Best Ways to Relieve Soreness from Braces
Let’s face it, braces are going to make your jaw, teeth, and gums a little sore. Even if your braces are applied by the best orthodontist Philadelphia has to offer, there is no avoiding a little soreness and pain. Most patients find this sensation completely manageable, but it might not always be for those who have a low pain tolerance or for whom the pain of braces application or adjustment is too distracting. Here are some of the best ways to relieve soreness from braces.
1. Take a painkiller.
Ibuprofen is the most popular choice, but whatever pain killer you prefer can help decrease the pain until the adjustment or application is causing less discomfort.
2. Gargle with saline.
If you are feeling soreness with your gums or teeth, gargling salt water is a great way to relieve pressure, inflammation, and pain. Dr. Gemmi and Dr. Middleberg will probably advise you do this after they apply your braces, simply to help prevent infection or undue irritation of your gums or the inside of your cheeks and lips. You can make your own saline solution simply by dissolving a few pinches of salt in some warm water.
3. Avoid solid or crunchy foods for a while.
Foods that require you to bite down with force will only increase pain and irritation in your mouth. Stick to soups, yogurt, pudding, oatmeal, and other soft foods for the first week after your braces have been applied. This will help your jaw and mouth adjust to the braces.
4. Have an ice cream.
While you definitely don’t want to increase your sugar intake now that you have braces, eating ice cream can help numb your mouth and relieve pressure and inflammation in your gums.
5. Drink some warm soup.
Warm soup, especially a soup that contains high levels of protein, is a great way to soothe achy teeth.
6. Follow Dr. Gemmi and Dr. Middleberg’s instructions.
If you have specific instructions of what to eat and what not to eat, or to wear your rubber bands or to adjust your expander, follow these instructions exactly. If you do not, your mouth will not have time to adjust to those treatments, along with the braces themselves.
7. Don’t bother your braces.
If you are constantly picking at or touching your braces, either with your tongue or with your fingers, you are not only introducing bacteria into your mouth (if you use your hands), you are also irritating your mouth further.
8. Use braces wax.
Drs. Middleberg and Gemmi will give you a little container of orthodontic wax. This wax is intended for you to use over the rougher parts of your braces until the interior of your mouth adjusts to the sensation of having the braces there.
9. Cut back on acidic drinks & foods.
Acid in fruit juices and sodas can irritate sores in your mouth. Avoid drinking or eating anything that is acidic for the first two weeks of having braces to prevent exacerbating soreness and pain.
10. Suck on a small ice cube.
It is imperative that you do not crunch on the ice cubes, but sucking on the cube for a few minutes can soothe pain and reduce swollen and painful gums. If you can find crushed ice, placing a few chips in your mouth and sucking on them until they are completely melted is a great way to ease the pain of braces.
11. Use a softer toothbrush.
While a stiffer toothbrush will make it much easier to remove plaque and tartar from your teeth, the stiff bristles can be too rough on a sore mouth. Switch to a softer brush that will massage your gums and make it easier to remove food particles from around the brackets and wires.
12. Use sensitive toothpaste.
If the pain is not subsiding quickly, you can always buy and use a toothpaste formulated specifically for sensitive teeth. This will help to relieve aches and pains in the jaw and the teeth themselves until the mouth has fully adjusted to the braces.
13. Use a numbing gel.
You can buy oral numbing gel at any grocery store, usually in a tube that makes it easy to apply to teeth or gums that are hurting. This gel will numb the area for a few hours, which can be the ideal solution for someone whose pain is keeping them up at night.
14. Ride it out.
Realize that this discomfort is extremely temporary. While hurting you is never the goal of your orthodontist, some will experience pain from braces, especially in colder weather. Give your mouth some time to ride out the pain.
15. Eat a popsicle.
If you can find a frozen yogurt or ice cream pop, these will be better than a more solid, rigid popsicle. Biting down into something cold, yet soft, can help to relieve pressure while also soothing the pain away.
16. Make sure your braces are still properly attached.
Sometimes the pain caused after an adjustment or application is caused by a wire that has been pushed out of place. If this is the case, you will want to make an emergency appointment with Dr. Gemmi or Dr. Middleberg to have the wire replaced.
