Will 14 yo DS get used to fixed braces?

[northlaine]

DS is having an almighty strop - he's so upset about the fixed braces he has just had fitted. He thinks they look awful, is saying he can't speak, wants to rip them off, blames me for ruining his life, he doesn't need them etc etc. Please tell me this will pass and he will get used to it?

Any ideas for food? What 'comfort food' can I give him for a few days? We have been told; basically nothing hard, sweet, sticky or chewy! He's a teenage boy and loves his food! Not a lover of pappy stuff like shepherds pie. I know he can have pasta / rice but I need to replace snacks (bread / crisps / chocolate with something nice to cheer him up)

About to go to supermarket, so any advice on how to handle him / ideas for a metaphorical spoon full of sugar please!

They’re glued in so he will have to get used to them! The first week is tough. Try frozen yoghurt. We have a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream after every tightening arrangement. And there is lots of soup and mashed potato and egg sandwiches.
My dd has gone to train tracks from twin blocks,so she found it relatively OK, although there is a lot of pain in the first week. Does no one else your ds knows have them?

After a couple of weeks he can go back (mainly) to his usual diet. The only things my ds continued not to eat were apples and ice cream. Soft drinks through a straw so we carried one around with us.

And yes he will get used to it. DS hated it. We had tears. But he was very lucky that he only had it for a bit over a year.

Just be warned. It’s VERY painful! The pain doesn’t kick in until the next day or after, but I still remember the pain to this day. Stock up on plenty of pain relief and be prepared for a rough week.

I am so very grateful that I had them though. I had them for nearly 7 years in total and my adult teeth are perfect and never had any problems. Remind him of the end game! Good luck x

DS has train tracks and blocks. The initial fitting was not great but from then on he's been fine, apart from taking the moulds which he hates.
The thing that's really done it for him was his orthodontist talks to him, allows him to make the decisions (I'm not sure they would have fitted them if he had refused) When he hadn't cleaned his teeth as well as he should have, he was the one given the bollocking while I sat by. He's been threatened with having them removed if he doesn't play by the rules.
He's also allowed to attend check ups on his own so it's like the process is his IYSWIM? Frankly I can't imagine being able to force him into it if he was unhappy about it.
I think in your shoes I would insist he gives it till the first check up then let him have them removed if he's still really against them. Life's too short to fight unnecessary battles and he can always pay and have them fitted when he's an adult if he wants them.

Sorry, forgot to say that DS is also 14.
A positive upside for him is that I now have to buy grapes, melon, kiwi fruits etc for his lunchbox as he's expressly forbidden from eating apples or hard pears

Ibruprofen regularly for first week

My teen was on a soup diet for first week and lost a bit of weight but was soon able to manage full diet- except chewy sweets apples etc.

Painful couple of days after every adjustment but knows it will be worth it in the end.

It's horrible for them when they first go on, for about 4 or 5 days.
Then every time they were tightened after that it seemed to be a little less uncomfortable and easier to get used to.
Food wise ds favoured cheesey mash, scrambled eggs, Heinz tomato soup and those horrible Weetabix drinks.
He pretty much stopped eating apples while the braces were on, but could manage pretty much everything else once he had got used to them.

Thanks all! I've just got home with loads of ice -cream & soup and a variety of sloppy foods for the next few days. He is now hungry as well as angry so need to get some food in.

Good to be warned this week will be rough. He's had a widening thing in for a while (is that what you mean by blocks? The metal round the teeth?) and we started this process about 2 years ago waiting for baby teeth to all come out etc, It's not like he hasn't had loads of warning! He always agrees it's a good idea but every time it's something new we have rage and hysteria!

Now it's my fault for not doing it sooner! Yes, he knows plenty of people with braces but of course now he's got them only he looks like an idiot!

Will read your posts again properly this evening when I have sorted him out!

Thanks again - comfort for me in your shared experiences!

Like every other 14-year old, of course he’ll get used to them.

Three of my children have had or are having orthodontic treatment.
In my experience:

• The pain is worst in the first 3 days. There can be some discomfort for 24 hours after each tightening.
• Twin blocks are harder to get used to than fixed braces (DD said that for the first few days it felt like she had a medieval torture device stretching her lower jaw) but they don't break as easily.

My other tip would be not to schedule woodwind exams immediately after braces are fitted or tightened. Once they're used to the brace they should be able to play as normal.

I'm a bit surprised by some of the replies here. Dd1 has had a brace for a while now, I also had one when I was her age. Neither of us has had pain for a week, more like 3 days at the very most and only that much when it was first fitted.

