front teeth. ESPECIALLY hamburgers. Anything with bread is going to cause a huge mess around your brackets. Apples are fine if you cut them into small pieces. As is anything else really. Just think: small bite size pieces. You will certainly be able to eat almost everything you did before, I promise you that. The soreness and pain of those first few days/week are the WORST. Luckily once that's behind you and you start to develop new skills with your braces, you'll find you enjoy eating again

[kaylaa]

Eating really does get easier, you just have to take it one day at a time. I got my braces 6 days ago and I have been taking baby steps, I started out with soups and super soft things like pudding and jello and yogurt. It has been 6 days and for lunch today I managed to eat 3 pieces of pizza! Yes, 3! I was super proud of my self. You just have to chew slowly and cut everything up super small.

I hope that is somewhat inspiring. I am new to everything too, but it does get better. you just have to push past these minor annoyances and stride toward the goal at the end.



I hope the rest of your week gets better.

-Kayla

[Sunny]

Josie things will improve and the more you help yourself the easier it will get. I'm so sorry to read that it's so tough at the moment, but honestly by chewing as much as you can ... keeping well hydrated ... doing the warm salt water rinses 5+ times a day ... keeping any brackets that rub well covered with wax ... and a positive attitude, you'll be amazed at how quickly you forget that you have braces. I know that's going to sound crazy to you at this minute ... but it will happen.

About food around your brackets ... this is easy to take care of. It was important to me, as my husband was a top business man when my treatment started and we had many important social gatherings to attend. To keep my teeth looking great and allowing me to 'chip' in on general conversation I took the advice of the 'old hands' ... to drink water while I'm eating (although many times I substituted red wine) ... and it washes the food away. It's such an easy thing to do. My husband has since died, but I'd never consider eating a meal without a glass of water beside me ... plus maybe a glass of wine, or a cup of chai ... as I know I can enjoy a great meal and participate in conversation without having food dribbling from my brackets and archwires.

I also have a dental kit that I take everywhere with me. It's a small purse, like a small makeup purse. Inside is a small mirror, wax, travel sized toothpaste, travel sized toothbrush, some wax, toothpicks and coz I'm wearing elastics, I have spare elastics in an old wax container. I have had this from day one of my treatment and it means I can eat anywhere and at anytime, as long as I have my dental kit and water ... I can be confident that all is good! I eat every food imaginable and we used to travel a lot, so I've eaten foods from many different countries during the past few years and loved every minute of it!

You do need to focus on the result you desire and you need to remind yourself how lucky you are to be able to do this. There are many people desparate to have their bites fixed but there's no money available. Those of us who pay for our treatment as adults are very lucky and we've made very important decisions to help ourselves.

Keep looking in your diary and reminding yourselves of the many gatherings you have to look forward to. How lucky are you to have so many dining events and social gatherings to look forward to. Your mouth will be fine and you'll be fine! I promise!

[josie]

Thanks everyone. I have a few questions arising from some of the things you've said and after having lived with them for another 24 hrs!:

Is it ok to chew sugar free gum then? I didn't ask my ortho about that. I've read online that some recommend it and some don't... How come it doesn't get all stuck round the brackets?

I'm going to try the warm salt-water rinses, as today I seem to have acquired all sorts of lovely ulcers on my cheeks! I have some wax to put on the brackets, but I'm wondering: If I'm putting wax on my brackets, how can I clean effectively around them? Should I put the wax on after cleaning? Do I then need to take it off before eating/cleaning and then replace it with fresh wax? (It is horrible to get off and gets gunked into the brackets!).

The swishing water around thing is v effective. I think I was slightly over ambitious yesterday: I approached the task of Eating Lunch by thinking that I was NOT going to let my braces stop me eating what I would normally have eaten. (I am v stubborn!). I then proceeded to attempt to eat 2 pieces of crunchy toast with cheddar and chutney! I perhaps should have taken it SLIGHTLY easier on the second day...

Finally, an important question: Flossing. I have the Oral B super floss stuff, but I can't thread it between my very back teeth (wisdom teeth or the tooth in front of that) on both sides, top and bottom. So I can't floss those. It's partly because they are v close together but it's also because my lips and cheek get in the way and I just can't manoever it back there. I have the interdental brushes and I'm using those on the very back teeth instead for now, but they're not as effective as flossing. I wondered if I'm missing a trick here - is there some technique for getting this Oral B floss stuff between your very back teeth?? I'm having about as much trouble as my ortho did, getting the wire in the brackets back there - only at least he had a wire - a piece of floss is even harder!!!

[Sunny]

Where I work we recommend the sugar free gum that states it doesn't stick to most dental work.