17. Use a cold or hot water bottle.
A cold or hot water bottle can relieve pain in the jaw and teeth when pressed against the sides of the face.
60 responses to “Best Ways to Relieve Soreness from Braces”
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Very UN pleasant experience, two years after braces has taken off.
First night no sleep, second night, I used a heating pad and played my radio (a cloth damp with warm water will work too) I got five hours of sleep, an improvement right?
It is currently 4:12 in the morning and I keep waking up due to pain from my braces. Today is my first night having them on and thought that I would be okay to sleep. I was wrong. I woke up several times with pain all in my mouth and jaw. I’ve been taking a lot of pain relief which hasn’t helped so far.
its currently 2am in the morining and im still in pain, i thought i was going to sleep like a baby but NOOOOOOOOOOO i was so wrong
It’s the same for me!
I’m so sorry, I know how bad the first day of braces can be. Have you tried getting cold water and keeping that inside your mouth? Just let the cold water sit there until it is no longer cold. I find that it helps a lot,but it may worsen the pain if you have sensitive teeth.You could also eat cold foods, warm foods such as soup help as well.
I just couldn’t sleep how I normally did. I couldn’t sleep at all last night
It’s the same exact way for me and Ibuprofen isn’t working
Same here. It’s 5:am and didn’t sleep at only because I got them tightened yesterday. I took some ibuproplehn and it didn’t help! What do I do?????
Try a gum massage. Steps: Dip your index and middle finger into ice cold water/hot water and use your index finger on the front of your gum and middle on the back.
It’s ok. I got my braces on today and they hurt really bad. They are making my gums feel super sore and I already took two Advil’s.
When I first got braces over a year ago, it took over a week for the soreness to go away. It’s been a year and a half and now I have rubber bands. I got them a couple days ago and I can’t sleep cause of the pain. I was supposed to take my braces off by now..
so I just got elastics to help separate my teeth before braces and it hurts like crazy I’m taking medication but that doesn’t work I need help I haven’t slept in days and it hurts and its just elastics
I got tiny bands in-between my teeth yesterday and it hurts to eat or talk. I took 2 ibuprofen and I’m still in pain. Any tips? ?
I cannot WAIT to get my braces off!!!
i know right they are a pain but i still have one year left.
I got my braces and It still hurts. (Got them yesterday) I hope the Ways to relive sores from this page works
I have tried a product called Orachill. They are mouth pieces you freeze and put around your gums.They come as a pack of 3 for around $40.They were a life saver. Orachill.com is where I got mine. And you just refreeze them and use them again.
Don’t worry, after a day or two the pain will go away.. It hurts but just take an Advil or something, and sleep on it.
same here
got mine yesterday too! they hurt so much.
Is it better to use a hot or cold compress on your mouth?
I believe a cold compress would be most effective. It may numb the pain slightly, and cause pressure which may actually feel relieving.
I disagree. I find cold help for a little, but comes back worse. Chewing on a hot Pack or simply running warm water over the sore teeth helps a lot.
Does anyone else get a numb feeling that hurts when you touch the teeth with new braces? I wanted to know if this is normal or not.
Same here I need answers
I’ve had my braces on for 2 1/2 years and I still have this feeling
Thanks for the numming gel. It is day one and I’ve gotten 2 hours of sleep. I can’t go on like this
I I just gotten mine off but I remember the first day I had them on and I had 3 hours of sleep and had a French talking exam in the morning and I was in so much pain. Don’t worry after the first few days the pain goes away but until then baby’s teething gel helps or If it is really sore talk to your orthodontist or local chemist
I just got elastics yesterday and they hurt soooo much! I don’t know what to do to relieve the pain!
Same here. But I just got stronger elastics and a power wire. It feels like my teeth all hate me.
Omg same! So much pain
I just got my braces yesterday, and the pain sometimes is so unbearable. I have no idea what to do, and I don’t know how long it will last. Please help!!
