Notes

Eating with Braces

What can you eat? Let's talk about what you shouldn't eat! For the first day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads, and raw vegetables. Before long, you'll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you'll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you're wearing braces.

Foods to Avoid
• Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice, pizza crust
• Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
• Sticky foods: caramels, gum, energy bars
• Hard foods: nuts, candy
• Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots
• Chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.

General Soreness

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth, and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. If the tenderness is severe, take whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain. The lips, cheeks and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We'll show you how!

Loosening of Teeth

This is to be expected throughout treatment. Don't worry! It's normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. The teeth will again become rigidly fixed in their new – corrected – positions.

Loose Wire or Band

Don't be alarmed if a wire or band comes loose. This happens occasionally. If wire protrudes and is irritating, use a blunt instrument (back of a spoon or the eraser end of a pencil) and carefully, gently push the irritating wire under the archwire. Simply get it out of the way. If irritation to the lips or mouth continues, place wax or wet cotton on the wire to reduce the annoyance. Call our office as soon as possible for an appointment to check and repair the appliances. If any piece comes off, save it and bring it with you to the office.

Care of Appliances

To successfully complete the treatment plan, the patient must work together with the orthodontist. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if the patient consistently wears the rubber bands, headgear or other appliances as prescribed. Damaged appliances lengthen the treatment time significantly, call our office as soon as possible to check and repair anything that you think is broken!

Brushing

It's more important than ever to brush and floss regularly when you have braces, so the teeth and gums are healthy after orthodontic treatment. It has been shown that a patient's plaque levels can increase by 400 percent after braces have been placed if hygiene is not meticulous. Patients who do not keep their teeth clean may require more frequent visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning. Adults who have a history of gum disease should also see a periodontist during orthodontic treatment.

Please read through the short clips below for proper brushing and flossing instructions.



Brushing: Step 1

Using a dry brush with a small amount of toothpaste place bristles where gums and teeth meet.

Brushing: Step 2

For 10 seconds on each tooth use circular, vibrating motions around the gum lines.

Brushing: Step 3

Every tooth of both arches should be brushed slowly.

Brushing: Step 4

Brush the lower teeth from the gum line up and the upper teeth from the gum line down. Brush the roof of your mouth and your tongue too!

Flossing: Step 1

Carefully thread unwaxed floss between braces and wire. You may find a floss threader helpful.

Flossing: Step 2

Carefully floss around the braces.

Flossing: Step 3

Carefully floss around the gum areas.

Flossing: Step 4

Carefully floss around each tooth.

Links

Sonicare®
sonicare
Sonicare’s technology is designed to deliver superior results.

Sonicare toothbrushes, inspired by the sonic technology used in dental offices, have dynamic cleaning action to reduce plaque along the gumline.

www.sonicare.com


Colgate
colgate
Trusted Oral Care products and expert information to keep your smile bright, beautiful and healthy.

www.colgate.com


Crest
crest
Toothpaste, Teeth Whitening, Toothbrush, Mouthwash... and more. Crest offers dental hygiene products such as toothpaste, teeth whitening system, toothbrush, mouthwash, and more.

www.crest.com

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