What To Expect With Braces
Braces 101: Getting Started with Confidence
Getting braces is a common step for kids, teens, and adults alike—and there’s no need to feel nervous. The placement appointment is quick and straightforward. While your braces may feel a bit unfamiliar at first, your mouth will adjust within a week or two. Before you know it, they’ll feel like a natural part of your routine.
How are Braces put on?
Your orthodontist will clean and dry your teeth. After your teeth are cleaned, your orthodontist will apply bonding glue to the front of your teeth and attach the brackets to them. The archwire will then be placed in the brackets and secured with tiny rubber elastic bands.
Keep your braces clean.
Oral hygiene is vital when you’re wearing braces since it is slightly harder to clean teeth and gums while wearing braces. That’s why we recommend brushing your teeth four times per day (once after every meal and then again before you go to sleep. Also, you’ll want to floss daily. If you’re having a hard time getting the floss around the archwire, you can use a dental tool, such as a floss threader, to help. Braces also tend to wear down a toothbrush faster, so you may need to replace toothbrushes more often while your child undergoes orthodontic treatment.
What can you eat?
Certain foods should be avoided because they could break the wires off of the braces or get stuck in the teeth and braces. The food to avoid includes sticky and gooey foods and hard and crunchy foods. Hard foods can sometimes break the brackets and wires of your braces while sticky foods can tug at the brackets and wires, often loosening them.
Dealing with Discomfort
It can take some time to get used to having braces. After the braces have been placed or after they’ve been adjusted, there will typically be a few-day period where you’ll experience some discomfort or soreness. One of the most common complaints is that the brackets can rub against the interior of the mouth.
- Stick to eating soft foods for the first few days.
- Avoid acidic food and drinks as they can aggravate any sores that you may have in your mouth.
- Apply orthodontic wax to the parts of the brackets or wires that are irritating your mouth, covering these areas of your braces will help to keep them from rubbing.
