Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi
I'm hoping to have braces fitted in the next couple of months (have 1st Ortho apt in a few weeks - eek!) and i understand that it's natural to suffer some pain / discomfort after the initial fitting. However, i'm wondering how long did this pain / discomfirt last for with you?
I'm due to go on holiday a few weeks after my fitting and i'm worried that i might be in too much discomfort to enjoy it
I hoping to have ceramic on the top and probably metal on the bottom (obviously to be confirmed once i've had my consultation).
Would you advise i have the brace fitted before holiday or wait until the week i get back from holiday?
Sorry for rambling on
Thanks

If it were me I'd probably wait to be braced until I got back from vacation. I remember my teeth being painful and sensitive for about 3-4 days after I got my braces installed, but the chaffing lasted much longer--a few weeks. It seemed like I'd just get one area of my mouth healed and another spot would start rubbing and creating a sore. Sore spots are worse then the tooth pain IMHO. Wax helps immensely, but it would be such a drag to always be applying it while on vacation.
Go. Enjoy yourself. Eat freely. Then get your braces.
Congratulations on beginning treatment!

My teeth were sore and tender for about a week...even now, they hurt if I accidentally bump them, and they have that weird loose/numb feeling typical of newly braced teeth. But the canker sores and shredding of the inside of my mouth/cheeks last a good 10 days or so before it was all healed. Now I barely even notice the braces anymore

I went on vacation 4 days after getting my braces put on. When we go on vacation its a chance for us to eat all the foods we miss from home....my mouth was a little sore, but nothing advil couldn't handle. The pain durning the day didn't stop me from doing anything. I say take any appointment they can give you, and then enjoy your vacation.

Pain/discomfort for me only lasted 3 days, and then i was pretty much back to normal. There's never going to be a good time to get braced, you might as well just get it done and then itll be quicker to de-bracing! Also I had no soreness on my cheeks/gums at all, and havent used wax once. My braces have been on for 5 weeks.

HelenUK - you sound like you got off lightly compared to a lot of others - what braces have you had fitted?

I dont know yet when my braces will be being fitted but i reckon you and i are roughly on the same time frame.

I have my records apt on 19th May, im expecting braces for 18 months to 2 yrs then surgery then 6months bracing and finally retainer.

I need to have a tooth out and my wisdoms out so i dont know yet if that will need doing before bracing or if i am good to go as soon as.

Where are you in the UK, i am Essex.

I was braced exactly two weeks ago. It ached a bit for the first 3 days or so, but it's been fine ever since. I didn't have any irritation with my gums or lips either. The only annoying thing is my tongue is a bit scuffed up since I feel compelled to run it over my braces every 30 seconds

takes a few weeks to start to get used to the braces and all the new metal and such in your mouth. If I was you I would wait till after vacation then when you get back get them on! but its totally up to you!

I had discomfort and soreness for 9 days and could only eat soft food. This thread shows everyone is different. I didn't need to take any pain relief but if it was a case of 3/4 weeks of delaying an appointment I think I would wait and have a good holiday/vacation. Good luck.

Thank you all so much for your input. I'm so torn, obviously i want to get the braces on asap (so they get to work quicker) but i don't want discomfort during my holiday!!
Hmmmmm, think i'll talk it through with my Ortho and see what he suggests
Thanks again

The weirdest thing for me, 2 weeks later, is the loose-tooth feeling, especially for my front teeth

Emmauk wrote:HelenUK - you sound like you got off lightly compared to a lot of others - what braces have you had fitted?

I dont know yet when my braces will be being fitted but i reckon you and i are roughly on the same time frame.

I have my records apt on 19th May, im expecting braces for 18 months to 2 yrs then surgery then 6months bracing and finally retainer.

I need to have a tooth out and my wisdoms out so i dont know yet if that will need doing before bracing or if i am good to go as soon as.

Where are you in the UK, i am Essex.

I dont' know what braces i have, other than metal self-ligating all round? I had 4 teeth out 2 weeks before being braced. i'm in yorkshire.

Flamingo wrote:Thank you all so much for your input. I'm so torn, obviously i want to get the braces on asap (so they get to work quicker) but i don't want discomfort during my holiday!!
Hmmmmm, think i'll talk it through with my Ortho and see what he suggests
Thanks again

I could not eat normally for a few weeks. But it seems that my case was a little worse than others. I also had extractions around the same time so maybe that contributed. But I just remember thinking.. gosh when am I going to be able to eat WHATEVER i want again? Like, salads and sandwiches and things like that...

I was also one of the worse cases with discomfort, i remember it being really bad for about 2 weeks and then another month or so before i could chew properly!

But, I have a feeling part of the difficulty with me eating was that my teeth were really crooked and when they initially shifted, my bite positions change and so did the sore spots.
My sore spots had a habit of showing up in different positions in the mouth on different days.

I would just wait till after your holidays, not being able to eat properly is somewhat draining cause your body isnt' getting enough fuel.

HelenUK and Emmauk - we seem to be in pretty similar timelines. I had braces fitted 27 April, and like you Emma am expecting surgery next year some time. (Not sure when - two orthos giving me different times - very annoying.)

Anyway, I have NO PAIN from my traditional train track brace, though only have uppers fitted so far. Think I'm lucky because my upper jaw is very narrow (hence surgery) and so my molars don't come into contact with inside of my mouth. Only problem I've found is if I laugh or smile too broadly then my lip gets kind of stuck on the little hooks on top the canine brackets. Nice.

As for eating, it's not painful, though I am being careful. Biggest hassle is finding something that doesn't require biting into it as I get a weird pressure on my front teeth as soon as I try chomping down. So in answer to the original post - it's the hassle of finding braces-friendly food and the constant cleaning that will interfere with your holiday plans as much as any pain you MIGHT feel. Good luck whatever you choose!