This is the place to post general questions and comments about all areas of orthodontic treatment. Before you post a question, use the forum's SEARCH tool to see if your question has already been answered!
New Members: YOU MUST MAKE A POST WITHIN 24 HOURS OF REGISTERING OR YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED. In other words, don't sign up unless you plan to actively participate in the message board immediately. This is necessary to keep out spammers and lurkers with bad intentions. Of course, you can read most forums on the board without registering.
DO NOT POST FULL-FACE PHOTOS or personal contact information on this website. We have had problems with people re-posting members' photos on fetish websites. Please only post photos of your teeth, not your whole face. Keep your email and your personal information private. Thank you.
I was told when I got my braces to do a cold/warm rinse daily to activate the wire. I know why it is done, but I was just wondering if anybody else was told this?
I was told that the thicker heat sensitive wires were activated simply by the heat of your mouth, that nothing special needed to be done. I was, however, told my both my ortho and the tech that if my teeth were really hurting I could drink ice water and that would help....temporarily. My teeth have never hurt so much that I've needed to use that method. Plus, as a personal preference, I don't drink very cold water unless I'm at a restaurant and that's what's put in front of me. And in those cases, it really does feel like my braces loosen...hard to describe. It's a weird feeling.
The only thing I can think of is maybe your ortho maybe wants your archwire to contract a little than reactivate. Since cold makes things contract and heat makes things expand maybe he thinks by doing this the root of your teeth will respond to treatment a little easier. Just a thought.
I've never noticed anything different no matter if I swish with hot or cold....well, to be honest, cold makes my teeth ache (I have sensitive teeth anyway) and I used quite hot water to swish when my gums/teeth were getting used to the braces - it helped my mouth feel more at ease.
