After my last tightening, I legit felt like my upper teeth were zapping my eyeballs. Is that even possible?
Totally get what you mean—I once swore my front teeth were giving me a sinus headache. Not sure if it’s “possible,” but the pain does seem to travel to weird places. And yeah, soup? Might as well be molten metal for a day or two.
That “zapping” feeling is wild but I actually think it makes sense, weirdly. The nerves for your upper teeth and sinuses are super close together—like, the infraorbital nerve runs right under your eye and also connects to your upper teeth. When braces get tightened, the pressure can irritate those nerves, and your brain sometimes has trouble figuring out where the pain’s coming from. That’s why it can feel like it’s in your eyeball or even your cheekbones.
I’ve had days where chewing felt like it was vibrating through my whole face, and once I even got this dull ache behind my nose. It freaked me out until my ortho explained it’s all connected up there. The sinus headache thing is real too—pressure from shifting teeth can totally set that off.
Soup being “molten metal” is too real. The first day after a tightening, even breathing in cold air made my teeth feel like they were buzzing. It’s so strange how pain gets “referred” to places you’d never expect... biology is wild sometimes.
Soup being “molten metal” is too real. The first day after a tightening, even breathing in cold air made my teeth feel like they were buzzing.
Yeah, that buzzing with cold air is exactly what I got too. It’s wild how your brain mixes up where the pain’s coming from—sometimes I’d swear my cheekbone was throbbing, not my teeth. Ever notice if it gets worse at night? For me, lying down seemed to make the sinus pressure way more noticeable. Wonder if it’s just the blood flow or gravity doing something weird...
sometimes I’d swear my cheekbone was throbbing, not my teeth
That’s exactly what I felt too, especially after my second tightening. I legit thought something was wrong with my face until I realized it was just the pain radiating out from my teeth. It’s weird how it tricks you like that. For me, the nighttime thing was real—lying down always made it feel worse, like the pressure just settled in. I’ve read it’s partly blood flow, but honestly, I think it’s also because you’re not distracted by anything else at night, so the pain just takes over.
One thing I noticed: if I propped my head up with extra pillows, it helped a bit with the sinus-y feeling. Not a magic fix, but it took the edge off. And yeah, soup is both a blessing and a curse—hot enough to feel comforting but sometimes so hot it felt like torture.
If the pain ever feels like it’s moving up your jaw or into your ear, I’d probably check in with your ortho just to be safe. But honestly, weird pain patterns seem pretty par for the course with braces.
Honestly, I was convinced my whole head was malfunctioning after my first adjustment. The pain sort of ping-ponged between my teeth, jaw, and even my cheekbone—like some weird game of “where will it hurt next?” Lying down definitely made it worse for me too. The soup struggle is so real... burned my tongue more than once trying to chase comfort food. I keep a cold pack nearby now, just in case things get dramatic. Braces are wild.
