Dealing with pain

[MamaofEnS]

My DD has a high threshold for pain, but she just got braces on her teeth this week, and it is really distracting her. She just got over an injury (broken hand), and she was supposed to be at 100% this week, but now she is in mouth pain, and is really having trouble concentrating. I know a lot of gymnasts also get braces at this age, so how to they deal with the distraction?

MamaofEnS

 

[cher062]

My DD has a high threshold for pain, but she just got braces on her teeth this week, and it is really distracting her. She just got over an injury (broken hand), and she was supposed to be at 100% this week, but now she is in mouth pain, and is really having trouble concentrating. I know a lot of gymnasts also get braces at this age, so how to they deal with the distraction?

MamaofEnS

not alot you can do but we give 2 motirn (dr said it was ok for my DD to get that much check with your childs Dr to make sure the dosage is ok) 30 min before class and it seems to help.

 

[Linsul]

I had braces when I was a kid, and honestly what gets you over it fastest is to chew chew chew. It hurts a lot at first. It will hurt after orthodontic visits as they adjust they braces too. Some kids avoid biting and go with soft foods, but it just makes pain linger. A fun(ner) way to get over the soreness is to eat a popscicle and let it numb up the teeth and gums, then eat something with some crunch. The more you do it the faster the pain goes away, but if you keep at the chewing game it can be totally gone within 3 days.

 

[nevertooold]

sometimes the kids want to use their mouth as little as possible to avoid the pain but my son with braces says it helps if you actually do eat and chew a lot, that using your teeth helps them adjust to the new pressure more quickly. every time they change the wire he says it helps him to eat and chew.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

i used to eat a steak to relieve the pain.

 

[flippinlolly]

I agree that even though it hurts a lot you really have to chew on things and the pain goes faster. Reassure her that the pain will go in 3-4 days and after that she will get used to them really quickly. Another thing I found when I first got braces was that my teeth all felt wobbly like they were about to fall out. It was pretty scary but my orthodontist told me it's just because they're moving around so if she gets that reassure her that it's fine. I found gymnastics hard at first with braces because I didn't notice it normally but i slightly clench my mouth when i concentrate so whenever i did a skill i'd be clenching my mouth and it was painful. Trust me it wears off completely after a few days so until then just go with painkillers before practice and reassure her is all you can really do.

 

[MamaofEnS]

Thank you all for your advice.

It has been 4 days now, and she still is in a lot of pain. It is not her teeth that are bothering much anymore. However, when the assistant was putting a wire in, she accidently cut the inside of my daughter's cheek. It didn't seem to bother my DD too much at the time, but the assistant felt awful about it, and started crying. She said that she had been doing this for a long time, and hasn't cut anyone like that for years. It seemed like no big deal to us, but the assistant seemed very concerned. Now I know why. It is where her mouth was cut that is causing my DD all the pain. That part is now swollen, and constantly getting irritated by the braces poking it. She is taking a lot of pain killers, and is rinsing out her mouth with salt water, but it has been 4 days.

Please, we need more advice.

MamaofEnS

 

[gymdog]

Could it possibly have gotten infected? If it is getting swollen then it might be. If this continues and swelling doesn't go down soon then you might want to see a doctor.

 

[coachmolly]

I never had braces, but that sounds like something you might want to call and ask about. Could you give her regular dentist a quick call and ask if it is anything to be concerned about? In the meantime, I would just suggest keeping it clean and avoiding any foods that really seem to irritate the area and increase pain.
There are some antibiotic gels and ointments made specifically for the mouth, you could give those a try, but I would probably ask a doctor first to make sure it's okay.

 

[Linsul]

If it's swelling or not healing I would call the dentist back and ask for advice on how to proceed. The cut complicates things, she's already sensitive, and may be swelling from the friction of the braces themselves. So pain and to some extent swelling can't be counted on as true signs of infection. They may head that possibility off by prescribing antibiotics until it heals or have other advice. I would definitely call the doctor back with an update and get help, or even better, bring her in so they can look at her and decide if what's going on is in the range of normal or not.

Even under normal circumstances, there are places where the wire or brackets rub the cheek. I can feel some places with my tongue that are permanently shaped by the hardware on my back teeth. They are sensitive at first but toughen up over time. Using the wax at night helps even if it's too much a hassle to use during the day. We do move our mouths in our sleep sometimes, reducing the rub potential while unaware may help for when she wakes up and is aware of it.

 

[All Chalked Up]

You could put that wax stuff on the part where the braces are poking her so that stops.

 

[staceyb]

I don't know if you can buy it in America but I used Anbesol Liquid, it numbs your gums and takes away that ache. You dab it on your pinkie and just rub it along your gumline.