Life with Braces

Eating with Braces

What can you eat? Let's talk about what you shouldn't eat. For the first few days, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads and raw vegetables. Before long, you'll be able to eat something a bit crunchier again. But you'll need to protect your appliances when you eat for as long as you're wearing braces.

Foods to Avoid (a few examples):

• Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
• Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
• Sticky foods: caramels, gum
• Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots
• Chewing hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.
• Do not chew on athletic mouthguards. This will cause broken/loose brackets.

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 several days. This can be relieved by rinsing your mouth with a warm saltwater solution. Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. If tenderness is severe, take whatever you normally take for a 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 until cheeks are comfortable.

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 newly corrected positions.

Loose Wire, Bracket 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 (eraser end of pencil or back of a spoon) and carefully, gently push the irritating wire in. Simply get it out of the way. If irritation of the lips or mouth continues, place wax on the wire to reduce the annoyance. (Orthodontic wax is available at all pharmacies near the toothbrush section or in our office vestibule 24 hours a day.) Call our office to schedule a special appointment to check or repair the braces. If a piece comes off, save it and bring it to your next appointment.

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 elastics, appliances and retainers 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.

Learn proper brushing and flossing techniques: watch video »