New Damon put on yesterday - cannot eat!

[mantora]

My 12 year-old daughter had Damon clear on uppers, metal lower arch (with 2 springs) put on yesterday.
The dentist has built up 2 lower teeth "to get the teeth moving" presumably to stop her biting down too hard.
As a result her back teeth do not meet at all and she cannot chew anything. She is distressed about this more than anything else.

Any advice on how to get the wax to stick on the brace to protect the sore bits? She says it just falls straight off and is a waste of time - but others seem to find it helps.

The wire on the lower teeth turns down through a right angle after the last bracket - and this is sticking into her gum - is this right?
Generally, she is highly miserable, with tooth ache, sore areas and hunger.
I am wondering what on earth I am putting her through.

[mantora]

Update: Dosed her up with Ibuprofen after her meal of soft rice, then paracetamol at bedtime. Gave her a warm bath and lots of attention.
She slept through the night which is a blessing.
This morning she says the pain from her teeth is a little less, but she has a sore on one cheek and various very sore patches inside the mouth.
I am fetching some teething gel for babies, as I think it might numb the areas a little - and if she applies frequently, she won't be getting so much active ingredient. I got her to rinse with saline solution yesterday and need to repeat regularly today.

The brackets on the back teeth (7's) are the ones which really dig in to the cheeks and the end of the wire seems to move down and dig into her gum.
Still having difficulty using the dental wax. Dentist has suggested warming it up more before applying.
The main thrust of the advice seems to be "grit your teeth (ha) and get through the first few days".

The build-ups on the two lower teeth seem high - do these wear down quite quickly?

Any advice appreciated for this early stage.

[mantora]

Day 4 now and still not eating very well. She managed Sunday lunch with soft vegetables and tender chicken though. She says that today the built up lower teeth are very tender. Maybe this is from the extra pressure on them as she attempts to chew. She took Ibuprofen this morning after managing all day yesterday withour painkillers.

L normally eats dry cereals for breakfast and she still won't even attempt this. She doesn't really like milk much. She does, however, like baguette and is very miffed that she won't be eating any for a while.

We have found one case of wax is a little better than the other type, so she's using that one.

Still haven't had any replies from anyone, which is disappointing. A word or two of encouragement would be nice. Or am I just posting in the wrong place????

[drgnchsr36]

The buildups are a pain, you can do a search on this forum and you'll find plenty of threads on them! We all hate them, unfortunately though it's much better than the alternative which is biting on the lower brackets.

She'll get used to them .. it takes a bit of time, I think it took me about a week or so. I still hate them, but I can eat whatever I want. You do feel a bit more pressure on those teeth, since those are the only ones chewing. You get used to it. As time passes, she won't notice them as much. I still hate mine, but it's really not that big of a deal anymore.

The wax I'd recommend wearing until she no longer feels any soreness from the rubbing of the brackets. Not sure how long that takes, it took me about a week? I don't remember. But, there will be times when brackets rub weirdly after wire changes as teeth move and you need wax again. Salt water rinses help, also I used oragel and it worked pretty well for numbing things.

I think it takes about 3 days to a week for me to get used to new wires, but everyone is different. Pain medicine - tylonel or ibprofen should help!

[mantora]

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement!
We are now on day 8 and things have settled down quite a bit. Resignation has set in
L is finding ways to eat many foods, although breakfast cereals still are off-limits. The upper teeth seem to be feeling ok now - she says they are fine and she is not bothered by the brackets or wire. Her front teeth (1's) seem to have visibly moved already - they were slightly tight together & out of alignment and now look separate & in line, which is pretty fast going.

The lower teeth are still sore and bugging her. I think this is because of the greater forces involves with having the 2 springs fitted -added to the build-ups issue. One of the lower canines has to be rotated through 90 degrees almost. Her lower teeth are more crowded and this is the arch with further to move.

I see that biting on the brackets would be a bad thing...

[ashesgap]

A year and a half in and I still don't really like eating cereal. The crunchy pieces get stuck above the brackets and cut up the inside of my mouth.
I had a small over bite, so I did hit down on the bottom brackets a little for two months, and yeah it does hurt. I also had a spring on top, and that was not fun. The little coil pinches and if you try to rub your tongue over your teeth it pinches even more. After a while we can ignore it all, and just work around it. A big thing is not to get frustrated when she whines about her mouth hurting, or when she can't eat. My husband, even after a year, still feels bad when I practically cry eating spaghetti after an adjustment, and he still gets up at 3am to get me an Advil when I wake up in pain. That really helps, cause I'm sick of it all, and he still isn't. From what I've heard kids adjust a lot quicker than adults though, so she might be fine pretty soon. Just make sure she keeps them really clean, I've seen some kids with pretty gross teeth getting upset when the ortho is reprimanding them and talking to their parents.
Hope she feels a lot better soon.

