Smiles for the Future Pediatric Dentistry

Taking Care of your Mouth with Braces

You’re on your way to having a healthy and beautiful smile. There are some important things to remember about life with braces that will make your treatment better and faster.

First, remember to continue to see your general dentist for cleanings every three to six months and routine dental care.

Problem Foods

Avoid eating hard and sticky foods that will pull or knock the braces off your teeth.

When a bracket comes off, that tooth is no longer moving. Excessive breakage can make your treatment take longer.

For healthy hard foods, like apples, bagels and carrots, cut them up first and carefully chew them on your back teeth. Remove meat from the bone before eating it.

Some other examples of things to avoid include: Jolly ranchers, life savers, tootsie rolls, now & laters, licorice, gum, taffy, caramel, skittles, hard candy, sugar daddies, popcorn kernels, hard pretzels, and bread crusts.

Also, avoid chewing ice, pencils, pens, or other hard objects. Avoid biting your nails.

Cleaning Teeth, Gums, and Braces

It’s important to clean the teeth, gums, and braces at least three times a day to prevent cavities and gum disease. Pay special attention to the gums and the part of your tooth right next to the braces.

At night, brush with prescription toothpaste. Spit it out, but don’t rinse with water. Do not eat or drink afterwards. An over-the-counter fluoride rinse is also recommended.

To clean the top and bottom of the braces, angle the brush ~45° from the tooth surface.

For the sides of the braces, place the proxy brush under the wire and clean with an up-and-down motion.

Insert and remove floss by threading floss under the wire. Once under the wire, you can floss between the teeth normally.

Place the floss between the teeth, and then back and forth under the gum tissue.

Keeping your teeth healthy with braces takes extra time and effort in the beginning, but will get faster and easier.

Emergencies

Most emergency situations can be managed at home and repaired during normal office hours.

As you get used to having the braces, they may rub against the gums creating a sore. Please dry off the bracket and place a small ball of wax to cushion the area.

Wire poking– If a wire is poking your gums or cheek, clean a toenail clipper and trim the wire where it is coming out of the bracket. If this doesn’t work, cover the wire in wax to cushion the area and call the office.

Bracket fell off the tooth– The bracket may be sliding on the wire. Please call the office so we can either see you for an emergency visit or plan ahead to fix it at your next scheduled appointment.