Well!

[Scrwballsgrl]

Well here we are two weeks til my sisters wedding & Thanksgiving & guess what I've got?





Another Ear Infection!

This makes the third one in 6mths! I'm starting to think it has somethign to do with my braces or the TMJ? Has anyone heard of people with braces getting ear infections? I didn't use to have them and I got my braces put on in May and have had three since. Opinions? The only good thing I'm getting off work early today but it will be spent at the doctors office :( My ears hurt!

[WebLady]

I don't have any advice other than to see a Dr. I know ear infections hurt; hope you feel better soon!

My sister had recurrant ear infections for a while and they put tubes in her ears. This was a little over a year or so ago. She has braces, but I am not sure if it is related or not. Strange though; she has a bad infection now even with the tubes in her ears.

[gwenshack]

I'm sorry to hear that! I hope you feel better very soon, especially with all the fun things coming up for you...:)

[RevMatty]

There are cases of people who have had ear problems or headaches with braces.
Most ear infections are caused by fluid build up due to colds or throat infections. If your body is reacting the metal in the braces, could be causing a throat infection leading to the ear infection.


Here is a of a case of 11-year old Holly Ulrich of Minnesota. Holly, an apparently healthy girl, had a simple impacted bicuspid, so an orthodontist applied stainless steel braces.
On July 13 the top braces were installed. Shortly after these upper braces were installed, Holly complained of a pain behind her ear and that her "eyes watered." (Headaches are a common complaint with new braces wearers and are not considered a serious symptom of anything!)
Seven days later the lower braces were installed. Within a few days after that installation the left side of Holly's face became paralyzed. Her left eye would not close, her right eyelid closed down and her mouth was distorted into a grimace.
The family took Holly to the pediatrician. Julie Ulrich, her mother, told Search for Health that she "felt the braces had something to do with the problem." The pediatrician dismissed the braces as a cause of the facial paralysis and referred the Ulrich family to a "child" neurologist. This specialist also dismissed the mother's question about whether the braces may have had a role in this problem and referred Holly to an "adult" neurologist. This expert also ruled out the braces and referred Holly to an ear, nose and throat specialist.
The consensus of medical opinion diagnosed Holly with "Bell's Palsy." This is a facial paralysis named after Sir Charles Bell and the experts say it can be caused by trauma, injury or virus. In Holly's case they said it was a virus.
It gives one pause to think, when the medical experts admit that trauma or injury can cause Bell's Palsy, yet they give the obvious trauma of braces short shrift in this case, and likely in other cases. Millions of applications of braces clamp down on children's teeth, and some adults too, each year and the specialists are quick to point out that "nothing adverse happens" to the wearer.
Well, nothing we may notice. But I've yet to talk with the product of orthodontia who didn't complain of "headaches."
Also, has anyone questioned why so many millions have crooked teeth these days? God did not create crooked teeth. We have done something to interfere with optimum development in our children. Could it be malnutrition and pollution?
Anyway, back to Holly Ulrich.
For 10 weeks the medical specialists sought valiantly, but unsuccessfully, to isolate a virus, and at the same time young Holly was socked full of steroids, but showed no improvement.
Her mother related how terrifying it was to hear one of the doctor's tell her that a percentage of the damage to Holly appeared to be "permanent."
At about the nine-week mark, Julie Ulrich was beside herself with concern. She called her best friend's brother, who happened to be a neurologist who had served his residency at Mayo Clinic. He told her to "diligently pursue the braces" as a possible cause.
Returning to the orthodontist, who was appalled at Holly's condition, Mrs. Ulrich was told: "There is no way the braces could have caused the problem."
Intuitively, Mrs. Ulrich continued to suspect the braces despite the powerful and arrogant assurances of the various experts. Then she heard about Gary Jacobsen DDS of Minneapolis, who happens to be a disciple of Hal Huggins DDS one of the leading modern mavericks taking on the profession.
Dr. Jacobsen urged her to have the braces removed as soon as possible. To him, the girl's system was obviously incompatible with a material in the braces, or the electrical circuitry generated by the metal braces in her particular mouth caused adverse nerve reactions.
The family orthodontist agreed to remove the braces, but was not convinced it was even remotely related to the palsy. Two days after the braces were removed Holly hopefully pointed out that when she pinched her face that "it felt different."
After seven days she had movement in the paralyzed portions of her face and she was on the road to recovery.
The ear, nose and throat specialist saw her at this time. It was a different doctor, not familiar with the case. He noted that what he was seeing in Holly "did not go along with the chart."
"We had the braces removed," Mrs. Ulrich said.
The specialist did not see any reference to braces in the charts and, as Mrs. Ulrich reports, he "hemmed and hawed, but didn't have any comment." The braces were removed October 6, 1992. By October 19 Holly was virtually back to normal. To his credit the family orthodontist planned to "write the case up and turn it in."

[NOTKT]

That's very interesting and at least needs more research. When do you get them off?

[Scrwballsgrl]

Wow! That poor girl. Thankfully I havne't had more than the normal amount of discomfort due to wearing braces, and getting accustomed to all the appliances that go with them. Brackets, wires, etc.
That is an interesting artical though.
They come off in approximately 16 more mths (he had told me 22 -18 mths at the outset). I just thought since I was never that prone to ear infections before that it might be contributing.

IDK:ooh: