Are Braces Painful?

It would be surely wrong to presume that getting treatment with braces would be a painless venture.

So what would you do if you are struck with pain due to braces? Just follow these simple steps.

• If braces pain is dealt with at an early stage, the pain would be more tolerable.
• Over the counter drugs or pain relievers can provide temporary relief. A dose of acetamorphine or ibuprofen can help treat deep mouth pain associated with constant adjustment to braces. This pain arises due to pressure of shifted teeth and this goes up to gums and jaws.
• To avoid friction between wires and other metal fittings in the mouth, orthodontists prescribe wax application. This friction can lead to sores and cuts in the oral cavity.
• Oral anesthetics too are available over the counter; examples being anbesol and orajel. Application of a small amount of these anesthetics on the sores will numb the spot immediately, but for about 4-5 hours. A leeway to a pain free night’s sleep.
• Toothpastes for sensitive teeth too are available. This can be used to treat pain on a long term basis. The braces would hurt less, if the teeth are less sensitive.
• Tolerance is an important tool. The longer you have braces, the cuts and sores would reduce with the passage of time. Deep pain is a characteristic feature in the early brace stages.

If you ask a person who has ‘been there, done that’, the pain is quite ‘tolerable’. Thanks to the wonders of modern dentistry, painful and agonizing endodontic procedures are now history. When we read about such things, it gives us a scary picture. But for real, metal braces pain, but slightly. Regular wax application works wonders by avoiding irritation. After a couple of hours you feel some pressure on your teeth. It feels as though a finger in your mouth pushes against your teeth.

As long as the teeth don’t touch each other or anything else, there is no pain. The moment they touch each other, you get a piercing pain. Keeping one’s mouth slightly open helps quite a bit. There is no pain until one clenches one’s teeth. In terms of eating, the initial days are tough as you tolerate pain and intake only soft foods.   After sometime, the situation gets better.  It is important to maintain oral hygiene, especially on the painful days.

After a week or so, one can ditch the wax and most importantly eat like a normal person. One can eat whatever one wants to. Each adjustment visit to the dentist’s clinic, leads to a couple of days of pain. Afterwards teeth get adjusted to the braces. One recovers faster after every adjustment.

Of all the types of braces, metal braces pain the most. If you have faced metal ones, invisalign braces are a cakewalk. It feels like just a slight pressure on the teeth, nothing more than that. Painkillers can thus be abandoned for good.

To sum it up, I would say that one should expect a bit of pain. Some patients being more sensitive need more medication for relieving pain. In some cases pain seems alien. But don’t let the fear of pain deter you from visiting your dentist. Just schedule that appointment and get it fixed. Because at the end of it all you won’t regret it!!!

- Sherry Italia.

Tags: braces hurt, gum bleed due to braces, pain due to braces, toothache by braces

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