Metal Mouth Message Board

I am having a terrible time sleeping since I got my braces. I am in elastics now (class 2) and am constantly aware of my jaw position, tongue position (trying to break a tongue-thrusting habit that was causing my bite to open), mouth position (trying to fight my habit to breathe through my mouth), etc. All these intrusive thoughts make relaxing and dropping off to sleep so much more difficult than it used to be. Before braces I never gave any of these things a thought.

Anyone else? I do not want to get sleeping pills, though I am sure they would help. Mostly just venting as I am frustrated. And tired!

When I first got braces, I was acutely aware of their existence on my teeth. The pressure and pain certainly didn’t help me to sleep. But over time, I think I just learned to block it all out and sleep.

EmilyTravels wrote: ↑Thu Jan 18, 2018 6:45 am I am having a terrible time sleeping since I got my braces. I am in elastics now (class 2) and am constantly aware of my jaw position, tongue position (trying to break a tongue-thrusting habit that was causing my bite to open), mouth position (trying to fight my habit to breathe through my mouth), etc. All these intrusive thoughts make relaxing and dropping off to sleep so much more difficult than it used to be. Before braces I never gave any of these things a thought.

Anyone else? I do not want to get sleeping pills, though I am sure they would help. Mostly just venting as I am frustrated. And tired!

This is normal. Give it some time and you will not be so aware of all these little things. You will get a good nights rest eventually.

At first, when i got elastics, the doctor gave me 6mm (1/4") heavy elastics. I had the worst pain. The worst. For me the pain when i got my braces put on was nothing compared to this. It took me three days to adjust to them. However, he has now given me 3 mm (1/8") super heavy elastics and i'm going through the same thing you are going through. I am constantly thinking about and adjusting my bite, my tongue, my jaw etc. The pain was not as bad, but my teeth still hurt to this day (2 weeks after i first put them on), especially in the morning. Not to mention i also moved my front 4 teeth, which are 'tied' together, a good 3 mm because the elastics are so strong my lower teeth have simply pushed them.
Soooo the idea is that it's gonna take a while for you to adjust to them. Especially with the elastics. Elastics and a bad bite/not being able to properly bite down or close your mouth are the worst things.

Thank you! Not that I'd wish this on anyone, but it is nice to know that I am not completely alone in this. I have adjusted somewhat but do still find myself hyper-aware of my tongue and jaw position when I am attempting to fall asleep and when I wake up in the middle of the night. Getting good-quality and sufficient sleep is hard enough at my age (almost 57) that I don't need anything making it harder.