What To Expect
Knowing how to properly care for your new braces is an important part of your orthodontic treatment. Here's what to expect from your life with braces.
Foods You Can Eat With Braces:
- Dairy — soft cheese, pudding, milk-based drinks
- Breads — soft tortillas, pancakes, muffins, donuts
- Grains — pasta, soft cooked rice, pizza
- Meats/poultry — soft cooked chicken, meatballs, lunch meats
- Seafood — tuna, salmon, crab cakes
- Vegetables — mashed potatoes, steamed spinach, beans
- Fruits — applesauce, bananas, fruit juice
- Treats — ice cream, milkshakes, cake, pie, soft cookies
Foods To Avoid With Braces:
- Crunchy foods — popcorn, ice
- Sticky foods — caramel candies, laffy taffy
- Hard foods — nuts, hard candies, lollipops
- Foods that require biting into — apples, raw carrots
- Sugary and acidic drinks — soda and Gatorade
Discomfort With Orthodontic Treatment
Loose Teeth
During the initial period of your treatment, it is common to feel teeth loosen for a time before moving into the correct position. Don't worry, this is totally normal and a part of the treatment process!
Loose Brackets or Bands
Call our office immediately for advice if a bracket or wire is loosened. The bracket may need to be re-fitted as soon as possible. You may have a situation that requires cutting a wire or sliding a bracket off a wire at night or over the weekend. If you need to cut a wire in case of emergency, you may use fingernail clippers that have been washed and disinfected in alcohol. Please call our office the next business day, so that we may schedule an appointment for you.
Caring For Your Appliances
We recommend brushing after every meal with a soft-bristled toothbrush and fluoridated toothpaste and using a Waterpik or equivalent. Failure to do so can and will affect the duration and effectiveness of your treatment.
Sports and Braces
Many of our patients are actively engaged in sports and that's great! There's no reason for that to change once you have braces. However, we do recommend you wear a mouthguard while playing. In the case of an emergency, please see our Emergency Information Page.
