Life with Braces

Eating with Braces

For the first day or two, soft foods are probably best as you might be mildly sore because your teeth are beginning to move already! Avoid tough meats, hard breads, and raw vegetables. Try soft foods such as macaroni and cheese, soups, mash potatoes, pasta, and ice cream. It won’t be long before you will be back to eating your usual diet – the only difference may be is how you eat certain foods. It is going to be really important to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat as long as you're wearing braces.

Foods to Avoid

Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice, chips
Sticky foods: caramels, gum
Hard foods: nuts, candy
Foods you have to bite into: corn on the cob, apples, carrots
Chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils or fingernails) can damage the braces.

Damaged braces will increase your treatment time. When your braces are put on, we will review how to eat the foods you love without causing damage to your braces.

General Soreness

After your braces are put on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth, and your teeth may be tender to biting pressures for three to five days. If the tenderness is severe, take Tylenol or whatever you normally take for a headache or similar pain. Until your mouth becomes accustomed to the appliances, your lips, cheeks and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks as they adjust and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. Wax can help alleviate the discomfort, as can rinsing your mouth with a warm salt-water mouthwash. Dissolve one teaspoonful of salt in 8 ounces of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. You can put wax on the braces to lessen this. We'll show you how!

Loosening of Teeth

Loose teeth are to be expected throughout treatment. Don't worry! It's normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. Once treatment is complete, your teeth will again become rigidly fixed in their new – corrected – positions. This is why retainers are necessary after orthodontic treatment!

Care of Appliances

To obtain a beautiful smile, the patient must cooperate with any special instructions given by Dr. Caggiano. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if the patient consistently wears the rubber bands or other appliances as prescribed. Damaged appliances, unfortunately, lengthens the treatment time.

Brushing

When you have braces, it's more important than ever to brush and floss regularly. We want to make sure that your teeth and gums are healthy after orthodontic treatment. When you get your braces, we will review the proper way to brush and floss to maintain a healthy and beautiful smile. If you have poor oral hygiene during orthodontic treatment, you increase your risk of getting cavities, decalcification of enamel (“white spots”), and gingivitis/periodontitis.

Patients having a difficult time maintaining good oral hygiene may require more frequent visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning, and adults who have a history of gum disease should be monitored by a periodontist during orthodontic treatment.

Dr. Caggiano strongly recommends the Sonicare toothbrush for all his orthodontic patients. It is the best toothbrush on the market and worth the investment!

Flossing

When you have braces, flossing becomes much more difficult to do because of the wire that connects your braces. Flossing also happens to be more important than ever to do. Most patients don’t floss enough without braces, and are now expected to do so when it is more difficult. This can be a problem, easily leading to red and puffy gums that bleed very easy (not good!). To help make flossing easier, Dr. Caggiano recommends a few different products. A link to all these products can be found in the Resources and Links section. These products are inexpensive (about $10) and are the Platypus Flosser from Paradise Dental Technologies and the Waterpik/Hummingbird Flosser.

Brushing: Step 1

Using a dry brush with a small amount of toothpaste place bristles where gums and teeth meet.

Brushing: Step 2

For 10 seconds on each tooth use circular, vibrating motions around the gum lines.

Brushing: Step 3

Every tooth of both arches should be brushed slowly.

Brushing: Step 4

Brush the lower teeth from the gum line up and the upper teeth from the gum line down. Brush the roof of your mouth and your tongue too!

Flossing: Step 1

Carefully thread unwaxed floss between braces and wire. You may find a floss threader helpful.

Flossing: Step 2

Carefully floss around the braces.

Flossing: Step 3

Carefully floss around the gum areas.

Flossing: Step 4

Carefully floss around each tooth.

Printable instructions >

Sports

Playing sports while wearing braces is not a problem at all – as long as you wear a mouthguard! Being hit in the mouth while wearing braces can be a very painful experience, and a mouthguard can help protect your lips and cheeks from trauma. Please ask if you have any questions regarding the mouthguard you are currently using, or if you would like us to provide you with one.

Sonicare®

Sonicare’s technology is designed to deliver superior results.

Sonicare toothbrushes, inspired by the sonic technology used in dental offices, have dynamic cleaning action to reduce plaque along the gumline.