[JennyLaughs]

Wax can be a tricky substance. The warmer it is the more pliable it will be (I squish it between my thumb and index finger for a minute or two to get it there). Once it's in a workable state, it will usually stay on better if the area you're applying it to is semi-dry. If you can squish some of it into a space between bracket and tooth (be it under or over the bracket, I find it easier to go over but I've heard a lot of people go under) that will act as an "anchor" for the rest of the wax sitting on top of the bracket protecting your cheek. It might take a while to get enough wax in one area to get it to stick properly and protect how it's needed, but once it's on there the way you want it, I would drink some really cold water (if your teeth can handle it) to kind of "set" the wax a bit. It won't stay super hard or anything, but it might stay in the odd way you've shaped it in for a while. Drinking with wax on shouldn't be a problem, but I have never eaten yet without losing my wax if I had any on. It's safe to eat, so it's no biggie. Hope this helps.

It took me a full two weeks to eat without noticing how sore my mouth was when I was first braced. But once my mouth fully adjusted to the braces, there isn't anything I can't eat (that I'm not suppose to). I eat cold, hard cereal almost every day. The only time I have to go back to eating soft diet is when I get a new wire. I had coil springs also (to create gaps) and they never really bothered me unless I ran my tongue over them and a tastebud got caught in a coil. They worked pretty quickly and I had them off in about 6 months. Hygiene is the biggest thing to me. Keeping my teeth super clean is very important as I can't imagine how awful it would be to get a cavity with my teeth all hardwired like this. A water pik has been the greatest tool as far as that goes. Well worth whatever money has to be spent in my opinion. It just cleans sooo much better and faster than floss. I still floss, but not the 3 times daily I used to. Good luck to your daughter in the future and keep us updated!

[drgnchsr36]

Heh, I've never lost my wax while eating.. but I have forgotten to take it off while brushing my teeth. Man, that's a mess...

Be sure to always remove it before brushing...

[libbylou]

Hi Mantora - am in a similar position to you. My almost 12 year old is in braces too, she just had the first adjustment yesterday. Not Damons though - just the regular mini metal ones with coloured bands for her overjet. She has been in so much pain all night, and is back to just drinking milk rather than eating again as her teeth are so sore. She is missing drinking juices the most - I wont let her have any at all, as the orthodontist was emphatic about the issues that they can causes with decay around the brackets. Luckily she is only predicted to need them for 9-12 months.

I know what you mean about wondering if you are in the right place on the site - my daughter and I tend to read the "Our braces stories" the most, as it doesn't seem that many parents seem to post? She really loves seeing the stories and the pictures of the changes that are happening for everyone, so its great to keep her motivation going. Its a shame really that there isn't a specific section for the kids to post their progress pictures, as at my daughters High School at least 75 per cent of them must be in braces? I think it is because it is primarily an adults in braces site though.

Will keep checking this part of the board though, so will be reading your story too!

[drgnchsr36]

I think drinking juice should be ok.. as long as she brushes her teeth after eating and such. I drink juice, soda, tea, and I don't think there's an issue unless you totally don't do any oral hygiene. The dentist does recommend getting a teeth cleaning 3x a year instead of twice and so far, no issues.

Obviously you're the parent, but I think she should be OK

Oh..and if eating is too painful, smoothies and milkshakes are good to drink..

[libbylou]

drgnchsr36 - thanks so much for your reply and advice! It is the worst part of it for her - the no juice bit, as she loves apple and orange juice, plus fizzy drinks like Fanta. I have been so fearful of her getting those awful marks you see on people's teeth once their brackets have been taken off, that I have been a bit too strict I think?
Have found myself looking through some of her favourite stories on here to see what everyone else is doing, and I think you are right in that for most people - they can still drink some fizzy drinks and juice and not have any decay if they have good dental hygiene. I think I may need to ease up on her a bit..........
Am hoping to be braced myself soon, and I just dont think I could live without Pepsi.......!

Many thanks again

[Katvo]

LibbyLou- The biggest concern for the no sugary drinks rule is that often youngsters in ortho don't keep up well enough with their oral hygiene. Encourage your daughter to keep those brackets completely clean and shiny, and she should be able to have juice/other sweet light colored drinks in moderation without any staining or enamel loss. Brush, Brush, Brush.. She should be spending about 5-10 minutes to get em really clean at each brushing. Make sure that she doesn't have any white fuzzies anywhere on her brackets or wires, that will guarantee that she doesn't end up with those nasty stains on deband day.

-Kat

[libbylou]

Thanks so much Katvo - this support on this site is just fantastic!