Braces day before Great Wolf Lodge

[joannqn]

This was so totally not scheduled well. My daughter is getting her top braces on Tuesday morning. Wednesday afternoon through Thursday afternoon, we'll be at Great Wolf Lodge. It's our first time there; we finally had the money to take advantage of their homeschool days.

 

 

So, is there anything I can do besides alternating tylinol and ibuprofen for pain?

 

And what will she be able to eat while we are at Great Wolf Lodge? I had been planning on bringing most of our food or leaving the lodge for food rather than eating there. But will she had food restrictions either because of the braces or because of the pain?

 

Suggestions please?

[1GirlTwinBoys]

Does she have to get them right before the trip? If not, I would wait so she can enjoy the trip and have a good time. Those first few days after getting braces are painful. Meds may help some but she will still have discomfort.

 

The food restrictions are any thing sticky, popcorn, hard chips etc... I remember the pain making it difficult to eat much at all.

[Starr]

On the other hand she'll have many distractions. :D Our ortho gives the kids 600 mg of ibuprofen. I would give her some before she goes.

[Tap]

GWL used to honor the price on different days other than homeschool days. If you are willing to reschedule, I would.

[regentrude]

It does not have to be too bad, though. DS got his braces last week; he was in pain one afternoon and it mild discomfort the next day. He could not chew well and did not really feel like eating much. Pasta was fine. After one day, he was back to normal and even regular eating.

I would just take pain relievers and some soft foods.

[sparrow]

On the other hand she'll have many distractions. :D Our ortho gives the kids 600 mg of ibuprofen. I would give her some before she goes.

 

:iagree: I think the distractions may help! We've never had horrible pain, just discomfort. Give an ibuprofen dose *before* the appointment, and repeat as needed. We never needed to alternate, but it wouldn't hurt to keep some Tylenol with you, just in case.

 

As for food, nothing hard or sticky, but I doubt she'd want those anyway. Soft stuff is helpful. Scrambled eggs, yogurt, mashed potatoes, smoothies.

 

Hope it works out!

[Tap]

Take extra food for her. Swimming burns a lot of calories. Maybe a can or two of Ensure or other food replacement would be easy to pack and easy on her mouth....or budget for a couple big milkshakes. :001_smile:

[Elizabeth in MN]

My dd got her braces back in August. She had no pain and was eating like normal within an hour.

[LucyStoner]

I have braces. I did not find the pain when they were put on to be anything that would interfere with an overnight trip. That said, most orthodontists have some rescheduling flexibility. I would see if they have time on Friday or Monday.

[Lolly]

Give her ibuprofen before she goes to get her braces. Soft foods are recommended for the first day or so just because of pain. Mine particularly like spaghetti during those days, but could really eat anything. You just want to avoid foods that require a whole lot of chewing, like steak. She may be better off with a trip right after, plenty to keep her mind off her teeth. It really isn't all that bad. Kids tend to keep their normal schedule immediately after. Oh, if the wax won't stay on, we found sugar free gum makes a great keep the rubbing down from brackets option. One dd had a bracket on the inside of her tooth that rubbed her tongue. She kept gum on it the entire time she had to have it (which fortunately was only a couple of months).

Edited September 24, 2012 by Lolly

[Hoot]

Give her Tylenol before going in to have the braces put on. DS had his put on the day before his first day of 7th grade and he was fine. That first day he was in a little bit of pain, but nothing excruciating. The next day it was a little uncomfortable, and after that, he was totally fine. He actually has more pain NOW when they change wires or tighten them than when he first had them put in.

 

When they're first put on though, it will probably be with a thin wire. Absolutely no chewy, sticky or super hard and crunchy foods. Those first very thin wires can and do break occasionally. DS had one break loose in the back. When I called the ortho. they said it was no big deal, put some wax on it to keep it from rubbing his cheek and come get it fixed on Monday. :glare: Oh yeah, remember to take wax on your trip. My DS only used it that one time, but I know other kids who use it a lot. You'll want to have it in case anything is abrasive on her cheek.

 

Things she can eat that day and the day after would be: pasta, scrambled eggs, ice cream, yogurt, pudding, applesauce, soup, pancakes, rice, fruit juice, bananas, watermelon, oatmeal, smoothies, jello, cottage cheese, ravioli etc. Once she's passed that second day she should be feeling okay. Keep with the Tylenol if she has some slight discomfort but it shouldn't be anything excruciating. She should be able to eat relatively normally by your second day at GWL.

[Pippen]

If it had been my daughter it would have ruined hers (and my) vacation. She was in a lot of pain for two full days. I'd try and reschedule, especially if time away is a rare treat.

