Braces. What Should I Know?

You've already gotten good advice about caring for them and pain so thought I'd go another route.
My daughter gets hers off Tuesday - yay! She is most excited about eating corn-on-the-cob so I have to find some in Minnesota... That's really the only thing that she couldn't eat - lots she SHOULDN'T, but not much she couldn't find a way to do other than corn.
Have a fun party with everything she won't be able to eat - laffy taffy, corn-on-the-cob, caramel corn, etc. For her appointments, let her pick her colors. My daughter always did school colors at the beginning of each sports season.
Fortunately, it's common for kids to have braces so they aren't teased like they used to. I also don't think they tighten them as much as they used to at each visit because she's had very little pain.
When she's had pain, we make smoothies, milk shakes and Carnation Instant Breakfast.
Good luck!

N.,
NOT saying this to freak you out, but my son had a check up this very morning. And I asked his dentist about the crowding of some of his teeth and how every other friend of his is getting a spacer or starting braces.
Her reply? "If I sent to you either of the orthodontists I refer to--they'd tell him to come back in 2 years once more baby teeth are gone. Too early unless you want to do braces twice."
I don't know your situation...just a head's up--did you get another opinion about the braces? Good luck!

N.:

The first two weeks are usually the hardest. As the mouth is getting used to having all this "stuff" in the mouth.

Some people DO get sores inside the mouth. There is a little briefcase (it's about 1 inch long and .50" wide) of wax that they will give you to help with the roughness.

Sometimes wires poke out. You should be able to cover it with the wax until you are able to get in for them Ortho to snip it.

I cannot emphasize ENOUGH the importance of brushing teeth - I had Greg take his toothbrush and toothpaste to school so he could brush after lunch.

I can't tell you about the pain. EVERYONE is different. For me? There were times after going in for a tightening (when they pull and adjust the wires) that eating a tortilla felt like it was a solid wood and I would NEVER get through. For Greg? he had some pain but all was good.

When I got my braces off - my teeth felt like piano keys - i thought for sure they were going to fall out!! LOL!!! And I couldn't help but run my tongue over my teeth for a LONG time!!!!

When Greg got his off? He wanted a meatball sandwich from Subway. Not that he couldn't eat one before - but now he wouldn't have to "pick" his food from between his braces!! LOL!!!

Every one is different!!! It will be fine!!

On May 7th, she will most likely only get the brackets (little squares) glued to her teeth and spacers put on her back molars to make room for all the hardware. Neither one of these things hurt. They will probably also take pics of her teeth to keep on file. Then in 2 weeks she will probably get the wires put in, they just slide it through the brackets and they connect to the hardware that will replace the spacers. My daughter NEVER experienced any pain, I mean not 1 time. I was soooo ready with my motrin and never had to use it. Not even after she would get them tightened every month. She had them for 26 months and got them off last Dec, her teeth are beautiful and now she wears her retainer 24 hrs a day except to eat, in a year she will only have to wear it at night, but for the rest of her life. I'm sure you've gotten some great advice in the other replies, i just wanted to clue you in on how the procedure of actually getting them in her mouth goes.:)

I'm with OneAndDone. We have known for years now that both our kids will be needing braces. But our dentist told us he'd let us know when it is time to schedule a consultation for them. And that wouldn't be until all their permanent teeth were in and the baby ones gone.
I am calling this week to schedule our son's appt. He is 13 and we got the "go ahead" for him in January (we have just been incredibly busy, and also didn't want to rush him into painful treatment when he was getting ready for a big big martial arts thing).

Have you looked into Invisilign Teen? How about the Damon System? There are alternatives to standard braces. Some kids do need regular braces, but Invisilign Teen and the Damon System are less painful. A lot less painful.

If you haven't put money down yet, find out if your orthodontist offers those. If he doesn't, put this on hold long enough to figure out who DOES offer these. You can put Damon System and Invisilign into google and find out what orthodontists in your area do this. If you see an orthodontist who trains others in the systems, he or she is a good one to choose.

Read about these two, N.. I planned on having Damon because it is less painful, and I knew my son needed that. But he qualified for Invisilign Teen and it was wonderful. I have never regretted it and he handled it well. Cleaning is easiest for this because you take the trays out to brush.

Additionally, I forgot that your child is 8 years old. That's pretty young. Usually braces aren't offered this young. I'd get a second opinion anyway.

Dawn

I was in my early 20's when I got braces. Getting used to them was hard because it hurt.

The first month was the toughest. I lost over 20# because I couldn't eat or it hurt to eat and my Medical Dr intervened because I didn't have 20# to lose. I narrowly missed a hospital visit due to the weight loss. They put me on some high cal shakes, etc to get me up to a semi normal weight with regular checks with both Dr's until I got some strength and a little weight back. So in the beginning, soft foods. Follow Dr orders on what you should and should not eat.

