Life with Braces
The First Day
Many times by dinnertime the day you get your braces, your teeth will feel tender when you bite. This is because the initial pressures caused by the braces gently stretch and compress the tissues surrounding each tooth and the bone surrounding each tooth is preparing for changes that will allow for tooth movement. Everybody’s response is different, but usually your teeth will be the most sensitive this first night.
General Soreness
- If your teeth are sore: Ibuprofen is very effective because it targets bone discomfort. You will probably want soft foods to eat until the tenderness goes away.
- If your gums and teeth are sore: Cold, like fruit juice or ice cream is very comforting.
- If your cheeks are sore from rubbing against the braces: Use wax to cover the brace. Warm saltwater rinses will also help (Dissolve 1/8 teaspoon salt in 8 oz. water).
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 newly corrected positions.
Eating with Braces
Eating with braces will seem very strange at first. What and how you eat is very important so as not to break a bracket off your teeth, and to be able to easily clean your teeth. The food rules are simply stated:
- Nothing hard or sticky which will break or pull off a brace.
- Chew small bites.
- Don’t bite into hard foods with your front teeth. Cut fruit/vegetables/hard foods into small bite-sized pieces and chew with your back teeth.
- Take meat off the bone – chicken/ribs.
- Cut corn-on-the-cob off the cob
Foods to Avoid
- Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
- Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
- Sticky foods: caramels, gum
- 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.
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. If any piece comes off, save it in a baggy/envelope and bring it with you to your appointment.
Please call our office for an appointment to repair your brace.
Care of Appliances
To successfully complete your treatment and accomplish our goal, we must work together as a team. You must help us by doing your part in keeping the braces and teeth clean, not breaking the braces off and keeping your regular appointments. Damaged braces may lengthen your treatment time. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if you consistently wear the rubber bands, headgear or other appliances as prescribed.
Brushing
It's more important than ever to brush and floss regularly when you have braces, so the teeth and gums are healthy during and after orthodontic treatment. Brushing teeth with braces is more time consuming, but we will give you some pointers on how to accomplish this successfully. We want to prevent decalcification of the enamel around the edges of the braces, as well as cavities and inflammation of the gum tissue. Decalcification is when food and debris is allowed to remain behind causing the removal of calcium from the enamel resulting in opaque white marks. These marks are usually permanent, and very difficult to minimize.
