Are braces painful?

Brace Treatments in London

About 70-95% of orthodontic patients in London experience pain at least once, during their brace’s treatment. Whenever your doctor tightens the wires in braces to apply forces on your teeth, it leads to some discomfort in your teeth, which may be interpreted in the range of pressure to pain. Our friendly orthodontic team at Whites Dental would be delighted to be a part of your dental transformation and tell you everything you need to know. Our orthodontic practitioners provide Ceramic brace, Invisalign brace, Damon Brace and Invisalign to patients around us in London Waterloo and Marble Arch.

Do braces hurt?

Each individual will have a different experience with brace, but the following should provide a general idea of what to expect at each stage of the treatment process.

Getting braces

The experience of wearing brace fluctuates among individuals. Some individuals may have to wear spacers, or separators, between their teeth for a week or two before getting brace. These spacers may feel tight and sore for a few days, resembling the feeling of having food trapped between the teeth, but the discomfort should go away after a few days.

Initially, at the time when your orthodontist first bonds the brace to your teeth, you will not typically feel or experience any instant pain. An orthodontist will habitually attach bands around the back molars. This procedure may be temporarily uncomfortable because it involves some pressure and can pinch, but it is not painful.

Once your orthodontic bands have been put around the molar teeth, your orthodontist will usually etch your teeth with a sour tasting solution. The orthodontist will wash the etch off afterwards and put glue to the face of the bottom or top arch or both. An individual may not like the taste of the etch and glue, but these steps should not cause any pain or discomfort. When the glue has been placed, your orthodontist will then mount orthodontic brackets individually to each tooth. He/she will use UV light in order to harden the glue. Again, this part of the process should not cause any pain. Lastly, when the brackets are in place, the orthodontist will connect them all with a wire. They will attach each end of the wire to the bands around the molars at the back of the mouth. The final step is adding elastic bands to keep the wire in place.

Wearing braces

When the braces initially go on, a person might not experience any pain or discomfort straight away. However, within a few hours, the mild pressure that the braces put on the teeth will start to take effect. The pressure of the braces slowly pulling the teeth into position can create pain and discomfort, which could last from a day or two to about a week.

Some things to anticipate during the first week include:

• tender gums
• grazes or sores on the inside of the cheeks due to the metal brackets rubbing against them
• possibility for cuts on the tongue if the person uses their tongue to feel the braces
• the teeth may feel uncomfortable, especially when eating food

After some time, a person may start to forget about their braces as their body adjusts. However, for braces to work, the orthodontist needs to tighten them occasionally.

When an orthodontist tightens the braces, they may:

• substitute the current wires
• place or tighten springs
• tighten bands on the brace to put extra pressure on the teeth

Typically, tightening occurs once a month or as required, depending on the person’s progress. When tightening happens, a person is likely to experience a level of uneasiness similar to that when they first got the brace. In some cases, it may be less painful. After tightening, many people only feel discomfort in the teeth and gums. The cheeks and tongue have normally adjusted to the brace by now, so new scrapes on these parts of the mouth are not likely.

Removing braces

Although everyone is different, brace usually stay on for about 1 to 3 years. When it is time to take the brace off, a person may experience some uneasiness as an orthodontist removes them. An orthodontist will take off the brackets, bands, and wires before cleaning the teeth to remove any remaining glue. To finish the process, an orthodontist will fit the person for a retainer. A retainer is an appliance that helps keep teeth in their new position after orthodontic treatment.