Life with Braces

Life with Braces | Types of Braces | Types of Appliances | Retainers

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. Patients who do not keep their teeth clean may require more frequent visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning. Adults who have a history of gum disease should also see a periodontist during orthodontic treatment.

Care of Appliances

To successfully complete your treatment plan, you must work together with Dr. Chadwell. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if you consistently wear the rubber bands and/or other appliances as prescribed. Damaged appliances lengthen the treatment time.

Eating with Braces

What can you eat and what foods are considered off limits? For the first few days, stick to soft foods while avoiding tough meats, hard breads, and raw vegetables. You'll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you're wearing braces.

Fortunately, your orthodontic appliances actually encourage healthy eating habits. Most of the foods that you enjoy, including apples and pizza, can be eaten if they are cut into small pieces. Even some desserts, like ice cream and brownies, are okay in moderation. Foods to avoid are those that can damage your teeth and braces, and include but are not limited to the following:

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

And remember that chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.

General Soreness

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and the teeth may be tender to biting pressures for a few days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water and rinse your mouth vigorously. If needed, you can take Tylenol or whatever you normally take for headaches or similar pain. The lips, cheeks and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks as they become accustomed to the surface of the braces. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this temporary discomfort - we'll show you how!

Loosening of Teeth

This is to be expected throughout treatment, so don’t worry, it's normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. The teeth will again become rigidly fixed in their new – corrected – positions.

Loose Wire, Bracket or Band

Don't be alarmed if a wire, bracket or band becomes loose – this can occasionally happen. If a wire protrudes and is irritating, use a blunt instrument (the eraser end of a pencil for example) and carefully, gently push the irritating wire under the archwire. If irritation to the lips or mouth continues, place wax or wet cotton on the wire to reduce the annoyance. Call our office as soon as possible for an appointment to check and repair the appliances. If any piece comes off, save it and bring it with you to the office.

Chadwell Orthodontics provides orthodontic treatments for kids, teens, and adults in Duncan, Greenville and Spartanburg, SC. Dr. Brandon Chadwell specializes in orthodontics and offers treatments including Invisalign invisible braces, In-Ovation self-ligating brackets, lingual braces, and traditional metal braces.
Call to schedule an appointment.