I have Questions about Braces......Plz help.....Thanks?

I've had two sets of braces (in fact, I was 10 when I got my first set on), and I had all of these questions, myself. However, none of my 4th-grade friends had any good advice (they all said it hurt like crazy and my mouth would bleed for a week. They were such liars...)

PROCEDURES

A few months before the braces are put on, the orthodontist will take an imprint of their teeth. This is done with a special paste that is put into a mold for them to bite on. They must bite on this for a few minutes, and will be allowed to rinse out their mouths afterward.

Then, for a week before the braces are put on, spacers will be put between their two back teeth. These will feel odd at first, but you get used to them in about 2 hours. This is also when the forbidden foods become forbid en. No popcorn, gum, or crunchy or chewy anything.

After a week, the spacers will be removed and the braces put on. This procedure takes about an hour, so be prepared to keep your mouth open (a rubber block will be used to help support your jaw and keep your mouth open during this procedure).

After whatever amount of time that the braces are on for has passed, the braces will be removed and another imprint of your childrens' mouths, and after a few days, they will be given retainers, which will be worn all day, except when they're eating. Eventually they will only have to wear them at night, and then not at all.

PAIN AND DISCOMFORT:

The imprinting of their teeth will taste bad and be annoying, but no real pain is involved, and this will only last for a few minutes.

When the spacers are put in, it will feel odd, but not painful, and they will get used to it within about 2 hours.

The braces themselves will not begin to be really sore for about a day or two , and then, it will be a dull pain. To soothe this, I would recommend ice cream and advil. The pain will continue for a length of time, which varies from person to person. For me it lasted about two weeks. I could only eat mashed potatoes, ice cream, and smoothies. It was funny. Soft foods are best. Anything harder than scrambled eggs will hurt like crazy. Avoid doing anything that could whip their heads around, for jerking movements or sudden hard biting or clenching of the jaw will cause a lot of pain, but only for a few minutes. In some cases, wires in the backs of the braces could not be cut short enough, and stab your child in the cheek. If this happens, your orthodontist will usually cut the wires shorter for free.

Every time they have the braces re-tied (have the colored bands on the brackets replaced), it will be sore for a few hours, but not nearly as sore as when the braces were put on. Again, I recommend Advil and ice cream.

When the braces are removed, the pain will be about the same as when the braces were put on, but not for as long. Again: Advil and ice cream.

SPECIAL NEEDS

Brushing and flossing your teeth are very important any time, expecially when you have braces. You will want to get floss-threaders, which look like needles, only they're made of plastic, they're flexible, and the eye of the needle is much larger. These are very helpful in getting the floss between the brackets. When brushing, aim the toothbrush at the spot between your brackets and your gums. After you have brushed all of your teeth this way, angle the brush straight down, then straight up, so you can get between the brackets.

Your dentist should provide you a small brush with 360* bristles to clean between the brackets. Your twins should carry these with them in a pocket or backpack in order to clear their teeth of gunk after they eat anything (food gets stuck in braces REALLY easily)

Orthodontists say you shouldn't chew gum with braces (and I totally agree), but after the braces are actually on their teeth, if your kids are REALLY into chewing gum, Sugar-Free Trident doesn't stick to braces.

Good luck, and I hope I helped! :-D Tell your twins I say good luck with the braces! :-D

i don't know about the appliances they might be getting, but for braces they don't really hurt. the only time they do is after you get them on, possibly when you get them tightened but it varies from person to person.

as long as they brush their teeth twice a day there is no pitting or staining. obviously missing a brushing occasionally isn't that big of a deal.

flossing is important, but it is hard to string floss through the braces so you might want to get a pick. this still might be challenging for ten year olds to be dedicated enough to do, so if you make the process more interesting it might help. I recommend something called a waterpik that squirts a jet of water and you can move around like a brush. it works even better than flossing and might amuse your twins.

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well its it kinda painful for the first couple of days

but usually it only hurts when you bite on things so

Slurpee's and milkshakes are great for the first couple of days

after that it's kind of just pressure on your teeth when they would get the tightened

you should brush your teeth very nice. and flossing is really important.

and teeth shouldn't be stained if they were well taken care of during the process

before they get their braces tightened, take motrin. and if they need proccessures and surgerys ask for happy gass. I have messed up teeth so im always getting surgerys and i have braces and im not gunna lie they really hurt