Advice on braces

[DIKateFleming]

Sorry not sure where to put this, 13yr old DD gets fixed top and bottom braces in a couple of weeks, and I’m trying to plan to make it easier for her. I had them years ago, and my only memory is the pain. So I’m stocking up on painkillers. Beyond soup, what should she eat for the first few days? In particular, any packed lunch suggestions for braces? Any other tips welcome

Mine had them on last week-just eating as normal really but doing extra brushing.

Brace wax

Ice cream can be good if their mouth is sore where the braces are rubbing. That does just settle down in time though and both of my children found they didn't need the wax after a while. (I would recommend a permanent retainer too if that's an option - my son ended up having his straightened again after having problems with the removable one.)

The pain last a couple of days
Brace wax is a saviour
Mashed potatoes, even a baked potato can work
For packed lunches - pasta salad? Tuna with mayo and sweetcorn? Maybe a muffin? Yogurt? Hard boiled egg?
Get them an extra toothbrush to wash teeth at school

Never heard of brace wax, so will definitely be looking for that. Good point about the extra toothbrush

DD got through lots of brace wax. She had a hospital orthodontist who used to give her some on each visit, but I also had to top up - Boots is the only place near us that stocks it. DD found them painful the first few days and after each tightening, but it was the sores that bothered her so that's where the brace wax came in.

If you buy yoghurt, make sure it doesn't have bits in it.

My outstanding memory of the early days of my fixed braces was madly trying to remove the bits of peach from a peach melba yoghurt my mother had kindly but misguidedly bought, thinking it would be easy to eat...

Also Bonjela, and keep it in the fridge: especially nice on the wee accidental tears you inevitably get on your inside cheeks.

Every time my two children have their braces tightened/amended (which is every 6 weeks)
They are in pain for 2 days and can only eat soft easy to eat items.

So my point is, remember to be prepared every 6 weeks.
We had a camping trip the day after tightening without thinking and both had a miserable time being in pain and not being able to eat the BBQ food we made

I usually use an electric toothbrush but after tightening I have a few days where my teeth are just too sensitive for it soon have a very soft bristle disposable brush for those days.

DD has recently had them and needed regular painkillers for several days but didn't need brace wax I'd bought. Food ideas - pasta with tomato sauce, tuna & pasta, pancakes, mashed or baked potatoes, soup, soft fish, yoghurt, jellies, raspberries, chopped fruit and definitely ice cream. She took a flask to school with soup/ tinned ravioli/ pasta in.

Get a WaterPik. The amount of food that comes out of braces with this is both fascinating and disgusting.....it'll keep things clean though.

Our DD was lucky,she didn’t have much discomfort. The wax did seem to protect

DD very happy to survive at home on a diet of soup, pasta and ice cream. I’ve got a few ideas for packed lunch now. I’m most worried about the first time as I’ve got to go to a conference the day after she has them on, so will make sure she’s spoilt by DH

My DCs’ orthodontist said ice cream is good because the type of wires they use shrink/stretch one way or the other with heat and cold, so ice cream would help ease the pain after tightening. Sorry that’s vague, can’t remember the ins and outs, but essentially ice cream = good!

I had braces as an adult, definitely get brace wax and warm it before applying (with a hair dryer). Cover all the braces for the 1st few days. I found noodles nice and easy in the early days.

Also don’t let them eat a stick of rock - DD at her dad’s house.

Dds orthodontist gave us a pack to get started that had interdentals, wax, a manual toothbrush and the fluoriguard mouthwash in it. Since then I've also bought bonjela but she found the wax worked better. She's usually only in pain for 24 hours after having them tightened and has mashed potato for dinner . She was very sad when she first had them on but they're much less intrusive that the block braces she had.

Braces wax & bonjela. Any discomfort probably won't set in for a few hours afterwards and doesn't last long. But it does occur each time you have them tightened so soft foods are best each time. I used to mash up some boiled eggs and cut toast into tiny squares. It meant I wasn't eating only yoghurt or ice cream for 2/3 days every time the braces were tightened. Macaroni was also good, anything you don't have to chew much or bite into

@RandomMess

Brace wax

The red wax on Babybel cheese is the same.

I used to eat stuff like cottage pie, chilli and rice, jambalaya, spag Bol (with the spaghetti chopped up) basically anything you could eat with a spoon out of a bowl.

Brace wax, interdental brushes and ibuprofen are essential. I use a Phillips sonicare which was recommended by my orthodontist, never had any issues with using it every after tightening.

Day 1, 3am if I could have got hold of a pair of pliers I’d have removed them myself. Make sure she has painkillers before bed even if she thinks she doesn’t need them.

@Marmite27

I used to eat stuff like cottage pie, chilli and rice, jambalaya, spag Bol (with the spaghetti chopped up) basically anything you could eat with a spoon out of a bowl.

Brace wax, interdental brushes and ibuprofen are essential. I use a Phillips sonicare which was recommended by my orthodontist, never had any issues with using it every after tightening.

Day 1, 3am if I could have got hold of a pair of pliers I’d have removed them myself. Make sure she has painkillers before bed even if she thinks she doesn’t need them.

Yes that's the time dd usually wakes up crying in pain! We give her a dose before bed but she always needs another at that time.