Braces, almost every adolescent has to get them. It is the way to straighten crooked teeth and ensure that your teeth can do their job properly. Yet braces are not always a joy. The braces push and pull on your teeth and it can hurt. In this article, I discuss pain caused by braces and what you can do about it.
Why do braces hurt?
Whether you have beautiful transparent braces, block braces or clasp braces. They can hurt. That having braces can hurt is well known, even to orthodontists, which is why a lot of research is being done to reduce the amount of pain with braces with the right procedure[1].
In any case, braces hurt because the wires and tools used must ensure that your teeth align properly. To do this, some teeth have to be adjusted or dragged.
Only your teeth are kind of stuck in your jaw. Of course, your jaw is not used to that pulling, which is why braces, at first, often hurt a bit. In addition, sometimes the position of your lower jaw in relation to your upper jaw is changed so that you suffer less from an underbite or overbite.
Sometimes the pain with clasp braces isn't too bad, until you have to put on one of those external braces with it. A kind of cap with an extra brace attached or something that sits on your neck.
These can be especially painful and keep you from sleeping as additional forces are released on your jaw.
Pain after braces are placed
Pain after braces placement is quite normal at first. Research shows that after 3 to 5 days you get used to the braces and are less bothered by the pain[2].
The same research shows that if you feel you can control the pain you suffer less and get used to the braces faster. The pain is less if you have braces that you can remove, such as block braces. Braces that are fixed, such as lock braces, hurt the most.
There is also a correlation between the amount of pain you experience at the beginning of braces placement and to what extent you follow the treatment, for example, if you have to wear such external braces while sleeping. The more pain you experience, the less well you adhere to the treatment.
Reduce pain from braces
To get the best possible result from braces and thus not suffer the pain for nothing, it is important to reduce the pain of braces. There are orthodontists who recommend painkillers for this purpose[3], but you can also reduce the pain of braces in very different ways.
Tip #1: Chewing gum
To get your teeth used to braces as quickly as possible, you can chew gum. This helps your jaw and muscles get used to the braces faster. Of course, you have to brush your teeth well afterwards, because those bits of gum can get nicely stuck to those (lock) braces.
Tip 2: Play Brain wave music (for example, when you want to sleep)
Relaxation is also very important if you want to suffer less from pain. In the process, relaxation also helps you sleep. One way to help your body and mind relax at night despite the pain is to play brain wave music. On YouTube you can find videos that sometimes last up to 8 hours (yay, just the amount of sleep you need) to help you get through the night.
Tip 3: Hypnosis against pain
The easiest part is actually hypnosis against pain. Hypnosis is very good at pain management. In hospitals and during tattooing, hypnosis can do an awful lot and so can braces pain.
So how does hypnosis do it?
Hypnosis means that you are in a different state of consciousness, leaving you open to suggestions. For example, the suggestion that you can turn off the pain for a while. To do this, however, you must be under hypnosis.
The orthodontist can hypnotize you
Research shows that orthodontists can begin hypnosis as early as during treatment. This is good for the bond between the client and the orthodontist. For example, hypnosis can help against burping when you have an impression of your teeth taken, for example[4].
This already makes you feel better about orthodontics to begin with, which also makes you more relaxed and less focused on the pain.
You can get help from a hypnotist yourself
Do you have an orthodontist who has no knowledge of hypnosis? Then you can also go to a hypnosis expert yourself. This person can teach you techniques to be less bothered by the pain and change your mindset so that, overall, you are less bothered by the pain caused by braces.
Shifting focus is often one of the first things a hypnotist helps you with. Initially, this involves asking about your beliefs. For example, your beliefs about having braces.
Then, while under hypnosis, you start repeating other helping beliefs out loud. This makes you absorb this more deeply, making it easier for you to shift your focus.
Then, you can also repeat these suggestions at home while engaging in self-hypnosis.
These may include suggestions such as:
"I get the most beautiful smile."
"With straight teeth, you have fewer headaches[5]."
"My teeth are given time to get used to their new position."
These are just examples, depending on your beliefs you may get other suggestions. Finding out about beliefs is often done with Socratic conversation or regression therapy.
Visualizing the pain away
Visualizing the pain away is also something a hypnosis expert can help you with and what you can then do during self-hypnosis at times when you need it. There are 2 types of visualizations that will help you visualize the pain away: a relaxing visualization where you are in a nice place and the visualization of a button that allows you to control the pain.
With the relaxing visualization, you can still be asked for colors that give you meaning. For example, you can give cooling and relief a color, such as light pink, and pain you can give a different color, such as dark green.
You then receive a visualization in which you are, for example, relaxing or floating on the clouds. You are wonderfully relaxed and you then see that your body is filled with light pink liquid where you feel good and with dark green liquid. You then visualize, while under hypnosis, how you put more and more light pink fluid into your body and how the dark green fluid goes away. This then also reduces your pain.
Visualization with a button is slightly more functional. You then often visualize a volume knob or some kind of elevator button that allows you to turn the pain louder and softer. By visualizing how you go lower and lower on the buttons or with the "volume" you also ensure that you are less bothered by the pain.
Practice these two visualizations with your hypnosis expert before performing them during self-hypnosis at times when you need it.
In addition, the hypnosis expert can record them for you on an mp3 so you can listen to them daily at home, and this can help you get into hypnosis if you can't do this well on your own.
So when your braces hurt, there are a number of things that can be done about this. You can initially ask if your orthodontist is familiar with hypnosis and would like to use it during treatment so that your focus is not on the pain, but on the positive outcome.
Then you can chew gum to help your teeth get used to the room to move faster with braces which can also reduce pain.
The brain wave music can help you relax if you can't sleep well at night due to the pain of braces.
Hypnosis helps you shift the focus from pain to something else. For example, to positive outcomes and relaxation.
You can also distract yourself by doing things you enjoy. Game just a little longer so you don't suffer as much. Focus totally on your homework and executing it perfectly so that the pain is put to the background.
Want to learn more about how hypnosis works and whether you can help people with hypnosis? Then come to the free online master class or check out one of the Hypnosis Institute Netherlands' other events or trainings.
Also pin this handy infographic as a reminder:
[1] https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007859.pub2/abstract
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S088954069870201X
[3] https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010263.pub2/abstract
[4] https://www.ajodo.org/article/0002-9416(59)90015-6/pdf
[5] https://www.gezondheidsnet.nl/mondverzorging/19-vragen-over-een-beugel-bij-volwassenen
