Orthodontic treatments involve an array of appliances such as metal braces, Invisalign, retainers, and spacers to move the teeth into their respective positions. It also has a great impact on the way how your smile looks. In simply, teeth straightening treatments can help you get rid of space problems, poor bites, unaesthetic smiles, and so on.
Wearing braces throughout the day for a while is not a pleasant thing for all. Normally, you will feel pain and mild discomforts during the initial stage of treatment and whenever the wires are adjusted or tightened. Similarly, the teeth have some aching sensation with the braces randomly.
It does not mean that the teeth braces hurt your teeth. Such pain arises due to the gentle pressure applied by the braces to push and pull the teeth. In the meantime, pain and sensitiveness in gums exist until the mouth gets adjusted with the new appliance. You can manage such orthodontic pain in various ways. Keep reading to explore them.
1) Topical Oral Anesthetics
Do you feel hypersensitivity in teeth and gums after wearing a dental brace?
Apply topical anesthetics (Anbesol, for example) with your finger or a cotton swab over the sensitive tooth and gums. Mostly, the oral anesthetics contain ingredients like benzocaine, menthol, clove oil and take care of numbing the region where it is applied to soothe the sharp pain.
2) Over-the-counter pain medicines
Over-the-counter pain medications like acetaminophin, ibuprofin are widely prescribed to reduce pain and inflammation in teeth that arise as a consequence of allergic response to any dental appliance. Remember that consult your dentist before getting an OTC pain reliever or medicine. It is because you should take this medication in limited dosage.
Likewise, people suffering from bodily disorders like blood thinners, diabetes are not the right candidate for such OTC pain relievers. They have to go for other remedies to overcome the brace pain.
3) Cold Compress
Icing is an effective remedy to reduce pain and inflammation because the cold can numb the aching or swollen region by constricting blood vessels which are followed by lowering the blood circulation to that area.
Wrap 1 or 2 ice cubes in a clean cloth and apply it over the problematic teeth and gums for a few minutes. Take the ice cubes out and apply them again a few times.
Note: Eating cold foods like ice cream, drinking cold water also helps you to get relief from orthodontic pain.
4) Swift to soft foods
It is crucial to take softer foods in the initial stage of teeth straightening treatments and at times the brace wires are adjusted. Keep in mind that the teeth and gums become sensitive for a few days when you wear braces for the first time and whenever they are tightened.
So eating hard and chewy foodstuffs will exert force over the sensitive teeth and end up in severe toothache.
Hence we recommend soft food items like boiled eggs, mashed potatoes, khichdi, idly, curd rice, and others that can be chewed easily for a few days until the teeth get familiar with the adjustments.
5) Apply Orthodontic Wax
The sharp wires or rough brackets of a metal brace will injure or scrape certain areas of the mouth. Lesions in gums and cheeks happen due to this. Wearing damaged dental braces also comes into contact with various areas of the mouth and injures them. So you have to create a smooth surface by covering the sharp edges with orthodontic wax.
6) Gum Massage
Gently massaging your gums with a finger is beneficial to soothe the pain and inflammation in gums. Gum massage is helpful in improving blood circulation also so that you can get rid of the pain and inflammation that occurred with wearing braces.
Bottom line
Braces pain is a common thing in orthodontic treatment. It will not exist throughout your orthodontic journey. Toothache and sensitive gums begin to subside once the oral tissues get adjusted to the teeth straightening appliances.
You have to emulate the instructions given by your orthodontist to overcome such discomforts. The home remedies we have listed here also provide you the relief from braces pain.
