braces and pain
Dental Anxiety
Dental Anxiety
Many kids are afraid to visit their dental hygienists. They do not want to have their teeth checked. This condition is called dental anxiety. Children and adults alike are apprehensive to accept treatment. Anxiety, fear and worry are among the feelings that people who experience this condition have. It may come from past traumatic experience they may have with other dentists.
In other cases, it can develop out of nowhere, like in any other kind of phobia. These reasons may be one of those why people put off their going to the dentist the last minute. In situations such as these, the conditions are already severe.
There are several physical signs that a patient is experiencing dental stress. These may include feeling tense before a visit, nervousness in the clinic and they react when they see dental apparatus. Among kids, the symptoms will include crying and physical agitation in addition to the ones already motioned.
For dental hygienists, they may want to ask a patient a series of questions to determine if the patient having distress and determine the source of the anxiety.
Many patient have low tolerance f pain, the dentist may inject a dose of anaesthesia. This would alleviate the patient from extreme pain during extraction or insertion of braces. More often dentist want patients to calm down before surgery of extraction.
Different Kinds of Bites
Different Kinds of Bites
It is important that you need to be educated in the types of bites when you want o have braces and other types of orthodontics attached to your mouth. In the orthodontics’ point of view, a bite is the way the teeth are fitted together. On the other hand, malocclusion is defined as the misalignment of teeth. When we talk about malocclusions, we have three types in terms of the horizontal line.
Class 1
This is a dental condition where the both jaws are aligned, however there are crooked, spaced out teeth and there are teeth that grow below the gum line or above other teeth.
Class 2
This is also called overjet. This means that the upper jaw is more moved forward than the lower jaw. There may be an overbite. This can be remedied by orthodontics and in some severe cases, jaw surgery is needed where the upper jaw is moved backward.
Class 3
This is called underbite or negative overjet, this is the opposite of Class II. The lower jaw is moved forward. Same with Class II, slight cases can be remedied by orthodontics and severe ones by jaw surgery.
The bite types that are in relation to the vertical lines, there are also three.
Crossbite
Crossbites occur when the bottom teeth do not meet correctly with the top teeth. It is called unilateral posterior crossbite when the teeth fall inside the mouth. It is called bilateral crossbite when the teeth do not meet with the top on the sides.
Open Bite
Those with open bites only have a few teeth meeting one another. When they chew, you can actually see the insides of their mouth even if they would close the mouth with their teeth.
Deep Bite
Deep Bites occur when the upper teeth overlap the lower teeth. When a person with a deep bite chews there is little visibility of the lower teeth.
Braces 101
Dental Braces 101
Will Braces Cause Pain?
Even though you are only moving your teeth and teeth socket in a slow motion, pain cannot be avoided. There will be times when your mouth will be sore from this. In such cases, take some over-the counter pain reliever to soothe the pain away. If pain cannot be taken anymore, better check with your orthodontist to lessen the impact of the pain.
Can I Continue to Play Sports While Wearing Braces?
How Long Will I Have to Wear Braces?
It really depends on how misaligned your teeth are. On the average, most braces remain in place for a year to three years. After you have removed your braces, many wear retainers for six months.
Dental Braces for Children
Dental Braces for Kids
White braces are similar to metal braces but are less noticeable because they are almost the same colour as the teeth. This is a bit expensive than the metal ones. These braces can discolour over time, especially ligatures. The material used for this kind of braces is the same as the one used for filings but the wires are still metal.
Braces Pain, How To Reduce It
Braces Pain, How To Reduce It
Anyone who has had braces or knows someone else who has, knows that there is some pain involved. Every time the braces are tightened, the pain starts up again. While it does start to fade after some time, for the length of time that the individual is having the treatment, there are always changes being made to the fit of the braces thus introducing more pain. There are individuals who cope quite well but there are others who don’t fare so well so there is a need for something to reduce the pain. There is no need for pain killers – there are simpler steps to take to reduce the pain.
When the braces are tightened, chewing a piece of sugar-free gum is recommended. Although there will be pain experienced while chewing it, this method does help in the longer term. The gum must be sugar-free because sugar is to be limited while under this treatment. There are lots of sugar-free gums out there to choose from so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a suitable flavor.
After each meal, the patient is advised to brush their teeth and their braces, followed by chewing another piece of sugar-free gum. Again, for the first little while this method will cause more pain but it does die down and eventually decreases the pain. It is similar to when a baby is teething – chewing on something soft helps them to cope with the pain.
Eating might not be something that is looked forward to while getting used to a new fitting but mashing up food always helps. The food consumed should not be tough and should not be of the texture that will easily get stuck between the teeth. Mashed potatoes and other vegetables, stews, apple sauce and other similar items are nutritious and will help reduce the pain while eating.