Someone asked me recently what braces feel like and it’s an interesting question, one I had to ponder rather than just blurting out “uncomfortable!” which was my first instinct. For a regular day-to-day experience, I’m at the point where I often don’t even notice them most of the time, but the brackets rubbing up against my lips is a kind of chaffing sensation and if I get a spot that’s irritated imagine a bad mouth sore and multiply that times 10, as the bracket rubs up against it, over and over (wax can only do so much!). I’ve yet to really find a good solution for that other than ample wax, various numbing solutions, salt water rinses, lots of water and a mental litany of “I know it’ll be worth it, I swear it’ll be worth it, oh please, let it be worth it!” on repeat.

It’s the actual tooth movement, though, that’s where things can get more painful. Take my last adjustment and the associated gremlins pulling out my teeth sensation, that was a pretty apt description. It was a rarity, though, that passed after a few days and now the spring doesn’t bother me, and I’m not even noticing it against my tongue. However, sometimes a tooth just randomly hurts; like a tooth ache. I’m still new enough to braces that I get a momentary flash of “uh-oh, should I make a dentist appointment?” before I remember “oh wait it’s probably movement” and it never fails, within a few days that tooth will have shifted and the ache will be gone.

So that is what it feels like, chaffing from the brackets and regular tooth aches from the movement. Oh and the occasional gremlin visit.