Life with Braces
Eating with Braces
What can you 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 like soup and yogurt—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. Let’s talk about what you shouldn’t eat!
Foods to Avoid
- Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
- Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
- Sticky foods: caramels, gum, jolly ranchers, laffy taffy
- Hard foods: nuts, candy
- Hard foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots
- Chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage your braces and that will cause treatment to take longer.
General Soreness
When you get your braces on, your mouth and teeth may be tender and there will be discomfort when you bite into things. You can expect this to last about a week. Rinsing your mouth with a warm salt water mouthwash can help alleviate the soreness. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. If the tenderness is severe, take aspirin or whatever you normally take for headaches or similar pain. Your lips, cheeks and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks, but they will toughen and become accustomed to your braces. Temporary use of wax on the brackets can also be helpful. 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. In time, your teeth will become rigidly fixed in their new – corrected – positions.
Loose Wire or Band
Don’t be alarmed if a wire or band comes loose, this can happen occasionally. 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 your treatment plan, you and the orthodontist must work together. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if you consistently wear 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 your teeth and gums are healthy during and 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.