I need information on adult braces, especially eating with them..

May 5, 2018 5:25 PM

I have had adult braces fitted,fixed train tracks.They are a lot more painful(it has just been a week) and uncomfortable than I thought.I have been looking for online support for adult brace wearers (yes I can use google) but I haven't found many resources. if anyone has suggestions I would really appreciate it.The biggest problem I have at the moment is eating, I find it difficult and painful.I have recently lost a lot of weight through being ill and I want to keep my calories and vitamins UP!Any suggestions would be welcome,soups,liquids,I would consider liquid food supplements in interim and hopefully this will be short term until I adjust but, as I said,it's been harder than I thought!Any suggestions welcome. Thank you.
posted by hitchcockblonde to Health & Fitness (20 answers total)

Following, because I do am doing the adult braces thing - mine go on in 2 weeks!

My ortho has basically told me that I should expect to eat soft foods for a couple days (yay an excuse to eat pasta!!). Also the usual liquid foods - soup, yogurt, smoothies, etc. I'm also looking forward to an excuse to eat milkshakes and ice cream... i'm anticipating the opposite problem that you're having, ie too many calories.

So far, I've found just randomly poking around youtube to be very helpful. We're in an age where the typically-aged braces-wearers are recording and sharing their entire life, and in this case it's been helpful for me!
posted by cgg at 5:43 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I wore braces as a teen, but I ate lots of bean soup when I had braces. I would also eat roasted veggies and hummus, with starches like potatoes and sweet potatoes. My mom would cook things until they were a little mushy for me. Avoid white bread at all costs, unless you enjoy the thought of picking it out of your braces a week later. Also, your mouth will adjust. The first couple weeks were painful, and when I would go back they would ache for a day or two (I sometimes took an Ibuprofen). Definitely mention your pain level to your orthodontist when you go back, he or she may have tightened them a smidge too much for you. Everyone's mouth and pain tolerance is different, and they don't want you to be in pain all the time.
posted by backwards compatible at 5:57 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I got my braces on way back when I was 12, but I remember well how miserable I was when I first got them and every time I got an adjustment.

Baked potatoes are your friend. My braces and I ate a lot of baked potatoes.
posted by phunniemee at 5:58 PM on May 5, 2018 [3 favorites]

It takes time, but after a while you do learn to eat with them... carefully. It's a matter of adjusting to the learning curve. Skip things like popcorn and caramel the whole time you are in them, though.

In the meantime, soft foods, as others have suggested. Juice packs plenty of calories, as do smoothies and, of course, milkshakes. :)
posted by Crystal Fox at 6:02 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

It takes time to adjust, no real shortcuts. I hated that I was ache-y all the time.

Cold foods like icecream can be a source of calories and relief from pain.

Viscous stuff (like cold malts/ milkshakes) through a straw were a no-no (the suction sucks). Use a spoon instead.

Is it the general ache-y pain or is there a specific hindrance to eating? If you find yourself cutting up your mouth (probably not with modern braces), you can ask for soft parafin wax to plaster around the offending flange(s).
posted by porpoise at 6:03 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I had braces as a teen and again as an adult (because something went horribly wonky with my teeth/jaw and I needed to get braces for 2 years to get everything in alignment before corrective jaw surgery).

First week of braces definitely sucks and is mega-painful, but it should subside to just uncomfortable/annoying eventually. Just take it easy on yourself and stick to soft foods in the meantime.

Also, every time you go back to the orthodontist for an adjustment, you will be sore again for the next day or two, so, make sure to take that into account and have your fridge/pantry stocked accordingly.
posted by oh yeah! at 6:10 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Take an over the counter pain reliever as directed.

Decide whether warm things or cold things would feel better. I’d warm, go with puréed soups for a few days and add more chewing slowly. If you want cold things, go for smoothies with a protein supplement. You can use an ice pack if that feels good.

Buy the wax at the pharmacy. Keep it nearby all the time. A pokey wire is what the wax is for.

The best time to go to the orthodontist is usually mid to late morning. After school time is the worst. If you have trouble at night, and want to be seen in the morning, leave a voicemail at night and you’ll be near first in line for a call back.

Get adjustments as often as they’ll let you, spreading them out longer May lengthen your time in treatment.
posted by bilabial at 6:10 PM on May 5, 2018

I remember your pain (didn't have braces until I was in college). The initial aches will wear off, but will return (usually not quite so badly) each time the braces are tightened. In the meantime, an excellent excuse for milkshakes. As Crystal Fox says, absolutely avoid caramel or anything of a similar consistency--a Tiger's Milk bar once pulled a flange right off one of my teeth--or anything too likely to splinter into hard tiny shards. Bilabial is right that you should have wax on hand at all times.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:12 PM on May 5, 2018

Best answer: I'm 37 and I've had braces on for nine months now and will have them on for another nine to 15 months. Eating sucks. There are a bunch of foods that I just can't eat. I basically can't use my incisors so I can't really eat any kind of sandwich. It changes depending on when the last time I my ortho changed something and what they changed. Right now I've got rubber bands on hooks going from by upper canines to farthest back molars on the bottom and they make my teeth hurt most of the time.

It's worst the 3-4 days after an adjustment. I eat a lot of eggs, oatmeal, ramen noodles, spaghetti Os, milk shakes (sometimes with a banana blended in).