Yes, you can get sores in the mouth.. My Dr. provided me with beeswax which you can put on the braces in the area where they scratch your mouth.

My Dr. strongly recommended a WaterPik and I loved that. I put warm water in it as recommended but also added some listerine and it was great. It cleans but it feels good on the sore gums as well.

Good luck.. the adjustment is not fun but the end result is worth it.

Make sure she continues to floss! This is a great product that is designed specifically for braces. http://www.drugstore.com/platypusco-orthodontic-flosser/q...

Poor kid. They hurt. If I remember pretty badly at first. It was soft foods and Tylenol for a few days, if not closer to a week.

Be patient with her, because I know if my daughter was in pain she'd be a pain in the rear to deal with.

Definitely get a Water Pik! It is a huge help. Also get, and have her religiously use, the thin, flexible flossers that go up under the braces and get all around them. You can get ones with a tiny-brush-like end.

Our orthodontist told us about all those so I hope yours has already done so.

The braces should not ever cause callouses or sores in the mouth. If they do, take her to the orthodontist immediately. Properly aligned and applied braces should never do that.

Do learn the protocol for what to do if, for instance, a wire breaks or a bracket pulls off of a tooth over a weekend etc. These are not considered emergencies but you will need to know how to handle them if they ever happen (never has to us, but we too have a second round of braces coming like your daughter does!). Your orthodontist should have written instructions for these kinds of things so get them, read them and put them somewhere you can find when something does happen. Be sure to get the ortho. to give you dental wax that you can use to cover a broken wire or rough bracket for your child to be comfortable until you get her to their office.

The Orthodontist will tell you all of that.
You just have to ask them.

Eating hard things, can bend the wires.
Sticky foods can get stuck in the braces.
Water picks are good.
Sometimes the braces, can abrade the inner cheeks etc. But not always.
Sonicare is always good. Even if someone does not have braces.

Pain, depends on the person. Or discomfort.

In the USA, braces are more common and seemingly "mandatory."
Some really need it structurally or due to their mouth alignment. Some are more cosmetic reasons.
The mouth/jaw is not static. It grows as a person grows or ages.
For example: I had braces in middle school. Even now, I still have to wear a retainer nightly, because my mouth/teeth still shift and want to go back to where it was.

Milkshakes and Ibuprofen are my son's best friend when his teeth hurt from being tightened.

He had a hard first year - he had a soft pallet expander in and his jaws re-aligned so there was some pain and several food items that he could not eat. He still stays away from sticky, gummy things, nuts, and apples, but for the most part he can eat anything.

He is now down to just braces and reminds me of his adjustment appointments - he is eager to finish up tho' he still has about 2 more years.

He uses a regular toothbrush and super floss - floss with almost a shoe lace end that slides under the braces wires. I bought him a waterpik, but he honestly rarely uses it even tho' the ortho recommended it. His dental checkups are good, and he does go every 6 months for cleaning to keep his teeth in shape.

He plays trumpet - even through the soft pallet expander and the jaw bars. He did learn to use the wax if the braces rubbed his mouth or he sprung a wire - which happens about once every few months.

He has green bands - has since the beginning - I wish he would try a different color. LOL

Braces are like a right of passage now for kids. They discuss their treatment plans and compare band colors and literally meet up at the ortho's office on spring break.

It really has not been that bad and he has not had many problems with them. Plus, his face structure is more even and his jaw issues are gone. All without surgery - I am pretty impressed by it all.

the two most important pieces of advice i can give is brush your teeth reeaallly well (i know someone who got their braces off and u could see the little white squares where the braces were glued to the teeth - they clean them really well before putting them on so if u dont continute to brush well the rest of your teeth will stain around the braces)
and second- make sure she wears her rubber bands if needed.. if she doesnt it will just take way longer for the braces to come off .. that being said the only discomfort i had with my braces was when they put the little hooks on them for the rubber bands to be put on.. they irritate your mouth a little bit but the doc will give her wax to put on the places that are pinchy or irritating to the sides of your mouth

The wax your orthodontist will give you will be her best friend :) Yes, the braces will rub and irritate the cheeks and she'll need to cover those spots with wax.
I wasn't in much pain per se. It takes time to get used to them and she'll need/want soft food for maybe a day or two.
Your daughter should also get these tiny little brushes that will help her to get the food out of all the crooks, etc. I went through a ton of them.
I had braces as an adult.

My 8 year old also has braces - I would imagine that you are correcting a cross bite, which is why orthodontists treat at this age.

He had no issues at all. No pain when they were put on, no sores, no discomfort after. They give you wax to put over them if they do end up irritating the lip. They recommended soft foods for the first day but he was fine eating regularly. We have cheap Spin Brushes and those do the job of cleaning well enough. They will give you a kit that has floss threaders and a teeny brush to get anything out that might get stuck around the brackets.

Good luck to your daughter - it has not been a big deal to my son at all.