Hey! i have the same problems! so i recommend taking at least 2-3 advil’s a day, you know, the pill, and following the instructions. mainly, eat the ice cream! (because its the best tasing option!) LOL!i just got min on 2 days ago and they hurt sooo bad! i feel your pain!
Hey! i have the same problems! so i recommend taking at least 2-3 advil’s a day, you know, the pill, and following the instructions. mainly, eat the ice cream! (because its the best tasing option!) LOL!i just got min on 2 days ago and they hurt sooo bad! i feel your pain!
Got my braces yesterday. Feels like someone hit me in the mouth! I keep wanting to bite them off. Ugh! Two years of this?
I know this is not on the list but drinking hot or warm tea helps ease
the pain as well.
Thank you so much! Just got mine yesterday and I feel like pulling my teeth out. Great for tea lovers!
I just got my braces on yesterday and it feels like my teeth are going to fall of! Any recommendations to help the pain?
My cheeks are wounded now because of the brackets. What to do? Help?
use braces wax and stick it on the brackets that keep tearing you cheeks.
Gargle salt water to heal the scratches.
Had my braves for 4 months and got my first adjustment this morning.
I found this thing at the pharmacy. It has an applicator stick. You put some of the liquid on the applicator stick and put it where your wounded cheek is. It makes the spot cold and then numb, and you can’t feel the pain there anymore.
Oh my word I just got mine today too and I’m so hungry but it’s SO hard to eat. I feel like my teeth are going to fall out.
I hate the elastics. They hurt my mouth so much and I cant stop it. I keep waking up due to pain and discomfort and even when I take them off for a second to stop the pain it still hurts.
I’ve had mine for a while, so what I do is I don’t wear my elastics for the first night I just let my teeth settle first. Thennnn that’s when I start putting them on. Please wear ya elastics, because if not they will just give you more and more of them.
I use these hacks and they help a bit. 1. When I have elastics an there really sore I keep one off and take the other one off, so I’ll have one elastics on one side for about 2-3 hours then I’ll take it off then put the other side on. Then at night time I put them both on. It’s a bit of a pain but it helps relive the pain when u have both on. I know that’s not the correct way to use them but if the pains that bad I do that. 2. I drink tea, or something hot like hot milk, hot chocolate or coffee. Something warm always helps, or cold but in my opinion cold makes it worse 4-6-19 x
I got my braces tightened and bands that are joined together so that I don’t have gaps and it hurts more than when I got them on!!
I got my braces tightened and bands that are joined together so that I don’t have gaps and it hurts more than when I got them on!! I can’t talk or eat properly. Any tips??
Bro like, I’ve had braces for like about three months and at the beginning it was going great… until they tightened them. It’s like all my teeth are being pulled at by pliers and hit back in place with a hammer. Also to add onto that, I got elastics. Any recommendations for to sooth the pain?
I recently got braces and I thought that it wouldn’t be that bad because I have high mouth pain tolerance, but I was was wrong. Braces are the nightmare everyone says they are.
I just got my braces on yesterday and omg I feel like I want to lie in bed and cry because I can’t eat anything and I eat a lot but ya
Does anyone else have a numb feeling with new braces? And they hurt when you touch them, especially one of two teeth
I got my braces on yesterday and boy they are a pain in the asssss! my mouth hurts sooo bad! i can barely eat. im starving literally! i tried popping a pain pill. it didnt work
due to tons of moving around I’ve had my braces on for nearly 5 years! just got them tightened a crazy amount today and I feel like it’s the beginning all over again 🙁 I’d forgotten how bad it gets! goodbye cheez-itz ?
I have a rubber in between my teeth, the pain is terrible then braces
I just got my braces on two days ago. Haven’t had an issue yet with them. Even when they put the power chain on my front teeth (little weird feeling).
I wonder if it depends on the office who puts the braces on.
My jaw is so row it hurt I can’t eat nothing.
I found this thing at the pharmacy. It has an applicator stick. You put some of the liquid on the applicator stick and put it where your wounded cheek is. It makes the spot cold and then numb, and you can’t feel the pain there anymore.
i just got my braces today and i cant sleep and my mouth feels like it is going to fall out and i feel like just taking them off
some one tell me what to do to make it stop hurting.