Clean your teeth, put the wax on ... use generously and mould over and around the bracket. Leave it on when eating and only remove when you brush. Your mouth will toughen while the wax is in place, whereas if sores form, new cells are needed to heal the area and the toughening process begins again. Wax is easy to remove if used in generous amounts. You can pick it off with a toothpick and usually it will all come off in one piece. If it crumbles, don't be concerned, just pick it off. Plus it's safe to swallow.

You sound like you had the right attitude yesterday ... just add the swishing of water and it is the best way. We ask our patients to wait four hours and then to return to eating as they normally do. The sooner you get over the changes, by behaving as you normally do, the easier it seems to be.

The oral b floss is great and you need to keep working at getting the floss back to those molars. It will take practise and you will be able to do it. Interdental brushes are great for cleaning around brackets and under archwires and between teeth that have large gaps, but they don't replace flossing, as the most important role of flossing is to clean the area just below the gum and interdental brushes can't do that. Have you tried threading the floss between those teeth at the gum? This is often the easier way.

Good luck and here's to things improving with every passing minute!

[Denise]

You can get floss threadders at pretty much any store that sells floss. They are these:

I would highly recommend using those when you attempt to floss through your back teeth.

You absolutely can chew gum. But make sure the package says that it won't stick to dental work. I'm guessing you aren't from the U.S., but here we have gum called Freedent that says right on the package that it won't stick to dental work. For the most part it doesn't. This is the only gum I've chewed for the last 15.5 months.

Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do for the sores in your cheeks, other than using wax. The tissue in your mouth will eventually get used to the brackets and the sores will heal. As your teeth move, you will develop new sores where the brackets rub against new skin. Using a dab of wax on top of the bracket will help reduce how badly the bracket cuts your cheek, but it won't stop it completely. You will want to take the wax off while brushing or eating or anything like that.

The adjustment period to braces does take a while. For me, it took about a month. I had a lot of soreness, a lot of cuts, and a lot of pain for the first few weeks and like you, I was very frustrated thinking I would never feel the same again. But then my sores healed up, the sensitivity went (mostly) away, and I learned how to eat food with my braces. There are still foods I avoid completely, and some that I only eat if I'm really wanting them because they are a pain with the braces, but in the end I know it will all have been worth it.

Hang in there, it will get better with time!

[catgyrl]

I must be horribly uncoordinated, because I cannot get the hang of that floss threader to save my life. My hygienist said she prefers those to the regular floss threaders (which are what I use). Whatever works for ya, josie, but yes, keep practicing and you will be a pro in no time. For someone who can barely thread a needle, I've become quite adept at threading my floss!

I have to add a funny story about Freedent. My mom's had dentures since her hearly 20's, so when we were kids she used to always buy Freedent gum to chew. It only came in teeny packs of 5, and us kids loved the taste so much, we would always steal her gum! She caught wind of it and said, "Hey, you kids go chew your own gum, like that Bubble Yum crap, and leave mine alone!"

I didn't know we were supposed to pick the ones that specified "won't stick to most dental work". I've been chewing Stride and Eclipse, and haven't had any problems with it sticking. Should I switch?

-Cathy

[Denise]

Cathy I think if Stride and Eclipse aren't sticking then keep chewing them I've tried lots of different kinds and everything seems to sick to my brackets except freedent. I did the funniest thing the other day though, and forgot to take my elastic out before I started chewing my gum. It goes from the inside of my mouth (a button on the inside of my tooth) and connects to two outside brackets...which means when I bite down, of course I'm biting down on the elastic. So me, in all my brilliant-ness, pop in a piece of Freedent and chaos ensued. I had a wad of gum wrapped in elastic mess in my mouth and I couldn't get it out because the gym had wrapped all around the elastic and the button and I looked like a total idiot trying to get this mess of gum out of my mouth! And of course I was drooling all over myself because it was a new piece of gum.....~sigh~ 15 months with these things, you'd think I'd learn.

[catgyrl]

HAHAHA!! Isn't it funny how we have no problems now just sticking our fingers in our mouths around our friends, family and coworkers?? It's like, if we don't get it out NOW, something horrible is going to happen. I do so many gross things nowadays: I lisp, I spit on people, I have food woven in and out of my brackets... and I just have to laugh about it. My friends understand; they say, "We know it's because of your braces."

[josie]

Thanks guys, my teeth feel much better today already. It is freaky but already, when I close my teeth, I can't have the bite I used to have - all my teeth are making contact with slightly different surfaces already!!!

However, the floss threader is not something I've heard of or seen before. (You're right, I'm in the UK. We do have Freedent here though!). How does a floss threader help you get the floss between the back teeth? From that picture, I can't tell.. I will Google it and see if I can find some over here in the UK...

[catgyrl]

So happy to hear you're feeling better!! Shoot - My bite changed the minute he put the wire in! He said, "Bite down" and I said, "I can't! It's all messed up now!" (Ever the difficult patient, I am...)

