taking care of your braces
Home Care
Remember to see your general dentist every 6 months
Oral Hygiene
The day the braces are placed, we schedule extra time for patient education. We will thoroughly review all aspects of oral hygiene, and we will give you a new patient kit filled with everything you need to take outstanding care of your teeth. Good oral hygiene can not be stressed enough during orthodontic treatment. Good hygiene practices allow for healthier gums, faster tooth movement, and tremendously reduce the chance of having enamel scarring once the brackets are removed. If oral hygiene is less than ideal, we will recommend more frequent visits to see your general dentist for cleanings, over-the-counter fluoride treatments, and we may preemptively place sealants around the brackets at greatest risk for enamel damage.
After your braces are placed, you will notice that it is much more difficult to keep your teeth clean. The brackets and archwires create areas that trap food and plaque against the surfaces of the teeth. Dental plaque contains acid producing bacteria, and if it remains on the enamel surface for an extended period of time, the acid will cause enamel scarring or white spots that may be permanent. To ensure the teeth stay clean and healthy, remember to brush thoroughly above and below the brackets, holding the brush at a 45-degree angle. Make sure to brush using small circles on all surfaces of each tooth. Flossing should be performed daily using the techniques and supplies demonstrated at each monthly visit. A Waterpik can be used to assist debris removal, but it should not be considered a substitute for flossing.
Food To Crave and Food To Save:
Be assured that there are plenty of wonderful foods to enjoy throughout your orthodontic treatment. There are some types of food that can cause damage to the brackets and wires. When components get damaged, the results are: patient discomfort, unwanted tooth movement, additional trips to our office, and increased treatment times. Patients should check each bracket once per week to make sure they remain tightly bonded to the teeth, and please call for an appointment as soon as a problem is discovered.
To help you decide which foods are appropriate, remember, the glue holding the brackets to the teeth is very brittle. When pressure is applied that exceeds the strength of the glue, the brackets will “pop” off the enamel surface. Therefore hard foods should be avoided: popcorn, peppermint, nuts, ice, hard chips, whole apples and other related fruits and vegetables, hard bread crust and rolls, corn on the cob, and tough meats like jerky or those containing bones.
Sticky foods are also very damaging to brackets and archwires, and these items should be avoided all together: Gum, Caramels, Sugar Babies, Jolly Ranchers, Taffy, Star Bursts, Skittles, Toffee, and Tootsie Rolls to name a few.
Tips to help you enjoy your favorite foods while in treatment:
- Fruits and vegetables can be cut into small pieces and placed on the back teeth.
- Meats normally served on the bone can be trimmed away from the bone and cut into bite size pieces.
- Corn on the cob can quickly be made “braces friendly” by cutting the kernels from the cob with a knife.
- Cookies can be warmed in a microwave, or dunked in milk before eating to soften them before biting.
- Pizza is perfectly fine to eat while wearing braces as long as the crust is trimmed away first.
In general, it is good to avoid processed sugars as much as possible. It is sugar in our diets that feed the bacteria responsible for causing enamel scarring. Try to eat foods with low sugar content, and avoid sodas and other drinks with high amounts of sugar.
Retainer Wear & Retainer Care
Retainers are a very important to make sure that your teeth remain straight and stable in the same position. Teeth have a great deal of “memory” and will try to return to their original position once the braces are removed. Teeth are most likely to move soon after removal of the braces, and thus we recommend retainers be worn full time for the first 4 to 6 months after the braces are off. Eventually, patients will only wear their retainers a few nights a week, but it is important to progress to this stage slowly. All patients have different levels of relapse potential, and some will need to sleep in their retainers every night indefinitely.
Your retainers should be cleaned every time you brush your teeth. Simply brush the appliance using a regular tooth brush and tooth paste. Whenever you remove your retainer from your mouth, place it in a carrying case. Never, never place a retainer in a napkin, as this is the most common way retainers are lost. In addition, animals frequently chew retainers left in easily accessible places. Dogs can quickly damage retainers beyond repair. Once again, always place retainers in a hard protective case when not in use.
CONTACT US
Orthodontic Associates of North Texas
Monday - Thursday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
3180 Teasley Lane,
Denton, TX 76205
Wednesdays
8:30 am – 5:00 pm
26615 US-380,
Providence Village, TX 76227
If you have an emergency, please call our office immediately. In most cases we will be able to see you that day. If the emergency falls over a weekend, or a day that we are out of the office, please call the office number (940-381-1988) and you will hear a phone number to call in the event of an emergency. The doctor or assistant on call will be more than happy to meet you and relieve you of any orthodontic associated discomfort. There are no additional fees for emergency visits.
Please fill out the form and we will contact you as soon as possible! Feel free to call our office anytime during our office hours.
