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Children's health

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Original poster

Pain relief after braces

18 replies

LunaLoveg00d · 09/02/2017 21:56

My 11 year old had her braces fited this week and is struggling. She has the removable functional appliance type braces, one top and one bottom. She has to wear them all of the time except when eating and brushing her teeth.

We were warned to expect muscle pain and so far I've just been giving her paracetamol and nurofen - is there anything else we could use too? Bonjela or similar? Just until she gets used to them.

OP posts:

BNVR · 09/02/2017 21:57

Have they given her the wax to put on any sharp bits?

LIZS · 09/02/2017 21:58

If there are sore points you can use wax. It should subside in a few days though, with paracetamol and nurofen in the meantime.

TupperwareTat · 09/02/2017 22:01

I had one & I used to get ulcers quite a bit, It was really painful. I used the bonjela & the wax as well as pain relief.

Flanderspigeonmurderer · 09/02/2017 22:02

Orajel

Original poster

LunaLoveg00d · 09/02/2017 22:02

No wax - I don't think they're rubbing or hurting her gum tissue, tongue or mouth - it's more a general ache. She is being very sensible about it and we were warned it would take 3 weeks to get used to it, but she's finding it hard to sleep.

OP posts:

MsJolly · 09/02/2017 22:03

Neurofen and calpol at regular intervals-One of them every two hours to keep the pain under control. Bonjela and corsadyl mouthwash for the ulcers. DD also used a bit of throats numbing spray-though she had full top and bottom Train tracks so couldn't remove them.

The pain should ease as her teeth get used to the position they are being pushed to, but obviously every time they get tightened it will occur again. (This is how I found out about Santa as I couldn't sleep with my mouth hurting having had braces tightened that day 😢)

TheEdgeofSeventeen · 09/02/2017 22:10

Unless somethings cutting in from the spikes its usually just muscle/bone ache and tension headaches from your jawbone being forced to move so i'd say just paracetamol/ibuprofen every four hours. If she's in really bad pain and doesn't have school ( or gets back from school) then she could drink a dissolvable codeine tablet - they're a lot stronger but will probably make her sleepy. other than that i found that a lot of hot drinks - soup etc for food relieves the pain a bit (probably expands the metal a bit so isn't as tight) if it isn't better in a week or so then go back because they're too extremely fitted x

Specialagentblond · 09/02/2017 22:14

If the muscles are sore, maybe applying some heat? Poor thing, functional appliances are really effective though. If it persists then I'd go back in case they're overdoing it.

mowgelijeffs · 09/02/2017 22:18

Yes maybe codeine would be good, call the NHS ooh if she's really suffering this evening or else call the doctor or dentist tomorrow.
The dentist does have prescribing powers. Possibly look up and see if you can get the right dose of codeine for her weight but make sure you don't double dose on the paracetamol if you do use co codamol .. Get the soluble ones as well.
Also maybe a hot water bottle on her mouth jaw but not too hot.
Lidocaine for babies really helps if I have ulcers.. Think it's called dentin ox?
Poor little thing

Original poster

LunaLoveg00d · 09/02/2017 22:29

She's asleep now so it can't have been that bad! She appears to be OK when she's busy at school, it's when she's nothing else to think about that she notices the pain. It's definitely not bad enough for out of hours, and she's sleeping now anyway.

No school for a few days next week - the orthodontist did say that it would take a week for her mouth to start to get used to the appliances and it's still very early days. Best bit is that she is putting the blame for the pain and having to wear braces firmly on the (very lovely) orthodontist - not me, her dad, the dentist or anyone else, it's all the fault of "that horrible lady who forced me to have braces".

OP posts:

mowgelijeffs · 09/02/2017 22:31

At least she will have beautiful teeth after!

It's nice that you are such a caring mum and wondering about her comfort. Tell your daughter tomorrow and she will probably be very touched that you were looking online to see if you could find anything to make her more comfortable as you were worried about her pain. She might reassure you that she isn't suffering as much as she is making out!

musicteacheriz · 09/02/2017 22:35

The pain is probably worse in the evening as her jaw has spent the whole day in the fixed position. I certainly used to find that with my ones. Sadly I failed treatment due to getting the brace too late/ not wearing it as much as I should and I regret it so so much so persevere!

Original poster

LunaLoveg00d · 09/02/2017 22:39

Yes she's been told that the best chance of success is wearing these appliances all the time, around the clock. She does see that the long term benefit is there, but the idea of 18 months seems forever when you're only 11. Her mouth is quite crowded and the alternative would be extractions and needless to say she's not keen on that either. Once the functional appliances have done their bit, she moves on to having the train tracks style braces.

Being her though, she wants instant gratification and is expecting to see a difference already. After wearing her braces for 3 days.

OP posts:

mowgelijeffs · 09/02/2017 22:42

everyone loves instant results.
My sister had a mouth full of teeth and needed about six extracted but she's beautiful now. She still has to wear a retainer at night like 8 years on.

Sympathy for the awkward gawky teenager stage

Brollsdolls · 09/02/2017 22:46

My 13 year old had a bulky functional brace for a year (she had a big overbite). She refused to wear it to school as she found speaking so difficult, so your dd is doing very well. We're on to the fixed brace now

Original poster

LunaLoveg00d · 09/02/2017 22:50

Thankfully she is still at Primary (we're in Scotland) and her teacher is very sympathetic and will not tolerate any nastiness from the kids in her class who take the mick because she speaks funny. She also has some very kind and supportive friends. Lots of the class are seeing orthodontists for treatment and I would imagine plenty more will have braces before they move on to high school in the summer.

OP posts:

musicteacheriz · 09/02/2017 22:59

She might feel results in 3 days! I could feel slight changes in my bite within the first couple of days!

JustSpeakSense · 10/02/2017 07:06

My DD was also the first / youngest to get braces.

The initial pain lasts about 3 days, wearing them constantly helps them settle quicker. Taking them out for relief only prolongs the pain.

Soft foods (mash potato, jelly, custard, ice cream etc) help. As does paracetamol & ibuprofen. Also the wax for bits that rub (railway tracks).

Every time they are adjusted she will have the same few days of pain, which starts as you leave the orthodontist office, so take paracetamol ready each time.

The plus side is...my daughter is getting hers off in a couple of weeks (while most of her peers are just getting them on) and her teeth are perfect, it really is worth it.

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