What to do if you have toothache after wearing braces

Everyone is familiar with braces, especially those with crooked teeth, who will choose to wear braces to correct their teeth. Many people experience toothache after wearing braces, which is a relatively normal phenomenon. After wearing braces, if the force applied to the braces is too strong or the braces rub against the gums, causing redness and swelling of the gums, it will cause tooth pain.

What to do if you have toothache after wearing braces

Method 1

Braces are a tool for correcting teeth. They apply a constant force to the teeth, causing them to slowly move. If too much force is applied, it will cause pain to the patient. Therefore, when this symptom occurs, we should communicate with the doctor in time and adjust the archwire of the braces to ease the correction force and relieve the patient's pain.

Method 2

When patients first wear braces, they usually experience a series of symptoms such as oral ulcers, swollen gums, and lip blisters, which will cause great inconvenience to the patient's life. However, this is a relatively normal situation, caused by the oral cavity's failure to adapt. Generally, these symptoms will disappear automatically in about a week. During the process of wearing braces, if the braces fall off, we should go to the hospital for treatment in time to avoid affecting the correction effect.

Method 3

Be sure to pay attention to dietary taboos after wearing braces. Patients should eat a light and easily digestible diet in their daily life and drink more fruit juice and soup, which can promote balanced absorption of nutrients without leaving any food residue. Patients should try to eat less food with high viscosity or easily broken into crumbs, as this can easily cause food to remain in the gaps between braces and teeth, forming dental plaque and tartar over time, which will have a great impact on oral health.

Precautions for wearing braces

Note 1

When you first put on braces, your teeth will feel swelling, pain, and soreness because they are experiencing continuous external force for the first time. Generally, this feeling will last for 3-7 days (the duration varies from person to person). As long as the discomfort is not particularly difficult to accept, please persist. If the pain is very severe and accompanied by redness and swelling of the gums (except for inflammation), it is recommended to contact a dentist as soon as possible for examination and adjustment. (Note: Since the teeth will move due to force, it is recommended not to shake the teeth with your hands.)

Note 2

Since braces are of a certain thickness, they can cause part of the lips to turn outward and become dry and peeling. Apply vitamin E or lip balm when appropriate and drink plenty of boiled water. If you don't like plain water, you can add some salt to keep your lips hydrated. Ensuring sleep time and quality is also very important. Eating more vegetables and honey in daily life is also particularly effective.

Note three

During the initial adaptation period of wearing braces, it is best to eat some semi-liquid or easy-to-swallow food. Such as porridge, egg custard, oatmeal, noodles, etc. The main thing about food choices is that they don’t require strenuous chewing, thus alleviating tooth discomfort. After the discomfort gradually disappears, be sure to resume your normal diet to avoid affecting the exercise of the masseter muscles due to too little chewing, which may lead to obvious braces face phenomenon.

Note 4

After resuming your normal diet, please do not eat foods that are too tough or sticky (such as toffee candy, glutinous rice balls, etc.) to avoid inadequate cleaning; do not eat foods that are too hard (such as spare ribs, almonds, etc.) to avoid causing the orthodontic device to fall off, affecting the treatment effect and prolonging the treatment time. At the same time, be careful not to eat spicy and irritating foods for a long time, so as not to cause oral inflammation and swollen and painful gums, and also cause braces to damage the oral mucosa.

Note five

After wearing braces, brushing your teeth clean is not so easy. Due to the obstruction of the archwire bracket, brushing teeth becomes more difficult and food residues are more likely to remain. Therefore, you should clean your mouth immediately after eating. First, clean your teeth using the "45° tilted" brushing method. You can choose an orthodontic toothbrush or a soft-bristled toothbrush to reduce irritation to the gums. You can then choose an interdental brush/interdental brush to clean areas that a large toothbrush cannot reach. You can choose orthodontic dental floss, mouthwash, water flosser and other cleaning tools according to the situation.

Note 6

You must strictly follow the doctor's instructions and go back to the dentist for follow-up visits regularly. The doctor will make specific adjustments based on your correction progress and recovery status and give corresponding suggestions. If you are unable to make a follow-up appointment on time due to special reasons, you must make a new appointment in advance. If a brace falls off, contact your doctor as soon as possible to determine whether you need to see your doctor earlier, and bring the fallen device back to your doctor during the follow-up visit.