What happens on the first day of braces?

Ever wondered what people feel when they receive their first brace? We have a few replies from our first cases, some of which are funny, others are just to feel for. Lets dive in!

I feel I got stung.

My corners hurt so bad. 

Just a little headache

A little funny I guess. Hurts me a little when smiling.

My lips are getting caught in something

I keep rubbing my tongue over my teeth, but can't feel them

 My cheeks hurt 

I cant eat

That is just a few of the feedback we often get with our patients getting their braces. So what exactly causes all these reactions? Well, braces are designed to move teeth. So teeth that are anchored to the bone need some force to start moving. Like moving a little chess piece takes some of your strength (albeit not that much!)

When teeth start movement, the nerves underneath the teeth encased also with the blood vessels supplying the teeth are compressed. If you sit on your arm for a while, sometimes you can move after and get a tingling sensation. Neither painful nor joyful. You just cant know to laugh or cry. That is because the nerve endings in your arm have had something choking them- you. When you rest on your arm, this causes the nerves to become choked because normally you would be moving your arms, interacting with objects and such. 

Same thing happens with teeth. When a tooth is subjected to the pulling (or pushing) force of the brace, the nerves get compressed, and that translates to pain mostly. That pain is cyclic in nature. It starts off usually in the first night or second day from installing the braces. And because humans are not all alike, therefore, the ability to withstand the pain generated is dependent on you also. Our general rule is, when you get a headache, take a pill, and its working. It, being the braces, actually starting to work and form pressure on teeth, like its designed to.

With a new object in your mouth, you start to also lick around your teeth more often, sometimes, you can feel a bit of a lump where the teeth where. That is because the braces have added to the size of your teeth. Can you imagine having a grain of rice on top of your teeth? The same. Most people can cope with braces as a strange object, usually taking a few days to get to their presence. Very few people cant cope with braces and sometimes, have to come over and get them undone, seeking other types. 

A few reads ago, we pointed that braces could look weird and have things sticking out of them. These also could get in the way of your smile, or your tongue, lips, cheeks, or all of the above. Usually the orthodontist will give a proper size for your teeth and match it with a proper sized brace, so it wont feel bigger or strange. As well as getting tangled, having strange things, and some pain, you could also sometimes develop red spots. These could be from Nickel sensitivity, as braces have a percentage of Nickel in their composition. Around 17% of women and 3% of men suffer from allergies related to metals.

Usually your doctor would perform an AT - Antigen Test, a test where sensitivity to Nickel and other metals is determined to prevent this from happening. If it does, its mostly by chance! Fret not, for there are other alternatives to metal braces. There are plastic aligners, ceramic, and even plastic braces to help with these sensitivities. 

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