Taking Care of Your Braces
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. You will 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
- Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
- Sticky foods: caramels, gum
- Hard foods: nuts, candy, Jolly Ranchers
- 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 Tenderness
When you get your braces on, you may feel general tenderness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for a couple of days. The lips, cheeks, and tongue may also become irritated for a short time 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!
Loose Wire or Band
Occasionally, a wire or band may come loose. If a wire protrudes and is irritating, use the eraser end of a pencil and carefully push the wire away from the lip or cheek. Simply get it out of the way. If irritation to the lips or mouth continues, place wax on the wire to reduce the annoyance. If something becomes loose, call our office 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.
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. While the braces are on, remember to keep your six month cleaning appointments with your dentist.
Athletics
If you play sports, you may need an orthodontic mouthguard which you can get at our office.
