Life With Braces
Eating with Braces
For the first few days, choose soft foods, such as eggs, pasta, or smoothies. A careful orthodontic patient can eat almost any food and not damage the appliances. However, hard foods and objects, sticky foods, and foods high in sugar may cause trouble.
Avoid hard foods such as pizza crust, ice, hard rolls, and hard candy.
Do not chew on hard objects such as pens, pencils, or fingernails.
Avoid sticky foods such as caramels, Skittles and Starburst.
Limit foods high in sugar. Sugar can increase the plaque that forms on your teeth causing cavities and permanent white marks.
Take special care when eating these foods:
- Apples and Carrots: Cut into bite size pieces
- Corn on the cob: Cut the corn off the cob
- Popcorn: Avoid the hard kernels. Use floss to remove husks that may get trapped between the teeth and gums.
Chew sugar free gum to help relieve aches and tenderness.
General Soreness
When your braces are placed, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and your 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 1 teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water and rinse your mouth vigorously. In addition, take acetaminophen or ibuprofen every 3-4 hours as necessary. The lips, cheeks, and tongue may also become irritated for 1 to 2 weeks until they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this.
Loosening of Teeth
It is normal to experience teeth that feel slightly loose. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. The teeth will again become stable and fixed in their new corrected positions at the end of treatment.
Loose Wire or Band
Don't be alarmed if a wire or bracket comes loose. This happens occasionally. If a wire protrudes and is irritating, use a blunt instrument (e.g., an eraser end of a pencil) and gently push the irritating wire under the archwire to 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 with any questions.
Care of Appliances
To successfully complete treatment, you will need to work with Dr. Fowler and his staff. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their correct positions if you are cooperative in wearing the rubber bands or headgear as prescribed. Damaged appliances will lengthen your treatment time.
Brushing
It is important to brush and floss regularly when you have braces so the teeth and gums stay healthy. While wearing braces, some patients may require more frequent visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning.
Athletics
A protective mouthguard is advised for playing contact sports. In case of any accident involving the face, check your mouth and the appliances immediately. If teeth are loosened or the appliances damaged, phone at once to let us know. In the meantime, treat your discomfort as you would treat any general soreness.
