Dd2 losing weight since she had her braces...but dd2 is gaining weight..advice?

[NoonarAgain]

Dd2 is 9 and has had her braces 2 weeks. She's losing weight as a result of having difficulty eating. We are trying to give her calorie rich foods little and often and have switched to whole milk. Any advice about shakes/ smoothies/ supplements that could give her a boost? I'm thinking especially for school as she isn't eating much at lunch.

It's complicated by the fact that her 12 yo sister is on the upper end of a healthy weight so it's hard to meet both their needs in the same mealtime/ snack time without causing a 'food issue' iykwim. Eg milky hot choc and bits at bed time is the last thing dd1 needs!

Btw, we had to weigh them both recently and one dd is on 20th centile ( before weight loss) and one on 80th so you can see why this is tricky!

'Bics' not bits

I would go back to the dentist. After 2 weeks I would expect that she should be able to eat normally.

Agree, give orthodontist a phone on Monday for advice.

Surely she can't have fixed braces at that age!! My daughter had a removable brace at 10 but didn't have fixed until about 14/15. If she has a removable then take it out to eat?

She shouldn't be unable to eat for long enough to need a special calorie rich diet. I too would be asking why the pain is so severe.

It doesn't hurt children to lose a little bit of weight now and then as long as they are still healthy and not distressed by being hungry. I'd stop providing the high calorie foods and go back to normal.

Thanks all. To clarify, they are technically removable but she hAs to chew with them in for them to work properly. They are jaw expanding bioblocs, so traditional experiences of brace wearing are quite different. The actual swallowing is tricky, As well as chewing. She is making progress with her ability to cope but has lost weight in the meantime. I think we don't need to see the orthodontist again just yet as they are fully aware of the eating difficulties and progress is evident. I would still like done advice about smoothie/ shake type drinks to follow a poor lunch at school. Thanks :)

Not meaning to disregard advice, just wanting to coaling why some suggestions are more relevant than others :)

'Coaling'? That should've been 'explain' WTF autocorrect!?

That puts a different light on it then. If you anticipate that eating will be painful for some time perhaps you could ask for some advice from a dietician via your GP.

The centile weight thing - this is only useful if they are on different height and weight centiles. A child on the 98th centile for height will not be overweight if they are the same weight centile...

I had some weird braces etc and stuff done to around the same age as your dd I found sodter food and soups and smoothies were g
Ok up a straw like a baby but if its painful maby try a painkiller before mealtime.
Is it general pain whilst eating or the brace itself causing pain all the time and eating makes it worse?