Life with Braces
Eating with Braces
What can you eat? Let’s talk about what you shouldn’t eat! If you’ve wanted to drop a few pounds, the first-week
wearing braces is just your chance! For the first day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads, and raw vegetables. Before long, you’ll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you’ll 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
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 Soreness
When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and 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 one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water and rinse your mouth vigorously. If the tenderness is severe, take whatever you normally take for headache or similar pain. The lips, cheeks, and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks 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!
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 new – corrected – positions.
Loose Wire or Band
Don’t be alarmed if a wire or band comes loose. This happens occasionally. If a wire protrudes and is irritating, use a blunt instrument (the back of a spoon or the eraser end of a pencil) and 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. 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.
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. 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.
Common Issues with Braces
Sore teeth – Teeth are usually expected to be sore after braces are placed and after each adjustment visit. You can take common over-the-counter analgesics such as Tylenol, Ibuprofen and the likes to help relieve the discomfort. A warm washcloth can be placed over the jaw can help relieve the discomfort
Wire irritation – a wire may shift and cause irritation. Use the eraser end of a pencil or a cotton swab to move the wire away from the irritated area. Also, cover the end of the wire with a piece of wax given to you by the office. If the wire is long, a clean nail clipper can be used to cut off the long end.
Loose brackets – if a bracket comes loose, leave it alone and call the office to schedule a longer appointment to repair it. Brackets and bands are expensive to replace. If bands come off, please bring them to your follow-up appointment for repair.
Loose separators – if a separator comes loose, you can try to re-insert the separators yourself as instructed by the doctor or you can call the office to have it replaced.
Sports/Athletics – a protective mouthguard is advised for playing contact sports. You can buy a mouth-guard from your local pharmacy store or from our office.
Types of Braces We Provide
The Damon System
We are pleased to offer our patients new Damon System braces and treatment techniques.
Damon System braces allow your teeth to move more comfortably and easily than traditional braces. Thanks to these innovative new braces, achieving your perfect smile will be faster and easier than you ever thought possible.
Better Results in Less Time
With the new Damon System braces, we can achieve terrific results and finish your treatment faster. Depending on your case, this may mean saving many months. After analyzing your specific needs, we will be able to provide you with a treatment plan that will have you smiling soon!
Simplified Procedures
Damon System braces are very precise and effective. With this system, we can reduce the need for many time-consuming and complicated procedures used with traditional braces.
Fewer Visits to the Office
Because Damon System braces work more efficiently, fewer adjustments are required. As a result, your appointments will be faster and fewer in number.
Greater Comfort
Due to the unique design of our new braces system, we can move your teeth into their correct positions with much less discomfort than traditional braces. Also, Damon System braces are small, very comfortable, and easy to keep clean.
Orthodontic’s Appliances
Orthodontic appliances can be used to correct the jaw shape and direct the growth toward an ideal relationship between the upper and lower jaws. Because children are growing rapidly, they can benefit enormously from an early interceptive phase of orthodontic treatment. Orthodontic appliances are often used to correct these early orthodontic problems in the mixed dentition stage. We utilize a wide variety of removable and fixed orthodontic appliances in this early phase of treatment.
There are two basic types of tooth movement appliances, removable and fixed. Removable appliances are made of wires and plastic and can be removed from the mouth by the patient. Their success is totally dependent on the patient’s compliance in wearing the appliance exactly as instructed. Fixed appliances are attached directly to the teeth. There is better control of tooth movement with fixed appliances. However, cooperation from the patient in maintaining excellent oral hygiene while wearing fixed appliances is essential in preventing cavities and gum disease.
Braces do most of the work moving teeth into place. But you may also need to wear dental appliances to help move and protect your teeth. Learn how your braces and appliances work, and the know-how to take care of them. Wearing your equipment the right way is the fastest way to straighten teeth.
Braces put steady pressure on your teeth to move them into place. As your teeth move, your orthodontist will adjust the braces.
Retainer Instructions
Wear your retainers full time, until the doctor instructs otherwise.
Take your retainers out when eating…and always put retainers in their case! (Most appliances are lost in school lunchrooms or restaurants.)
Clean retainers thoroughly once a day with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Use warm but not hot water. Brushing retainers remove the plaque and eliminate odors. Efferdent® or other orthodontic appliance cleaners can be used, but do not take the place of brushing.
When retainers are not in your mouth they should ALWAYS be in a retainer case. Pets love to chew on them!
Initially, you may find it difficult to speak. Practice speaking, reading, or singing out loud to get used to them faster.
Retainers are breakable, so treat them with care. If retainers are lost or broken call us immediately.
If you have any questions or concerns about your retainers or your retainers need adjusting, call us. Do not try to adjust them yourself.
Always bring your retainers to your appointments.
Retainer replacement is expensive…with proper care, they will last for years!
Remove retainers when swimming.
Keep retainers away from hot water, hot car dashboards, pockets, washing machine, and napkins. More information on this website @ https://Cochranorthodontics.com