Tips for kid getting braces

[VillainV]

C gets his expander removed and braces put on on Wednesday morning. His appointment is late morning, so we’ll probably send him to school then I’ll sign him out for the appointment. I plan to WFH that day anyway.

Pre-load with Tylenol or no?

Do you think he’ll be okay to go back to school, or should we just plan to keep him home? (He’ll miss lunch/recess, specials, and math).

What foods should I plan to have on hand? Mac and cheese? Stuff for milk shakes? Chocolate pudding? Other suggestions?

Any other tips or tricks?

[mcppalmbeach]

My kids would have been totally fine to go back to school (we did it over the summer though) unless you want to let it be like a special thing and let him skip there was really no need to pre load on Tylenol because the soreness didn’t set in until they had been on for a few hours, but really overnight. Make a plan for handling meds at school. I hid some in my kid’s lunchbox but he was in middle school so I trusted him to manage that. I really encouraged my son to try and keep up with meds the first few days and take them even if he didn’t feel sore at the moment. Make sure you have plenty of wax at first.

[imimahoney]

My kid was not ok going back to school and was in a lot of pain the first few days.

He basically could only eat soft foods for the first 3 or so days.

[VillainV]

Dec 9, 2023 8:57:52 GMT -5 mcppalmbeach said:

My kids would have been totally fine to go back to school (we did it over the summer though) unless you want to let it be like a special thing and let him skip ;) there was really no need to pre load on Tylenol because the soreness didn’t set in until they had been on for a few hours, but really overnight. Make a plan for handling meds at school. I hid some in my kid’s lunchbox but he was in middle school so I trusted him to manage that. I really encouraged my son to try and keep up with meds the first few days and take them even if he didn’t feel sore at the moment. Make sure you have plenty of wax at first.

Fortunately H works at the same school and keeps chewable Tylenol in his work bag, so C can always swing by his classroom for Tylenol if he needs it.

[thebreakfastclub]

My son got his braces at 4pm and took some Tylenol, but otherwise it was fine. I think he took Tylenol the 2nd night too. I don't really remember it being a big deal pain wise.

[stemmie]

IME, ibuprofen is better than Tylenol for this kind of pain.

[mrsGreeko]

My DS got only top brackets after getting his expander off. And it was only brackets on 4 or 6 teeth. It was just stage 1, which I’m assuming is the case for your kid too. He actually wasn’t particularly bothered by them. A little sore that first night, but that was really it.

He will be getting full braces for stage 2 around 13/14 years and I expect the discomfort for that will be much greater with brackets on top and bottom and all teeth.

[nicolewi]

I think he would be fine to go back to school. Unless maybe it’s right at lunchtime. My daughter got hers on in the morning, and I kept her out for lunch just because I didn’t want you to try to deal with her first meal with braces when she was at school.

I would not pre-load with medicine, but just give some after the procedure. It took a couple hours each time for my kids’ teeth to feel sore. And then they feel sorry for the next couple of days, but it wasn’t anything too horrible really.

We are doing the expander right now! I hate the stupid expander! I think the expander is just as bad, if not worse, than having braces on.

[VillainV]

Dec 9, 2023 9:32:34 GMT -5 stemmie said:

IME, ibuprofen is better than Tylenol for this kind of pain.

He can’t take ibuprofen due to a medical condition.

[momin2013]

I think he’ll be fine without preloading pain meds. My process was similar, and as I remember it, getting the expander out was such a relief that the braces discomfort wasn’t a big deal.

[steamboat185]

I sent my kid to school after. Talking to friends and showing off the braces kept her mind off the pain. She did come and grab meds from me (I work at her school) the next day. She also took some meds at night for 2-3 days.

[JayhawkGirl]

I would definitely tylenol before. When mine get their adjusted I give it to them and email the nurse what time so they can have more.

Send with an insulated water bottle with extra icy water, and a pack of sugar free gum to chew. Moving their mouths helps. We have also found extra gum works better than wax to mush into spots that are bothering them.

[snowflurry]

My daughter didn't have much pain until later in the evening. We found that 1 tylenol and 1 advil taken together works best for the pain. That's what the ortho sent her home with and it seems to work well.

[ewall]

DS just got his 1.5 weeks ago. He went back to school after his appointment, just in time for lunch. The tech doing his braces said that was actually good to eat right away as he would probably be sore later in the day and not feel as up to eating. He went back to school and aftercare for the full day. I gave him Motrin when he got home that evening. The school secretary said she often gives out Tylenol after kids come back with braces. He ate ice cream that night, but was fine after the first day.

[redheadk]

Yes to pre-loading with pain meds.

Dd got hers in the summer and was in enough pain that she called me to come pick her up from ballet class. This kid will get ready for ballet 3 hours before it starts, so asking to leave meant she was in too much pain to focus. We went and got a snowcone; by the time she was done with it, her mouth was numb and she was fine after that. I did dose her with pain meds before ballet for a few days but she was otherwise able to do everything normally, including eating. Be sure to grab some wax from the ortho.

[186momx]

DD got her full set this summer. I didn't pre-load meds and that was a huge mistake as she was miserable afterwards and actually couldn't eat solid or hard foods for 4 days. They had some issues getting a bracket on so that could have played into why she was in so much pain. The dentist did recommend she not do her evening sports practice and there would have been no way she could have gone back to school.

[redpenmama]

My son got his on in 2nd grade (and they come off next month, yay!). He had it done in the morning and went to school after. His teeth were sore that evening, but OTC pain meds were sufficient. He really didn't complain much and while he didn't eat anything super crunchy that day, he was able to eat normally otherwise. He has been very easy with the braces and has rarely complained, so he's tougher than I was when I had them many years ago.

He just has top braces and initially only had four brackets up top, so that may have made things easier on him than others.