What can you eat? Let's talk about what you should not eat! For the first day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meat, hard breads, and raw vegetables. Before long, you will 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.

Avoid:

• Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, pizza crust, beef jerky
• Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice
• Sticky foods: caramels, taffy, licorice
• Hard foods: hard fruits such as apples unless they are cut very thin, raw vegetables, peanut brittle, hard pretzels, crackers, corn chips and taco shells

GENERAL SORENESS

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and the teeth may be tender to biting pressures for one to five days. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen are very helpful for relieving tooth tenderness following adjustment appointments. The lips, cheeks and tongue also can become irritated for one to two weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the surface of the braces. Our special orthodontic wax can be applied to the braces to lessen this temporary discomfort. 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. They will again become firm in their new corrected positions.

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 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. Patients who do not keep their teeth clean may require more frequent visits to the dentist for a professional cleaning. If plaque accumulates around the braces, tooth enamel may weaken, causing unaesthetic white spot lesions. Adults who have a history of gum disease should see their dentist or periodontist more often.

ATHLETICS

A protective mouth guard is advised for playing contact sports. We will supply a mouth guard to protect your teeth and braces if you wish. In case of an accident involving the face, check your mouth and appliances immediately. If teeth are loosened or the appliances damaged, phone our office at once for an appointment.

LOOSE WIRE 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 (back of spoon or eraser end of pencil) and carefully, gently push the irritating wire under the archwire. Simply get it out of the way. If irritation to the lips or mouth continues, place wax on the wire to reduce the annoyance. Call our office as soon as possible for an appointment to check and repair the appliances.

EMERGENCY CARE

As a general rule, an emergency appointment may be made when there is severe pain, a loose band, a broken wire or something sticking out that you can't take care of.