[somo_chickenlady]

My parents took us on a special trip like that a couple days after getting my braces, and let me tell you honestly...I was miserable the ENTIRE time. I did not enjoy myself at all, even though I tried not to show it, and all we did was go out of town to see the Moscow Circus perform. I was in so much pain, and starving b/c I couldn't eat anything since it hurt too much. The last thing I would have wanted to do was go and be jostled around by going down water slides. This is also coming from someone who got their first pair of braces in 2nd grade (just on the 4 front teeth top and bottom) and had been dealing with retainers since then, and I'm talking about what happened in 7th grade when I got my full set of braces.

 

Maybe things are done differently now, though. I have no idea. I hope she is able to have a good time!

Edited September 24, 2012 by somo_chickenlady

[Guest submarines]

I'd reschedule the ortho and let her enjoy the trip. To me doing on a fun trip after braces sounds like an unusually cruel torture. :tongue_smilie:

[craftyerin]

I'm currently wearing braces. I didn't eat ANYthing but mashed potatoes and milkshakes for days (like 5) after they were first put on. Very painful. Looks like kids may handle it better, so I hope that's the case for your daughter! I'd definitely make sure you have soft foods available to her, though.

[JudoMom]

I would reschedule her braces. You don't know how she's going to react. When I got mine on in 6th grade, my Mom & I went to the mall after. All I remember is sitting in the food court crying because they hurt so bad and I couldn't eat.

[celticmom]

:iagree: I think the distractions may help! We've never had horrible pain, just discomfort. Give an ibuprofen dose *before* the appointment, and repeat as needed. We never needed to alternate, but it wouldn't hurt to keep some Tylenol with you, just in case.

 

As for food, nothing hard or sticky, but I doubt she'd want those anyway. Soft stuff is helpful. Scrambled eggs, yogurt, mashed potatoes, smoothies.

 

Hope it works out!

 

:iagree:I would add some sort of chapstick or petroleum jelly for her lips. Mine were somewhat chapped but I don't think that this is necessarily normal.

[In the Rain]

My kids got their braces at ages 8 and 7. We had lots of soup and milkshakes those first few days. They probably took ibuprofen, but I don't remember there being much complaining. It was probably at least a week before they could eat something like a hamburger or sandwich. Finding soft textured, well balanced meals in fast food places might be tough. They would have done fine at GWL as long as we had the eating issue covered.

[Alyeska]

My dd had top braces put on in August. Even with motrin and tylenol around the clock, she was very, very uncomfortable and could not chew for several days. She lived on applesauce, mashed potatoes, and liquids. It was too uncomfortable for her to bring her teeth together to chew even soft noodles.

 

Hopefully your dd won't be that bad.

 

Is there any way they can reschedule for the following week?

[katilac]

I would reschedule the braces. You can't know how uncomfortable she will be, and sometimes adjustments need to be made or brackets don't adhere correctly. I would want to be close to the ortho that first week.

[DarlaS]

If it's not possible to reschedule, can they put them on but maybe not tighten/adjust them so much?

 

There would still be some discomfort, but maybe a gentle adjustment the first time would be something the orthodontist would be open to.

[GraciebytheBay]

My kids wouldn't have been able to enjoy a vacation that soon after having braces put on. They needed a very soft diet for a few days and were generally miserable for a few days (one of them for a week - I thought he was going to starve!). This is only our experience, though, and I see that others had little or no problem. I hope it works out well for you!

[marbel]

:iagree: I think the distractions may help! We've never had horrible pain, just discomfort. Give an ibuprofen dose *before* the appointment, and repeat as needed. We never needed to alternate, but it wouldn't hurt to keep some Tylenol with you, just in case.

 

As for food, nothing hard or sticky, but I doubt she'd want those anyway. Soft stuff is helpful. Scrambled eggs, yogurt, mashed potatoes, smoothies.

 

Hope it works out!

 

That was our experience with new braces. We didn't go to GWL, but did have a short trip right after having braces on. It worked out. It's hard to get timing perfect!

 

Of course you know best how your kids respond to discomfort!

[gingersmom]

My son just got braces on in August. The day he got them on he was pain free. The next 2 days he had pain from one bracket (and we did tylenol every 4 hours). He could only eat ice cream and mashed potatoes. After that he was fine.

 

The water park might be enough of a distraction that she would not notice the pain as much.

[joannqn]

It looks like we'll have to pay $100 more to reschedule our vacation. DD has requested it because she got her period today too. Ugh!

[joannqn]

GWL used to honor the price on different days other than homeschool days. If you are willing to reschedule, I would.

 

I'm being told they can't honor that day. The homeschool days are ordered under a block of rooms which have a special price. It's going to cost us whatever the regular rate is for the day we switch to.