Adults with braces

[Deleted User]

Thanks for all your replies.
Finding it hard to concentrate as in a lot of pain. Face is swollen and I can see the brace outline on my cheek on the left side. I wasn't expecting such discomfort.

FBaby

Can I ask how long you guys had to keep them? One of front tooth started to totally overlap the other and although to start with, I wasn't too bothered, it's now bad and I hate it, so will be going down the route of adult braces. I don't mind so much the pain the first few days, I would just rather not keep them for 18 months. It is only the front tooth, the rest is ok (although I understand all will need to be realigned).

jackieblack

Deleted_User wrote: »

Finding it hard to concentrate as in a lot of pain. Face is swollen and I can see the brace outline on my cheek on the left side. I wasn't expecting such discomfort.

My daughter found that this really helped in the first few days, there is also a stonger version which has red in place of the green on the packaging. IIRC, it's behind the pharmacy counter so you have to ask for it.
http://www.boots.com/en/Anbesol-Liquid-15ml_1016835/

Arthien

You need to give it a bit of time to settle down, but if you find it's digging in too much after a couple of days, then go back to your orthodontist and ask them to readjust. When I first had mine, I ended up with the wire cutting into the inside of my cheek and causing a small flap of skin to form, which was incredible painful, but I assumed it was just part and parcel of having my mouth full of metal. However, I decided to go back after a couple of days to see if there was anything that could be done, and after a few small adjustments the whole thing felt totally different and fitted much better. So don't suffer in silence if things don't improve!

In terms of food, I found cottage pie was best as I could basically eat it off a spoon without really chewing, and obviously a good-sized portion of ice cream to help numb the pain

sinizterguy

FBaby wrote: »

Can I ask how long you guys had to keep them? One of front tooth started to totally overlap the other and although to start with, I wasn't too bothered, it's now bad and I hate it, so will be going down the route of adult braces. I don't mind so much the pain the first few days, I would just rather not keep them for 18 months. It is only the front tooth, the rest is ok (although I understand all will need to be realigned).

Normal treatment time is 2 years in adults.

In simple cases it can be much shorter. No one can tell you for sure. You need to have a consultation and have a discussion as to what issues you want dealt with.

An orthodontist is going to aim for the best possible result, which will take time. You may be happy with a minor correction which might take only a few months. So, you need to have the discussion and outline what issues will be addressed.

GoldenShadow

What ones have you got, NHS or private? I had Damon ones which are meant to be better in the pain stakes but I still struggled at times.

Have you had teeth out? Damon are meant to be a bit quicker too, I had no teeth out but front teeth crossing like you and had them on for...about 11 months I think? My teeth constantly move though so I have a metal wire glued to the back of my front six teeth AND wear vacuum retainers every night too. Will do forever but it's worth it. Most people don't seem to need both types of reinforcement long term.

It will be OK, soft foods and warm drinks!

neon_dannii

You just have to persevere with the pain/swelling for 3-4 days, then it disappears and you forget you even have them! You'll get discomfort every time you have the wire tightened and elastics replaced, but it's never as painful as when you first have them.

Totally normal.

ampersand_

I'm an adult with braces too! I'm in my late twenties and have had them on for nearly three years now, in preparation for jaw surgery later this year to correct my overbite. It is miserable to begin with, but trust me with time you'll forget they're even there! And fingers crossed you won't be stuck with them for as long as I have haha.

The pain and swelling will go down with time. I find the wax a lifesaver as even now after adjustments it can rub the insides of my lips raw and give me ulcers. Boots do their own brand of it which I really like because it's slightly minty flavoured, it's a bit more pleasant than the stuff from the orthodontist! I find it sticks better too.

If you're having trouble eating then I would recommend Cadbury's chocolate buttons - they just melt on your tongue so no chewing required... plus chocolate is always good for cheering yourself up

One other tip I would give is that I've found drinking tea and coffee really stains my teeth brown while I've got braces on, even with rinsing with water immediately afterwards. The dentist can clean it off easily enough but I found the best thing was to just try to cut out tea and coffee as much as possible.

Good luck Just think of how amazing your smile will be when they come off!!

rocketqueen

I had train track style braces on in my late 20s so understand how you feel.

it REALLY does get better.

I had really bad ulcers and sores, but the wax does help and your mouth and cheeks get used to it in time, my orthodonist also told me if you eat on your sore teeth (yes I know it hurts) they feel better quicker then if you avoid it - did seem to help.

I wore my braces for just over 3 years in total (I had jaw surgery too) and once you get used to the braces they only feel sore after an adjustment.

Hang in there it'll be worth it in the end

loztredders

I had braces put on at 24, and had them for 18months. Now in retainers. I'm allowed to just wear them at night now but I wear them during the day when I'm not working too - wanna keep my teeth nice and straight

My teeth were agony when I first had them put on, but the pain lasted a few weeks and then I was able to eat anything and everything - even the foods on the avoid list.
When you have them adjusted they will be a little tender again but nothing like when you first have them out on so hold on in there, it'll pass, I promise!!

I also had massive ulcers caused by the braces rubbing until my mputh toughened up so use the wax when the spots get sore but try not to use it all the time as your mouth wont get the chance to toughen up if they don't rub at all.

I also had to have TPA which is a metal bar across the roof of my mouth which was awful at first as my tongue was drawn to keep poking it and I ended up with a massive welt on the middle of my tongue and that was so sore!!

I had the train track metal braces and honestly no one seemed to really care, people that did notice were people that said to me they wished they could get braces too as they didn't like their teeth.

I managed to get a boyfriend (now fiance) while in full train track braces so I wouldn't worry about what others think :T