Additional Care Information For Braces

FIRST DAYS WITH BRACES

You are one step closer to a beautiful smile! We’ve developed this page as a resource to help you get adjusted to life with braces. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask us.

Immediately after your bonding appointment, when we initially glue the brackets onto your teeth, we recommend that you start taking over-the-counter analgesics (i.e. Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen) and follow the dosing instructions on the bottle. Research studies show that you will likely experience a minor, dull, or achy discomfort a few hours after your appointment. This minor discomfort peaks at about a day after the appointment and gradually decreases over the next few days. During this time we recommend that you eat soft foods. Your teeth should feel completely normal about a week after your bonding appointment.

Some other things to expect during your initial days with braces:

Loose teeth

It is not uncommon for some teeth to feel loose once they start to move. They will go back to normal once they have reached their intended position.

Sore lips/cheeks

The braces and wire may rub against your lips and cheeks causing some irritation. Use the wax we provided and/or rinse with warm salt water. After a few days your cheeks will get used to the braces and wires and you will no longer experience irritation.

Broken brackets

A bracket or two may come off after the initial bonding or during treatment. It is almost always not an emergency and can generally wait to be fixed. Use wax for temporary relief and give us a call to let us know.

Altered bite

Sometimes we glue material onto your teeth to change your bite slightly when the braces come on. Also, once your teeth start moving your bite may feel a bit different. This is completely normal and part of treatment.

EATING WITH BRACES

Yes, you may eat during orthodontic treatment! It may surprise you that most foods can still be eaten after braces are placed on your teeth.

The wrong types of food or eating the right kinds of food improperly can cause food to get caught in your braces, stick to braces, loosen braces, or bend wires.

Refrain from eating hard, chewy, or sticky foods. The following is a list of the most common foods to avoid:

Ice
Corn on the cob
Hard carrots
Biting meat off ribs or bones (cut meat off instead)
Cereals with nuts/granola
Any type of nut (other than thinly sliced)
Popcorn (because unpopped kernels and husks stick in gums)
Candy (hard chocolate, chewy gummy bears, etc.)
Any whole hard fruit (cut them into pieces instead)
Large pieces of any meat (cut into small slices)
Hard crusty bread, including pizza crusts
Most hard cookies
Chewing on pencils
Taffy
“Nutty” peanut butter

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

BRUSHING TEETH WITH BRACES

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STEP 1.

Place the brush between your gums and the brackets tilting the brush toward your gums at a 45° angle. The bristles should reach under your gums. Apply short back-and-forth strokes

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STEP 2.

Aim the brush bristles in the opposite direction tilting toward the brackets. Apply short back-and-forth strokes as before.

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STEP 3.

Aim the bristles under the wire and toward the gums. Again apply short back-and-forth strokes.

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STEP 4.

Be sure to do these steps on BOTH the outside/cheek side and the inside/tongue side of your top and bottom teeth.

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STEP 5.

The last step is to scrub your chewing surfaces.

ORAL HYGIENE AND BRACES

Maintaining good oral hygiene without braces is no easy task and requires a lot of diligence. It is important to clean inside your mouth for two main reasons:

1. To protect your teeth against cavities, and

2. To protect your gums against gum disease (gingivitis or periodontitis)

Once braces are glued to the teeth, the task becomes more challenging since the braces tend to accumulate food and plaque. More dedication to oral hygiene is required than before.

We inspect your teeth and gums at every appointment. Healthy gums appear pink and symmetrical. Unhealthy gums appear red, swollen, and irregular. Clean teeth are free of debris whereas teeth not properly cleaned have visible plaque formation. If plaque is left on a tooth long enough it may cause a white opaque discolouration on the tooth, which is the start of a cavity.

Tips for Achieving and Maintaining a Clean Mouth with Braces

Bring a pocket toothbrush with you wherever you go so that you can brush your teeth after every meal.
If you cannot brush your teeth after a meal, make sure you remove debris by swishing with water.
Use a waterpik to help remove debris and irrigate your gums. It is not a substitute for flossing, but definitely helps.
If you have problems using the floss threaders, we suggest using the Platypus Orthodontic Flossers. We have given you a sample of these in your oral hygiene kit.
GUM® Soft-Picks® are also very helpful to clean between your teeth, especially those at the back.
If your gums show signs of puffiness, rinse with warm salt-water twice daily (one teaspoon of salt in eight ounces of warm water).
Fluoride rinses used once daily are very helpful in protecting against cavities.
Use the instructions on this website as a resource. If something is unclear, please ask us. We are here to help.

