How To Relieve Braces Pain
10 Tips for Braces Pain Relief Individuals think that braces are very painful, but there’s actually not much pain or discomfort after you get used to wearing them. You may feel some discomfort right after the orthodontist puts the braces on and when your wires are tightened, but there are ways to get braces pain relief.1.
Oral anesthetics A simple way to get some braces pain relief is to rub an oral anesthetic like Orajel or Anbesol directly on the sensitive teeth and gums. You can use either a cotton swab or your finger to apply it. Oral anesthetics desensitize your teeth and gums so you don’t feel the discomfort of shifting teeth so acutely.2.
Over-the-counter pain medicine Another option is to take, If you know you always feel some discomfort after an orthodontic appointment, take the medicine an hour before your appointment. You’ll feel less pain and discomfort during and after your appointment this way.
Make sure you read the instructions on the medicine and follow the dosage instructions carefully. This medicine isn’t meant to be used on a consistent basis, so if you are still feeling pain and discomfort after a couple of days, immediately.3. An ice pack Cold temperatures can reduce inflammation and numb the mouth so you don’t feel the pain.
If you have an ice pack handy, it’ll work great. Just apply the ice pack to the outside of your mouth for braces pain relief.4. Cold ice water If none of the options mentioned above are available, then a simple glass of cold ice water can also do the trick.
After you get back from your orthodontic appointment, sip on a nice cold glass of ice water. This will numb your mouth enough to relieve some of the pain and discomfort.5. Soft foods With, there are a lot of restrictions, especially when it comes down to what you can eat. You should not eat hard candy, gum, and hard to chew foods with braces on.
You may want to stick to avoiding just crunchy foods right after getting your braces put on and after each tightening. You can do this by sticking to soft foods like soups, mashed potatoes. and cereal. Even if you chose and don’t have to worry about wire straightening, you’ll still have an adjustment period with each new set of aligners.
During these adjustment periods, be kind to your mouth and stick to softer foods.6. Orthodontic wax You will most likely get orthodontic wax sent home with you. This is a special wax that protects the inside of your lips, cheeks, and gums from the brackets of the braces. The wax creates a barrier that keeps the sharp ends of the brackets from irritating your mouth.
Follow the instructions that you’re given to use orthodontic wax. Basically, you mold the wax over the bracket that is causing the irritation. It is a nontoxic wax so you don’t have to worry about accidentally swallowing some, but remember to take it off before brushing your teeth.
- Reapply the wax after brushing your teeth and after meals.7.
- A warm rinse While cold temperatures certainly do the trick, a warm salt water rinse can help too.
- Gurgling with warm salt water can help heal any sores or cuts you might have in your mouth and on your gums from the braces.8.
- A gum massage If massaging a sore shoulder works, why not massage your gums for pain relief too? It’s also really simple to do too.
All you have to do is gently rub your gums in a circular fashion with one of your fingers. For the full effect, rub your gums with a block of ice before massaging them. You should only do this long enough to relax your swollen gums though.9. Good dental hygiene How you take care of your teeth and braces can also make a difference in how much pain and discomfort you have.
- The most important thing to remember when wearing braces is that you have to keep both your teeth and braces sparking clean to ward off tooth decay and gum inflammation.
- Food will get stuck on the brackets and wires so you also need to clean them thoroughly.
- Make sure you brush, floss, and use mouth wash to ensure that you get rid of all the food particles leftover from when you eat.10.
Need to be patient Probably the most important tip to get through this adjustment period is to be patient. Keep your overall goal in mind: a healthier, beautiful smile. The pain and discomfort will only last a few days, but your new smile will always be with you so you should take proper care of it.
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Do braces hurt the first week?
1. Take an over-the-counter pain reliever right before your bonding appointment. – Though you should never feel severe braces pain the first week, or at any point during your treatment, your teeth will be a little tender and achy an hour or two after you get your braces put on.
You might also have some tenderness after adjustments. This just means your braces are working to shift your teeth into place. The initial discomfort lasts less than a week and, after adjustments, only a day or two. You can get a head start on sensitivity by taking an over-the-counter pain reliever (whatever you’d normally take for a headache) right before your bonding appointment.
This way, it will kick in by the time your braces exert any pressure on your teeth. You can continue to take an over-the-counter pain reliever as directed during the few days after first getting braces. If you experience significant braces pain the first week, and it doesn’t respond to pain relief efforts, give our office a call!
Does hot water speed up braces?
Ways to Safely Speed Orthodontic Treatment 1. Self-Ligation Braces There are many different types of braces. Basically, braces are divided into two major categories: Traditional ligation and self-ligation. This basically describes the way the wire is attached to the brace.
