Braces do not add to your physical charm for sure but they do not inflict too much of pain either.
So, if you are worried about your looks with braces, that is a different problem but if you are apprehensive about an excruciating pain, feel assured that braces do not hurt even half as much as you are thinking.
Of course, you will experience soreness or mild pain which is a part of any dental procedure but it is not going to keep you awake in the night.
And the good news is that you can easily manage or alleviate the discomfort.
By the way, braces improve your looks too, in case you are too worried about your looks.
Do braces hurt?
Feel happy — they normally do not. All that you are likely to feel is soreness after the first procedure is completed.
The soreness occurs because your teeth are slowly moving towards the ideal position.
The soreness normally lasts for about a week after your orthodontist has applied the braces and again after your orthodontist adjusts the archwire.
To manage the soreness, you should ideally have a soft food diet for a week or two and rinse your mouth with warm saline water.
In case it gets too painful after the braces are applied, you can also take over-the-counter (OTC) medicines such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, whichever is applicable. In any case, the pain or soreness is going to disappear after a week or two.
There is not a lot that you can do except obediently follow your orthodontist’s instructions, rinse your mouth everyday with lukewarm saline water, living on a soft food diet for about two weeks and keeping OTC medicines handy.
You will not writhe in pain unless you are treated by a terrible orthodontist. And do not insist on having ceramic wired braces implanted only because they do no harm to your looks.
Ceramic wired braces are more fragile than the metal wired braces that are more commonly used. Also, let the orthodontist know if you are allergic to nickel so that the titanium or gold-plated stainless steel braces are applied instead of the more commonly used metal braces.
Do some brace types hurt less?
The soreness, or in rare cases, pain, does not depend on the brace type. Soreness is a natural and almost inevitable by-product of the bracing process and there are simple ways to alleviate the discomfort.
The orthodontist may implant a gold-plated stainless or titanium steel brace if you are allergic to nickel.
What are the best practices regarding braces that you should follow?
You know that braces help move your teeth. You wanted braces because aesthetically your teeth do not look good or normal. While it is normal to want aesthetically-normal teeth, there is also a medical, or dental reason you should use braces.
Braces help improve the alignment between upper teeth pair and the lower teeth pair. So, after you have had your braces implanted, your teeth will, without you realizing, slowly move inside.
So, you should visit the dentist every 4 to 6 weeks to have the progress evaluated and the braces adjusted. Remember not to miss the appointments.
In case your braces miss periodic adjustments and the teeth move beyond the alignment level, things may get complicated. In that case, the dentist will need to pull back the teeth to its original position.
It is definitely not as simple as it sounds. It could cause pain and additional expenses. So, you have enough incentives already to not miss appointments.
Is the adjustment process painful?
The brace adjustment process is only as much painful as that of brace implantation. That should make you a little bit calmer. The entire procedure does not last for more than 30 minutes.
The dentist or the dentist’s assistant replaces the elastic band and the cables with a new set. In the interim, the dentist quickly reviews how far or how well the teeth have moved.
You are also allowed to clean and floss your teeth in the interim. Your teeth will feel sore for a week or two after the adjustment procedure.
Watch the video above to see if braces really do hurt like some people report.