FLOSSING WITH BRACES

Using a toothbrush and Waterpik® can clean most, but not all, of your tooth surfaces. Accessing the entire side surfaces of your teeth is generally only possible with dental floss. Since the archwire blocks a piece of floss from gaining access between the teeth, a threader is often required to loop the floss around the wire.

It is important to floss at least once daily. The ideal time to floss is at night before going to bed. Flossing is time consuming but it becomes easy and routine once you get the hang of it. If you are struggling to find time for flossing, we recommend that you pair it with an activity such as watching TV or listening to music.

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STEP 1.

Loop a piece of floss into the circular part of the threader. Stick the pointed tip of the threader under the wire.

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STEP 2.

With one hand, hold onto the pointed tip; with the other hand, hold onto one of the two ends of floss that is hanging out of the threader.

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STEP 3.

Pull the pointed tip of the threader while keeping the other hand firmly grasping the end of the floss. If you did this correctly, the floss should now successfully be underneath the wire.

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STEP 4.

Tie the floss around both fingers and gently work the floss up and down the sides of the teeth. Make sure you get underneath the gum line.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Broken Brackets

Sometimes brackets can become loose during treatment. It should not hurt but may feel a little ‘different’ than normal as the bracket will just be sitting on the wire. Usually there is no immediate rush to fix a broken bracket, and can often be fixed at your next appointment. You should always advise us prior to your appointment if you have a broken bracket so we are prepared and allot enough time for the repair.

Poking Wire

When teeth are moving along the wire and we are closing a significant amount of space between your teeth, the wire sometimes seems to “grow,” and can poke your cheek in the back of your mouth. While we do our best to bend the wire to avoid such poking, sometimes it does occur. You can try taking nail clippers (cleaned before putting them in your mouth!) and clipping the wire to save you a trip to our office, but if you are not comfortable doing so, please text us and we will bring you in to clip the wire as soon as we can. In the meantime, we recommend using the wax provided in your braces kit for temporary relief.

Loose Appliances

Sometimes appliances such as fixed expanders or space maintainers can become loose (or even fall out) after they are in the mouth for a prolonged period of time. If the appliance falls out leave it out of your mouth! Do NOT attempt to re-insert it. If you notice just one side is loose, leave it in place and don’t pull it out! Let us know, and we will schedule you in to recement the appliance.

Loose Teeth

It is not uncommon for teeth to feel loose once they begin to move. Teeth will settle and go back to normal once they have reached their intended position. This is not an emergency or a problem. If you have any concerns, you can text or email us.

Sore Lips and/or Cheeks

The braces and wire may rub against your lips and cheeks causing some irritation, especially at the beginning of treatment when your mouth is getting used to the brackets. Use the wax we provided in your braces kit, and rinse with warm salt water. After a few days your cheeks will get used to the braces and wires and you will no longer experience irritation. If it persists for more than a few days, please let us know.

Altered Bite

Sometimes ‘Bite Turbos’ are glued to the biting surfaces of your teeth to prevent full closure of the teeth. This is to inhibit the top teeth from biting on the lower brackets. It changes your bite slightly and may make your bite may feel a little bit different. This is completely normal and part of treatment.

ORTHODONTIC EMERGENCIES

A true orthodontic emergency is very rare, but we are here to help you if you experience any problem with your braces.

The wax we provided you with at your initial bonding is a very important tool. Make sure you always have a good portion of it remaining. If you begin to run low, please let us know and we will give you more.

For more minor orthodontic problems (broken brackets, poking wires or loose appliances), please text our office at 289.205.4999 or email us at info@waltortho.com along with a picture of the problem, and we will schedule you accordingly

In the event that you are in significant pain outside of office hours and feel that you have an emergency involving swelling, bleeding or infection that can’t wait until our office is open, please contact an Emergency Dental Clinic

Please see our Common Problems tab for non-emergency information.

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If you have been wanting your bespoke, dream smile, our team at Walt Orthodontics is happy to help you achieve that. Book your complimentary consultation!

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Walt Orthodontics

We’re an orthodontic practice conveniently located at the junction of Vaughan, Thornhill, Maple, Richmond Hill, Woodbridge, and King City. We specialize in Invisalign and braces using the latest in digital technology to ensure we provide you with the most current and comprehensive care for a truly bespoke smile.

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9630 Dufferin Street, Suite 201
Vaughan ON, L6A 0T9
Call: 905.553.8666
Text: 289.205.4999
Email: info@waltortho.com
Fax: 905.553.7666
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ADDITIONAL CARE INFORMATION FOR BRACES

Additional Care Information For Braces

FIRST DAYS WITH BRACES