My experience of braces - many years ago, but for approx 6 years - is that the teeth themselves move very quickly and so the first 24 hours, even 48 can be painful, but once the teeth have got the idea where they are supposed to be, the brace simply ensures that they stay put and don't move back to their original position.

It might be worth googling on the internet for the nearest dental hospital or orthodonist to your accommodation, and make sure that you have adequate insurance for dental bills, and that your lad's EHIC card is up to date.

It might be worth limiting sticky foods - gum, toffee, rock,and he may find that the coldness of ice in drinks or ice cream may hurt his teeth initially. If he has any 'detachable bits' - such as rubber bands to keep the bite aligned, make sure you bring a reasonable amount of spares! Paracetamol will usually help pain, but ask as many questions as you can when you go back on Monday.

All the very best to him and you!

Thanks for that ,i never even thought of googling a dental hospital, will go do it now.

My daughter had a fixed brace for 18 months from the age of 13. She suffered some discomfort in the first week or so and also had a few problems with wires and brackets rubbing on her lips/cheeks - the clinic gave her some wax to put over any "sticky-out" bits and the initial discomfort of the teeth moving became easier after the first couple of weeks (apart from her 6-8 weekly appointments to have the wires tightened.) She was told to take paracetamol before and after each appointment and we were actually given a little "care pack" from the clinic, which had the wax, interdental brushes, disclosing tablets, mirror etc.
We were lucky we never had any problems with any part of her brace breaking, or brackets falling off, and she quite enjoyed choosing different coloured bands at each appointment - in particular when it was a pre-holiday appointment and she had to think about the colours of her holiday outfits and co-ordinate her bands to match. It was all made so much easier by the fact that lots of her friends had braces and between them they were quite competetive about whose teeth were getting better, who had the best colours etc. She still has a fixed retainer now (nearly two years later) which she should really have removed but it's very firmly cemented, isn't causing her any trouble and is holding her teeth in place - it's at the back of her top teeth so nobody notices it and she hasn't asked about getting it removed.
I guess we were just lucky with the type of cement and treatment she had - I know the teeth have to be very dry for the cement to stick properly. She had all her treatment at the hospital rather than at a dentist, because there was a possibility of her needing surgery on her lower jaw at age 16+, but she opted not to have the surgery.
Make sure you ask at the clinic what you should do if there is a problem while you are on holiday! As I said, we were lucky - she had her brace fitted in the Autumn and we weren't going on holiday until the following Spring, so there was lots of time to get used to things!

Iv'e had a brace fitted for the last 6 months (at the ripe old age of 50+). I was told that as long as only one or two brackets broke off (as they did the first week) it really doesn't cause a problem for a week or two.
Other than that I would go along with the excellent advise given by cyberspacekadette. The pain does wear off after a week or so and he will soon forget he has them on!

Denny

I had braces for around 3 and a half years (a long time, but i had to have other things done aswell - too many teeth for my tiny mouth lol) and i definitely recommend asking for the wax cyberspacekadette mentioned - you can basically mould it over the bracket which is rubbing - it really helps!

Also - no hard toffee or chewing gum!

I actually have a funny story about one of my braces - i was lucky enough to have a retainer one year when we went on holiday, which meant i could take it out when eating meals. It was fitted the week before we were due to fly, so i wasnt used to it yet.
So there we are, on the flight to Spain, and the meal comes out. So i delicately removed my brace and wrapped it in a piece of tissue and sat it beside my meal. I ate the meal and handed the air hostess the tray back when they were doing their rounds.

Around 20 minutes later, i suddenly remembered about my brace! Yup - i had handed it back to the air hostess! My mother was mortified having to ask them where the trays were taken to. The air hostess ended up shoulder deep in their bin searching for my brace in the tissue. She found it aswell!

Needless to say, i waited and sterilised it before putting it back in my gob lol
GG x

Can you buy the wax anywhere or do i have to ask at orthodontists for it?

They might have it at boots, but i would think the best place would be over the counter at your local dentist. Im sure any dentists would be able to sell/give you some in an emergency, even if its not your own dentists
GG x

A wire broke on my son's braces when we were in Majorca many years sgo. Hubby found a DIY shop, bought a small pair of pliers, & trimmed the wire right back. I also agree with all the previous posts. Also as they always cause discomfort for around a week when they are tightened I wouldn't advise doing this close to your holiday. Good luck - more than likely you'll be problem free.

Heres hoping it will be problem free, they changed the brace today and gave us plenty wax just in case, so fingers crossed everything be ok on holiday.