Floss Threader: Maybe Denise can thread some floss through it and take a pic for you. (No, not through your TEETH, Denise - just loop the floss through the round part). I would try to explain how to do it, but every time I type it, it sounds obscene ("stick this through that...") LOL! Basically, though, you loop the floss through the round end, then insert the long end of the threader between your teeth at the gum level, pull it through until the floss comes all the way through. You floss, then pull it out... and start over again. Yes... it takes FOREVER to begin with. That's another reason I use the Crest Glide ones. It's faster, and I'm lazy...

As for your very back teeth, you just have to get used to sticking your hands in your mouth... waaaaaay in the back. Sometimes I have a hard time, too. Those teeth get flossed very quickly.

[Denise]

I'll do you one better. Here's a link to a short video showing you how to do it. Using Floss Threaders for Oral Hygiene: How to Keep Teeth Healthy | eHow.com

I have absolutely no qualms about sticking my finger in my mouth and digging food out. I absolutely can't STAND having food in my brackets! Salad is the worst. I do it at home, at work, and at restaurants and I do not care. I have become very good at being discreet about it though. Lots of water, swishing and a quick scoop with the finger usually does the trick. And even after 15 months I also still spit when I talk. Oh the joys of being braced up....

[Sunny]

Floss threaders aren't used much in Aussie due to the oral b super floss being so easy to buy and use. I had a friend send me some and I've tried them, but compared to oral b super floss it was hard work. What I did like about it though, was that you can use whatever type of floss you want with it ... so if you have a favourite, it means you can use that. The oral b super floss has been designed for people with braces ... and I'm sure this is aonther reason why it's so easy to use.

[davo1]

Isnt the orab b super floss only good if you have enough of a gap to pull it through the teeth? Most of my teeth are too close together to get it through so I just use normal floss and try to work around the wire as close to the gum as I can.

[josie]

Well, I'm still having trouble flossing at the back - I have an impacted wisdom tooth, so it is leaning forwards, towards me, making the wire connection between it and the tooth in front very short: I have a tiny bit of wire to get the floss under, right at the back of my mouth. I was there for ages last night trying to do it and eventually gave up and did my best with an interdental brush. (The ortho is trying to disimpact this wisdom tooth by bringing it upright - we're not sure if this is going to work but we're giving it a go!). If I can't do it with the Oral B super floss, is it worth getting some floss threaders, or am I going to find it just as hard or harder with those?

Davo, my teeth are very close together but I manage to get floss in all except for these back teeth. Before braces, I would have to 'snap' the floss down between the teeth, they are touching so much. With the Oral B floss, I can literally thread it at the gum-line, straight through. The other technique is to get it under the wire to start with, and then snap it down between the teeth, as before. Have a go - you should still be able to floss as before.

Tonight is The First Meal Out with braces. Not at a restaurant, so I won't even get a choice of what to eat... Wish me luck!

[Sunny]

Davo the stiffened end of oral b superfloss is smaller than the floss threaders. If you can't get it between to teeth, you can easily push it under the wire. For the lower teeth, thread from below the archwire, under and up and for the uppers, thread from above the wire, under and down.

Davo you're very lucky to be able to use normal floss ... so keep doing that, as it takes a load more effort to use it.

Josie I hope you had a great meal out ... remember don't make an issue out of something so temporary and hopefully it will all be good!

[josie]

FLOSS THREADERS ARE ACE!

Thanks so much for this suggestion everyone. I had to order them online to get them, and tried them last night for the first time. I love it that I can use my regular dental tape - the ORal B Super floss is too thick for most of my teeth - only tape can get right down between them, and I love it that I can keep using the tape with a floss threader on the end! Thanks again!

[catgyrl]

Hi Josie!

I'm so glad that you were able to use the floss threader!! I'm still not coordinated enough to use it, so I will stick with my Crest Glide. I will admit I do have my weeks where I just DO NOT feel like flossing (that may be, max, once a week). Even though I do run the WaterPik through it, I know it's no substitute. However, the next day I always feel guilty, and do an extra good job of flossing.

-Cathy

[josie]

I'm only flossing alternate days... However, a few weeks ago I'd never flossed in my life - ARG! I had 2 weeks to learn how to floss without braces, and then to adjust to flossing with them...

Come to think of it, there has been a period of about 8 years when I only cleaned my teeth in the mornings, not at night - and never flossed. My teeth are still in v good health, considering - I was lucky. Flossing from now on in! (Albeit every other day!)

[MsMichelle]

I just read this entire thread and thought it was most informative.

Josie welcome to the wonderful world of hygiene... my ortho gives me floos threaders whenever I ask her for them which is conviently every 2 months or so, lol. They also sell them in just about all of our drugstores and walmart and places like that.

