What To Expect During Your First Week With Dental Braces

Posted on: 27 December 2016

If you are apprehensive about getting your new set of braces installed on your teeth later this week, then you are not alone. Teenagers everywhere have been in your same situation previously and all have lived to tell the tale! Thankfully, since dental braces have been used to correct smiles for many decades, there is a lot of information available about how your new braces will feel during the week after they are installed. Here is a day-by-day description of what you should expect to feel during your first week with your new set of braces:

Day 1: Installation Day Soreness

You should expect that your new braces will feel odd in your mouth for much of the first week. They will feel like they are too big for your lips to cover them, and they will likely make your teeth sore. This is normal and will wear off within the first few days. You may have extra saliva in your mouth that is annoying.

Day 2: Beginning to Adjust to Your Braces

On the second day, your braces will not feel so large in your mouth, and you will not have the problem of excess saliva anymore. You can expect that your teeth will still be sore, and soft foods are a must. Since the dental glue requires about two days to fully dry, you should avoid eating any firm or sticky foods for at least the first couple of days with your new braces.

Day 3: Rubbing Pain on Your Cheeks

By the third day post-installation, your braces should feel more comfortable in your mouth. However, any rough edges may cause small sores to form on the inside of your cheeks. If you have any sores, use the dental wax your orthodontist provided for you to cover the metal while your sores heal.

Day 4 - Day 5: Adjustment to the Braces Improves

During days 4 and 5, your braces will feel like they were always in your mouth and will no longer feel like they are too big for your lips to easily cover. The soreness of the installation process should be subsiding and any sores that have developed from the metal should be healing.

Day 6 - Day 7: You Will be Adjusted to Your New Braces

Finally, on the last couple days of your first week of wearing new braces, your braces will feel natural, and you should no longer have any pain. If this is not the case, then you should make an appointment with an orthodontist at a clinic like Reed & Sahlaney Orthodontics, LLP to verify that there is nothing they need to adjust for you.

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