How to ease the pain of elastics for braces?

Question

Ive had my elastics for a year but never wore them cause they hurt too bad but recently my orthodontist told me if i dont wear them hes taking my braces off because theyre not doing any good for me since theyre not improving. so clearly i have to wear my rubberbands, but my teeth are KILLING me. what are the best ways to ease the pain?

Answer 1

the pain gets better as you wear them longer, it just hurts at the beginning.  For pain at the beginning usually you will take some tylenol or advil to help get you through

Answer 2

Once you wear then contunuosly for a while , they wont hurt. Its because you can take them out that you do. Think back when you first got your braces on and they hurt, if you could take them out yourself everytime they hurt, you would. Over time you got used to the braces and they dont hurt anymore, just the same will happen with the elastics if you leave them in. Just think of them as not being able to be removed and after a few days, they wont hurt :)

Answer 3

Take ibuprofen for the pain in the beginning.  It's anti-inflammatory, better for dental related pain.

The pain will ease gradually.  

My dad was my dentist and he refused to take my braces off until I wore the rubber bands to fix my over bite.  They stayed on an extra year.

Answer 4

Yikes. Well first of all I would suggest you wear them from here on out. The pain will lessen with time but for now just take some asprin and take your mind off you teeth by doing something else like watching a movie. Pretty soon you will forget they were ever hurting! Good luck!!