Life with Braces
General Soreness
When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressure for three to five days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm salt water mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. This works well for irritated gums too.
If your teeth are sore you may rinse or eat something cold. The cold relaxes the wire and you can do this as many times as you need. If the cold doesn’t help you may take whatever you normally take for a headache. 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 may put wax on the braces to lessen this.
Loosening of Teeth
This is expected throughout treatment. Don’t worry, this is normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. The teeth will again become rigidly fixed in their newly corrected positions.
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.
Appointments
Keeping your appointments is beneficial to your treatment time. When you miss scheduled appointments it will prolong the amount of time in braces. We determine the length of time in treatment by seeing you every 4-6 weeks. Please be on time for your appointment. We reserve time just for you so the doctor will have enough time to perform the procedure. If you must cancel your appointment, please call right away.
It is important for you to see your general dentist every 6 months for check-ups and cleanings even though we see you on a regular basis.
Band
You can still play your favorite instrument with braces. You may need to put a small amount of wax on your brackets so they do not rub on your lip.
Sports
You can still play your favorite sports with braces. We ask that you please wear an orthodontic mouth guard. You can get this at our office. The orthodontic mouth guard allows your teeth to move with braces.
Brushing
It's the most important thing you can do to avoid white marks on your teeth. We will check your brushing every time you come in for your appointments. Brush your teeth after each meal- remember to brush your gums too. Brush for three minutes with a small amount of toothpaste. Use your proxa-brush after you use your toothbrush, cleaning all around the brackets, wires, and bands.
Flossing
You can floss with braces with the aide of a floss threader. When flossing you must make sure you get under the wire. Flossing helps to massage the gums and helps eliminate decay.
Fluoride
This is a gel that you will brush on your teeth after you have brushed with toothpaste and flossed. Put a small amount of fluoride on your toothbrush, brush for 1 minute, then spit out. Do not rinse out and do not eat or drink anything after brushing with fluoride for at least 30 minutes.
Eating with Braces
Your teeth may be tender to bite into certain foods when you first get your braces. You can stick to softer foods for the first couple of days. It is important to protect your orthodontic appliances when eating.
Foods to Avoid
- Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, pizza crust, chewy candy, jerky
- Crunchy foods: popcorn kernels, ice, large chips, big pretzels
- Sticky foods: caramels, gum, candy
- Hard foods: nuts, candy
- Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots, meat on bone
- Chewing on hard things ( pencils, pens or fingernails etc.) can damage the braces.
Loose Wire, Bracket or Band
If a wire protrudes and is irritating, use a blunt instrument( back of spoon or the eraser end of a pencil) and carefully, gently push the irritating wire back into place or out of the way. If a bracket comes loose from your tooth, either leave it or remove the color tie and it will fall off the wire. If a band comes off your tooth, cut the extra wire with a fingernail clipper. You can always use wax on anything that is irritating. Please call the office for an appointment so we can repair the appliances.