I also have a couple of Ensure Nutrition Shakes every day. They're nutritionally complete, they taste okay and are very easy to consume. It helps add a few extra calories without having to chew anything and since a person can live on those shakes and nothing else I don't worry about what else I eat I mostly just worry about calories.

I worry most about going out to eat. There are often only a few things on the menu I can manage and I want to get home to brush my teeth and use my water flosser and I'm often amazed both how much gets flushed out and how large the particles are. I don't understand how anyone manages having braces without a water flosser.

I don't regret the decision but I'm going to eat crispy, crunchy and chompy foods for at least a year after my the braces come off and my teeth finally stop hurting.
posted by VTX at 6:24 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I had braces from the age of 27 to 29. The first week was the worst. I ate a lot of soup then graduated to mashed potatoes. The first adjustment was nowhere near as bad, but have soft foods for the first couple of days.

Hopefully you’ve picked an orthodontist near work because as someone said above, mid morning appointments are the best. I would be gone from work less than an hour.

Also, if you’ve got a poking wire that cannot be soothed by wax, don’t be afraid to call your orthodontist. I didn’t want to bother them, but it turned out I had a wire that wasn’t trimmed enough and by the time I finally called in, it had actually punctured my lip. So yeah...don’t be me.

Keep a toothbrush, floss and threaders and a small mirror in your desk, purse, car, everywhere. You never know when you might find some leftovers of your last meal.

In addition to the foods others mentioned above, I had some issues biting into things like apples, sandwiches. I had to cut everything up and eat it. If you find yourself collecting a lot of things in your braces, try this.

Wear your rubber bands. And after you’re done, wear your retainer.

Good luck! You got this!!
posted by BlueBear at 6:30 PM on May 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

Pretty much all casseroles and most skillet meals are going to be soft enough to require minimal chewing but are more substantial (and usually offer plenty of carb calories). Recipes based on ground meat, from shepherd's pie to homemade Hamburger Helper, in case you need some hardcore comfort food, will be easier than ones that use chicken breast or thighs, but note that pretty much any recipe with those will be fine if you dice the chicken. There's also red beans and rice, tikka masala (again, keep your chicken pieces small) and all kinds of curries.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:46 PM on May 5, 2018

The archwired.com forums have a lot of info for adult braces wearers, try looking in the surgery forum for extensive soft food posts. If you notice any poky brackets or wire ends irritating your lips or cheeks, dry the bracket/wire area and smoosh the dental wax on. It can be nice to borrow someone’s vitamix or blendtec blender to smoothify or purée the heck out of everything but you should be ok on soft foods pretty soon.
posted by tangaroo at 7:10 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I had them in my fifties, and the pain went away and the eating got better. I got used to it, pretty much. Wax is helpful when things stick into your gums.

When I went to get my bottom bite plate adjusted a few years after I got the braces off (because the bite plate was pushing on a molar), my orthodontist accused me of not wearing the plates at night (not for any evidence, just because I think most of his patients didn't). I told him I didn't spend $5,000 and go through all that nonsense not to wear the darn bite plates. I never want to do it again, not if I have to wear them until I'm 100.
posted by Peach at 7:27 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Make a smoothie with berries and peanut butter. Delicious liquid pb&j.
posted by meemzi at 8:18 PM on May 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Seconding the water-pik advice. It's the only way to keep that stuff clean. As for the pain, yes, very time they tighten anything it's gonna hurt for several days. Also, it rubs the inside of your lips. They make a type of soft wax that you can use to cover the sharp parts if you have that problem.
posted by irisclara at 10:05 PM on May 5, 2018

Response by poster: Thank you so much guys for your suggestions and encouragement _I would really have liked to reply to some comments individually-I can't find a way to do that..I will check if that is an option meanwhile, Thank you all!
posted by hitchcockblonde at 2:46 AM on May 6, 2018

I got braces at 24 and had them on for 13 months. I found ibuprofen really helped with the pain after an adjustment. I'd take the maximum dose prescribed by the label on the bottle.
posted by orange swan at 8:07 AM on May 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

I had braces for about three years in my late 20s.

Found a LOT of support and useful tips in Archwired's Metal Mouth Forum.
posted by lukez at 4:20 PM on May 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

If they haven't told you already, contrary to orange swan's advice above, do not take anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or naproxin sodium (Aleve). It'll delay your progress. According to my orthodontist it's your body's inflammatory response that let's your teeth move.

Acetaminophen is fine. Do what you've gotta do but avoid anti-inflammatory type pain relievers if you can stand it.
posted by VTX at 6:57 PM on May 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

I drank a loooooot of Jamba Juice when I had braces. Smoothies are filling, relatively healthy, and nice and cold to help your teeth feel better when they're sore.

Also: a lot of orthodontists will say "no chewing gum period" and they're right, BUT when your chompers are a little less tender, chewing a half a stick of sugar free gum (Freedent is great for this) can be a good way of getting stuck things out of your braces. Like, for example, strawberry seeds from all of the smoothies.

NOTE: I am NOT an orthodontist, I haven't had braces in a lot of years, and maybe Freedent reformulated their recipe since then. So if this sounds like a thing that you might want to do, I strongly recommend a testing process before going all out with the sugar free chewing gum.
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:54 AM on May 7, 2018