There are a few foods that dd doesn't eat on a day to day basis (apples, crisps, hard sweets) but other than that her diet is pretty normal. The only time she's had a totally soft diet is following dental surgeries.

The one tip I'd give you is to give him some ibuprofen before an appointment, makes the adjusting process much easier.

Incidentally, on the hygiene point, keeping braces clean is really difficult, even with diligent brushing, mini brushes and specialist mouthwash. I take dd to the hygienist at our local dental surgery about every 3 months or so for a professional clean. I think orthodontists very often don't grasp how tough it is.

Have you got bonjela in too? Mine gave me ulcers for the first little while. I found the wax stuff useless.

Some great advice - thank you!

Can't work out how to tag people on my phone but:

No have not got bonjela in - will get some - orthodontist did give us the wax!

Hygienist - extremely good idea - I am most worried about him keeping them clean as he sometimes "forgets to brush"

Glad first 3 days might be the worst - hopefully he will get used to it after that & pain will recede.

He's eaten soup and soft bread - plus ice cream and banana - hopefully that will lessen the rage / hanger! I know ice-cream is probably not ideal long term but I just want to get to the end of the day with my sanity intact!

Ibuprofen before tightening is a great idea- put that in back pocket!

Taking a straw out and about - also a good idea - I will stick some in my bag.

Thanks for all the good tips - I'm hoping he's not going to be a Wally about food but most of my friends kids with braces seem to manage just fine - I think the orthodontist was going on a lot as she doesn't want him in there with broken wires etc- especially as he has spaces between teeth so the wires there are more vulnerable / have less support.

He's been talked through this a lot by her as we've been going for a while... It's like anything I guess, ok when it's in the future & slightly theoretical not quite so good when the reality happens!

Just to add that the brackets probably will break at some point. The glue is deliberately designed to be weaker than the tooth enamel,to avoid damage. It’s really common to have a breakage.

It'll take a week for the worst of it to pass. After about 4 days he'll probably stop 'feeling' them all the time in his mouth but it'll still be sore. I totally sympathise having gone through the process three times at various ages.

Comfort food all the way - soup with soft bread, ice cream, shepherd's pie, chippy chips.

My DD is getting a brace fitted in the new year and I am dreading it - but reading all the threads for tips. I have warned her about pain when it is first fitted and we are already thinking about soft foods that she can eat at the time (omlette was our thought today!).

I will stock up with painkillers too!

In the end the only things my ds couldn't eat was apples - so I sliced them up, and corn on the cob. So he had toffee apple and corn on the cob for his first braces off meal! He was in a bit of pain for first day or two but then ok. Luckily he was quite stoical and said he was glad to be able to have them (nhs).

I was 17 when I had my braces...I remember feeling a bit self conscious but it's worth it to have straight teeth. I honestly don't remember them being that bad. They hurt my lips with the sharp edges until I got used to them and there was some minor discomfort whenever they were tightened but I don't remember even needing to take painkillers - it wasn't that bad at all.

Update:

Thanks all again! He's actually OK now! I'm AMAZED! :) Part if his problem with the whole thing is that he has missing adult teeth , and therefore some odd gaps - the front of his teeth are quite straight so he's never been particularly self conscious about crooked / sticking out teeth or anything. I think that's why he is quite resistant to the process because he thinks it looks ok - does t see the point of all the aggro. However his teeth don't fit properly and he does have gaps you can see so it does make sense to get it done!!

He's been ok with neurofen, ice-cream, soup, cutting things up smaller and a bit of tlc! Eaten a normal lunch & feeling better about it all generally - hooray!

Not a good thing, but take a photo of his teeth every time he has the braces adjusted-then he can see the progress. We were blown away by the difference in the space of
6 weeks between appointments. It can help remind him what he’s doing it for.
My ds found the adjustments less painful as time went on, and after only 14 months had beautiful teeth and began to laugh and smile without covering his mouth.
He says the pain was worth it

Not a FOOD thing!🙄

Shesparkles - good idea I will definitely do that, I can see it will make progress more tangible for him. I never had braces despite also having missing adult teeth as my two baby teeth never fell out (!) so it's all new to me. Just hope DD won't need them because if I think this is bad with DS I know she will be ten times worse!

Seems just like me. I had loads of gaps and my braces stuck onto teeth as they came through! You really do get used to it but give some pain meds before each orthodontist appointment as it does hurt when they tighten the wires.

I had to avoid apples, corn on the cob etc and chewy sweets (they pulled the rings out on my back teeth!). Apples and corn on the cob just shredded on the wires.

I had my braces at about 13/14 and they were done by 16 or so (just in time for more serious boyfriends!!).