Life with Braces
Congratulations on getting braces at Lee Orthodontics in Concord, CA! You are on your way to a smile you can be proud of! However, while you are wearing braces, you’ll need to take special care of them and your teeth. That means avoiding certain foods that can damage your braces, and remembering to brush and floss regularly to keep your teeth clean and healthy.
Eating with Braces
Eating the wrong types of food can break brackets and snap wires, which means you’ll have to make extra visits to our Concord, CA office to have your braces repaired. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer. While you have braces, avoid foods that are:
- Sticky (caramels, taffy, bubble gum, fruit chews)
- Crunchy (chips, hard granola bars, hard taco shells, popcorn)
- Hard (apples, carrots, bagel, ice, nuts, hard candies, ice)
Foods you can eat with braces are:
- Dairy — soft cheese, pudding, milk-based drinks
- Breads — soft tortillas, pancakes, muffins without nuts
- Grains — pasta, soft cooked rice
- 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 without nuts, milkshakes, Jell-O, soft cake
Brushing and Flossing
The greatest challenge is remembering to brush three times a day for two minutes each time, and to floss after meals. Brushing and flossing will take more time when you have braces, but like anything in life, practice makes perfect.
To brush, angle your tooth brush at a 45-degree angle above the brackes, toward your gum line. From there, you would brush in little circles all the way across the arch of teeth. Next, angle your tooth brush the opposite 45 degrees above the brackets, away from the gum line. Again, brush in small circles all the way across the arch of teeth. Finally, you would brush underneath the brackets, allowing the bristles to go underneath the wire and around the bottom of the brackets. Brush the chewing surfaces and behind the teeth as normal.
To floss, attach a floss threader to a piece of floss. Feed the floss underneath the wire and between the two teeth. Once you have made it to this step, you floss as normal: seesawing the floss between the teeth, making a curve against each tooth and flossing up and down. Finally, pull the floss out of your teeth, then out from the wire. Repeat these steps until every tooth is flossed.
Dealing with Soreness
Just like being sore after exercising, your teeth will be sore after getting an orthodontic adjustment. Taking an over-the-counter pain medication as directed on the bottle should help alleviate any discomfort.
Your lips, cheeks, and tongue may also become irritated as they toughen and become used to the braces. To lessen the tenderness, we will give you some wax to put over the braces.
Loose Teeth
Teeth can get a little loose as they move because the ligament around the root of each tooth loosens to allow for movement. This is normal. When your teeth have moved to their final positions, the ligaments will become tight again, and your teeth will no longer feel loose.
Playing Sports with Braces
If you play a sport, you need to wear a mouthguard to protect your braces and your teeth. You can get this from us. In case of a sports emergency, be sure to immediately check your mouth and appliance for damage. If you notice any loose teeth or appliance damage, please contact our Concord, CA office right away. You can temporarily relieve the discomfort by applying wax or rinsing your mouth with warm saltwater.
Book your first visit today!
Invisalign, Metal braces, and Clear braces in Concord CA area. If you would like to make an appointment for a complimentary orthodontic consultation, contact Lee Orthodontics, Concord, CA, best orthodontist for metal braces and clear braces and Invisalign, by calling the office or using the online booking feature. A strong, beautiful, healthy, straighter, and more confident smile awaits you. We are happily accepting new patients in the San Francisco area, East Bay area, including Concord, Pleasant Hill, Bay Point, Clayton, Martinez, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, Lafayette, Alamo, Benicia, Orinda, Moraga, Danville, San Ramon, Hercules, Berkeley, and Oakland.
