5 Tips to Reduce Your Braces Pain
Dr. B. Kanagasabapathy
[M.D.S. (Ortho), Fellow ICOI]
Dental braces are a way of straightening your crooked teeth to enhance the orofacial appearance. Wearing dental braces is not a painful thing but is quite annoying at times especially in the initial days of treatment. You will feel some pain and soreness in teeth and gums but they will subside in a few days. You should cope with the discomforts during the orthodontic treatment to yield the beautiful smile you want.
When you wear braces, follow-up dental visits are essential for every 4 to 6 weeks to adjust the brace’s wires.
The brackets connected with wires secured with elastic bands and they put extensive pressure to move the teeth. When the teeth move, the pressure decreases and the brace becomes less efficient. So the archwire that runs from bracket to bracket has to be tightened, bend and at times replace with a new one.
Such tightened wires in braces also produce pain and soreness for a few days but it is not the same as when you got the appliance.
Luckily, there are numerous ways to confront such braces pain in the initial days of treatment and after every adjustment appointment. Come on. Let us see.
How to stop braces pain?
Home remedies like saltwater rinse, cold compress also aid in getting rid of pain around braces. Besides these, there are many effective ways to ease brace pain you should take into account include:
1) Massage your gums
Just like the muscles in our body, the tissues in gums can also get relief from pain with massaging. Use one of your fingers to gently rub the gums circularly. Such gum massage will help in reduce swelling and compromise the nerves that throb because of the pressure exerted over the teeth with braces.
2) Take Over-the-Counter Pain Reliever
In certain cases, you cannot get rid of the pain with the remedies. Then you can get benefit from over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. You can take those painkillers before your orthodontist fixes the teeth braces. Meanwhile, you should maintain the prescribed dosage instructions.
Applying oral anesthetics like Orajel over the soring gums and aching teeth also provide relief and aid in alleviating braces pain.
3) Orthodontic Wax
Few persons encounter allergic reactions in their tongue, cheeks, lips and other soft tissues indie mouth after wearing dental braces. It irritates the tissues surrounding the teeth and provokes pain in teeth. It is not uncommon and can be overcome with orthodontic wax.
Applying orthodontic wax over the braces you are wearing will reduce the allergic reactions and helps in minimizing the pain.
4) Frozen teething rings
Another affordable way to reduce braces pain is chewing teething rings. The teething rings that are used to soothe babies are also efficient in relaxing the nerves underlying the teeth when chewing it on the area where your mouth hurts most. It will be more efficient if you freeze the ring before chewing it.
5) Heating Pad
Applying hot compress with a heating pad over the side where your mouth hurts mouth also minimizes the teeth braces pain. You can also use a warm washcloth for hot compression. It will be beneficial when you cannot reduce pain with cold compression and cold drinks after getting braces.
Bottom line
Wearing teeth braces cause pain and certain difficulties until your mouth adjusts to the orthodontic appliance.
The braces wearers have to adjust a part of their lifestyle like switching to soft food items, using customized brushes for braces and emulate other post-care activities suggested by the Orthodontists. They are also helpful in ease pain and get rid of other difficulties with braces.