For traditional braces, the wire and the brace are attached by a ‘ligature’, usually a colored rubber band. This is stylish, but the rubber color works like a parking brake dramatically slowing tooth movement and requiring up to 500 times more force to move the teeth. Self-ligating braces have a little door built into the brace that holds the brace and the wire together.
Don’t worry fashion conscious people; you can still decorate w/ colors. But, you don’t have the ‘parking brake’ effect on the teeth. This allows much lower forces necessary to move the teeth which is much more comfortable and creates much less local inflammation.
Damon System self-ligating braces allow teeth and bone to move as a unit versus a tooth through the bone. This leads to healthier and faster tooth movement. Dr. Buchanan uses the self-ligating braces of the Damon System, Damon Clear, & Insignia custom braces.2. Customization Using very sophisticated robotic and CAD/CAM technologies, it is now possible to customize your braces just for you.
Insignia Custom Braces are utilized by Dr. Buchanan. Insignia is composed of customized braces AND wires. Before treatment, the patient’s teeth are scanned into a computer using a Lythos digital scanner (no more yucky molds/impressions!!). Then, the teeth are digitally aligned by the Dr.
Buchanan. Once the teeth are in the ideal position, the computer software engineers the perfect brace for each tooth based on the math necessary to move the tooth from crooked to straight. The customized braces are then applied to the teeth. By customizing the braces BEFORE they are put on, many of the adjustments necessary during treatment are eliminated resulting in faster and more precise treatment.
Insignia braces are also ‘self-ligating’ which makes them work faster and move bone and teeth efficiently.3. Be Compliant During treatment Dr. Buchanan will ask you to wear rubber bands, come to your visits on time, brush your teeth well, and be careful with what you eat to prevent damage to your braces.
The more compliant you are with these directions, the faster you treatment will go. Dr. Buchanan uses space -age wires developed by the NASA space program that are activated by heat. If you rinse with hot water and use hot water in your water pik and drink hot soups and beverages, your teeth will move faster.
If you want your treatment to go super-fast, listen to Dr. Buchanan’s instructions and follow them religiously! 4. See an Orthodontist In today’s economy, many family dentists are looking to expand the services they offer to help their bottom line. Often times, a weekend class is the only requirement to start offering orthodontic treatment.
Orthodontists are specialty trained dentists that have several years of specific, additional orthodontic training and then devote their careers to orthodontics only. Many products claim to offer faster treatment and have speedy sounding names like ‘Six Month Braces’ ‘Fast Smiles’ or ‘Quick Braces’ or even mail order aligners.
These systems will make some teeth straighter but will rarely leave you with a good bite. Most people with bites that are off have increased risk of painful tooth and jaw problems in the future. Moving your teeth as quickly and safely as possible is tricky business.
Do braces hurt in winter?
Does that Milwaukee winter weather seem to cause discomfort on your braces and teeth? – Cold weather can lead to some tooth pain and affect the way your braces feel. Teeth will expand and contract when responding to extreme cold temperatures. When this occurs, your teeth may become more sensitive causing your braces to feel a bit of discomfort.
Is the first day the worst for braces?
Your first days with braces on Congratulations? You have braces!! Everything feels weird, rough, sharp and uncomfortable, but that feeling will disappear over the next week or two as you get used to the braces. Even though the wires we’ve used to move your teeth are very fine and hardly put any pressure on your teeth, you will still get sore teeth over the next couple of days.
- Generally, the soreness will start in 2-3 hours after the braces have been placed and get worse over the first 24 hours.
- So, tonight and tomorrow will probably be the worst, then it should slowly settle over the next week or so.
- If you haven’t already taken a pain killer, take something when you get home.
Nurofen is generally the most effective. However, if you can’t take Nurofen for any reason, Panadol works well most of the time.
Why does my braces pain last so long?
After Getting Braces On – Once your braces are on your teeth, some pain and discomfort may develop. This is normal, just a sign that your teeth are adjusting to the new appliance. The braces need to apply pressure to straighten your smile, so your teeth, gums, lips, and tongue all need time to get used to the new sensations. Any of the following are normal types of pain or discomfort:
- Pressure on the teeth
- Swollen or inflammed gums
- Irritated cheeks, lips, and gums
- Jaw tension
- Headaches
- Sensitivity to heat or cold
- Lightly bleeding gums
- Difficulty chewing food
- Feeling of loose teeth
All of the above are your body’s normal, appropriate responses to the new orthodontic appliance. In the majority of cases, this discomfort fades within the first few days as you adjust to your braces.