My ortho gave me this cute little BIG magnet when I first got my braces on, so I have my Do's and Don'ts of eating and I try hard to keep to it. I haven't even considered chewing gum and WOW I didn't even think about that... hmm I may have to try it out, lol THANKS Sunny, Denise and Catgryl!!!! *bad influences, lol*

[catgyrl]

MsMichelle-

As my mother always says... "Do as I say, not as I do."

-Cathy

[Sunny]

We give our young patients a poster that pays particular attention to the 'Do Nots', but with adults we focus on common sense.

[MsMichelle]

LMAO!So are you saying I SHOULD or SHOULD NOTchew gum, lol


Michelle

MsMichelle-

As my mother always says... "Do as I say, not as I do."

-Cathy

[Sunny]

Michelle where I work we recommend chewing sugar free gum, the type that has a wrapper that states 'won't stick to most dental work'. Chewing is great for the blood flow in your gums and can help when your teeth are a bit achy. There is also some research that suggests that chewing helps teeth move ... although I'm not sure how accurate it is.

Of course we recommend the use of common sense.

I chew gum maybe three or four times a month ... not often and I find I have to be well hydrated or before long my brackets or wires at the side feel like they're digging into the sides of my mouth.

I've also used gum when I had a long piece of wire over an extraction site. It worked like wax, but was more 'solid' than wax, and helped my mouth toughed and adjust to the archwire being there.

[MsMichelle]

Thanks Sunny... you always provide such awesome advice. I may try some this weekend and see how it goes.

[kaylaa]

My ortho told me that I could chew gum, but it had to be sugar free. Some places encourage it, some places don't. I'm just really glad they told me that I could. I chew Wrigley's Extra. So so good.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

Floss threaders and super floss are wonderful tools to help you get floss through difficult spots. We have found that one particular brand, Glide by Crest, is strong enough to hold its shape when you're trying to push it under a wire without using these tools.

It's actually my personal preferred floss even though I don't have braces and wires on right now because of it's strength, smoothness, and ability not to shred. It is quite a bit more costly than some of the other flosses, but may be more economical when you factor in paying for the auxiliary products above. Hope this helps!

[josie]

Thanks! Got to say the whole flossing-with-braces is a bit of a passion-killer: By the time I've brushed, brushed with interdental brushes, flossed and mouthwashed, my dearest beloved is fast asleep.....

(Let's not talk about the combination of kissing and wax on the brackets either.)

BUT I'll be WAY more attractive with straight teeth, right?

[Sunny]

... love your post as I remember my husband making some interesting comments during those early weeks, about how long I took in the bathroom.

Hopefully you'll find, like most of us, that with a few more weeks of practise, all the cleaning bits and pieces will take a lot less time. The flossing is one of the most important things to do, that and gently brushing, as both pay a roll in helping us keep our teeth and gums looking and feeling great. Would be dreadful to have our teeth all in the right places, but with swollen diseased gums and marked teeth. Not a good thought!

[Stephen29]

hey everybody,

this is my first post got damon on bottom and clarity on top yesterday. I've been ok so far, I even went out for a few beers with by friends last night, no probs with socialising or talking yet, which I'm delighted with.

However I'm really frustrated at not being able to eat. I already have to eat a lot because I've a high metabloism and my doc recommended that I need to eat 3500 calories a day. I'm 6ft4 and about 185lbs. I also get hungry quite often, yesterday was so annoying. All I had was porridge, soup, some potato wedges (which took forever to eat), and a big dinner of chickenbake and mashed up baby potatoes.

This morning I had porridge, youghurt, and an orange. Snacking looks like it's gonna be problematic as it seems you've to brush your teeth all the time.

Can anybody advise some foods for snacking that won't be a pain in the ass to eat.

Thanks

[Sunny]

Stephen you can eat ... it's up to you to find out how to make this work best for you, although with a couple of days practise you should be eating what you usually eat. Also you don't need to brush after you snack, what you need is water to drink while you're eating and after, so that you can wash food away from your braces.

Eating is easy, plus for someone like yourself, there's loads of things you can add to smoothies to make sure you take care of your weight.

Good luck!

[josie]

Stephen, like you I at first assumed I'd need to brush my teeth every time I ate. However, although I was brushing gently, my gums got really sore brushing so frequently - and I already have slightly receding gums due to brushing too hard, before having braces. I decided it made no sense to clean my teeth at the expense of my gums, and have gone back to brushing twice a day. I think this is a good compromise for both tooth and gum health.

Sunny is right that the way forward is rinsing with water after you eat. Only if I can feel or visibly see something still stuck in my teeth after rinsing, do I take things further, and even then I can usually get it out with a toothpick and don't brush.

As for needing to increase your calorie intake, a lot of ice cream should see you through these few days! By the end of the first week you should be eating more or less normally, although chewing slightly gingerly...