BRACES
We do everything we can to keep our patients happy during their orthodontic treatment, and there are three things that we ask our patients to do to keep themselves happy!
- Brush and Floss! This is so important! Brushing and flossing can mean the difference between a great orthodontic result and a poor one. We don’t want you to have a poor one, and after all the time and effort that will be going into your braces, you probably don’t want a poor one either. If you need to see some pictures of poor hygiene, let us know! They’re pretty awful, and you definitely don’t want YOUR teeth to end up like that!
- Keep Your Appointments! If you miss a lot of appointments, guess what? You will be in braces longer than you have to be! It is very important that we see you on a regular scheduled basis. If not properly monitored, braces can cause problems that can possibly cause you to have braces longer than expected.
- Follow Instructions! It is very important to do what our staff tells you to do. Following their instructions will allow you to keep your treatment time on schedule.Not doing what you are asked to do will extend your treatment time. You will be in braces longer if you do not follow directions.
- Be Patient! All treatment times that we have talked about are only estimates. Everyone is different, and everyone’s teeth move at different rates. Next, there are things you MUST AVOID with braces! These are:
- Gum of any kind (even sugarless)
- Sticky, chewy, and hard candy of any kind (like Skittles, Now and Laters, Gummi Bears, Caramels, and Tootsie Rolls)
- Foods that are really hard like nuts, some taco chips, some bagels, and the hard outer edge of pizza crusts.
- Corn on the cob. Just cut the corn off the cob, and you’ll be fine.
- Pure, non-diluted lemon juice. Lemon in your iced tea or on your fish is fine, but don’t eat raw lemons! (Yes, some people actually do this.) The pure lemon juice can eat away at the enamel on the surface of your tooth. Not good!
- Chewing on ice.
