Wearing Braces

Often, you will feel some soreness when braces and expanders are first started or after an adjustment. Don’t worry! The soreness does go away after a few days. This soreness that you feel is normal. The misconception is that your teeth are moving when there is soreness and pain. In fact, it is the opposite, when your teeth are sore and feel pain that is when your teeth are not moving at all. It is the period when there is no pain at all that your teeth are moving. At Esthetic Partners Dental Group, we precisely calibrate your next progression of treatment based on your level of soreness to maximize teeth movement. It is our goal to move your teeth as fast as possible with little or no pain at all.

On occasion, if the pain is severe, over the counter pain relievers will relieve any discomfort. Just be sure there are no medical allergies before taking the pain relievers.

You’ll feel your teeth wiggle just a bit during treatment, and you should know that it’s perfectly normal. To move your teeth into the right position, they must loosen just a bit first. After your teeth have been positioned and are in the right place, they will become stable again.

It is also common to have cuts and sores in your mouth from the braces. If your tongue, cheeks, lips, or gums are sore while they adjust to the braces, we can give you some wax to apply to your braces. It’ll cover up any parts of the braces that are irritating the inside of your mouth. Just let a team member know if you need some. To speed the healing process, we also recommend dissolving one teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of lukewarm water. Swish and then gargle the solution for 30 seconds morning and night until the cuts and sores are healed.