Living with Braces

Foods to Avoid | Oral Hygiene | Emergency Info

Foods to Avoid

For most situations, common sense will tell you what to avoid. Hard foods, sticky foods and foods high in sugar must be avoided. Hard foods can break or damage wires and brackets. Sticky foods can get caught between brackets and wires. Minimize sugary foods; they cause tooth decay and related problems. Nail biting, pencil and pen chewing and chewing on foreign objects should be avoided.

Examples of Sticky Foods to Avoid:

Gum (sugar-free or regular)
Licorice
Sugar Daddies
Toffee
Tootsie Rolls
Caramels
Starburst

Examples of Hard Foods to Avoid:

Ice
Nuts
Hard taco shells
French bread crust/rolls
Corn on the cob
Apples and carrots (unless cut into small pieces)
Bagels
Chips
Jolly Ranchers
Pizza crust
Uncooked carrots (unless cut)

Minimize Sugary Foods like:

Cake
Ice Cream
Cookies
Pie
Candy

Only Once a Day:

Soda
Sweetened tea
Gatorade
Kool-Aid
Drinks with sugar

Do not drink carbonated and/or sweet drinks over a long period of time. Drinking those beverages changes the normal acid/base ratio in the mouth causing tremendous dental damage, staining, decay, etc.

It's important to regularly check your braces for bent or loose wires and brackets. In the event of a loose/broken wire or bracket, call our office immediately to arrange an appointment for repair.

Oral Hygiene

Dental care

When your mouth is loaded with braces, brushing your teeth gets tougher and extra important. Plus, braces interfere with the natural chewing process that normally bathes and exercises gums and helps clean teeth. Caring for your teeth and keeping them cavity-free is a top priority during orthodontic treatment. The brackets and wires on the outside of teeth make it harder for the toothbrush to clean between teeth. Trapped food particles and plaque are a breeding ground for cavity-causing bacteria. Gum disease also can develop, causing swelling and making cleaning even more challenging and painful. Improper care can also cause decalcification, which is an early stage of decay, permanently staining the tooth enamel.

Interdental Toothbrush

A Proxabrush is an interdental (between the teeth) toothbrush that you may use to clean underneath and around your wires and braces. Use the Proxabrush gently to avoid damaging your wires. The Proxabrush will help you to clean your braces while maintaining healthy teeth and gums.

Antibacterial Mouthwash

Peroxyl, a hydrogen peroxide antiseptic mouth rinse, will reduce inflammation to your gums and cheeks. Peroxyl helps to prevent infection and decrease irritation that may develop from your braces. Rinse your mouth with two teaspoons of Peroxyl (half a capful) for one minute and then spit it out. You may use Peroxyl up to four times daily following your schedule for brushing: after meals (or after school) and before bed. Just like using peroxide for a scrape on your skin, Peroxyl helps the inside of your mouth heal. Peroxyl can be used for general irritation caused by your braces or for canker sores, cheek bites and other minor temporary injuries to the gums.

Topical Fluoride

Phos-Flur is a sodium fluoride gel that helps prevent tooth decay while you are wearing braces by killing bacteria and replacing minerals in tooth enamel that have been exposed to harmful acids. The use of Phos-Flur does not replace daily brushing and flossing but should be done following your daily schedule at bedtime. Place a small strip of Phos-Flur on a toothbrush and apply it to your teeth for one minute and spit it out. You may not eat or drink for 30 minutes after you use Phos-Flur. It is important for the active ingredient to stay on your teeth for 30 minutes, so do not wash it away by eating or drinking.

Cleaning Your Removable Appliance

Brush your removable appliance every day as a part of your regular brushing and flossing schedule. Because food particles and plaque can accumulate on your appliance just as they do on your teeth, soak the appliance daily. Dissolve a Polident, Efferdent or other denture-cleaning tablet in a glass of tap water at room temperature and soak your appliance once every day. Your appliance will taste better, and you will prevent plaque and bacterial accumulation.

Do not wear your retainers when eating or drinking hot liquids.
Take out your retainer when you brush or floss your teeth.
Do not chew gum or sticky candy, as it will stick to your retainers.
Never boil or use hot water to clean your retainers.
Keep your retainers in the case we gave you when not in your mouth.
Do not wrap your retainer in a napkin as they might get thrown away by mistake.
Keep your retainers away from pets, especially dogs. Dogs love to chew them.
Do not wear your retainer during contact sports i.e. soccer, football, or while swimming.
Do not leave your retainer in a hot car or near a heat source i.e. a fireplace, heater, or stove.

Emergency Info

What to Do in Case of Emergency

Call our office as soon as possible if you break or loosen any of your appliances. Please do not come directly to the office – by calling us, you will allow us to create a time to see you. Even if you have a regular appointment scheduled, call us immediately to notify us if you need an appliance repaired.

Loose Brackets or Bands

Call our office immediately for advice if a bracket or wire is loosened. The bracket may need to be re-fitted as soon as possible. You may have a situation that requires cutting a wire or sliding a bracket off a wire at night or over the weekend. If you need to cut a wire in case of emergency, you may use fingernail clippers that have been washed and sterilized in alcohol. Please call our office the next business day, so that we may schedule an appointment for you.

Wire Irritations

Sometimes discomfort caused by a wire on your braces can be resolved by moving the wire away from the irritated area with a cotton swab or eraser. If the wire will not move, try covering the end of it with a small piece of cotton or a small amount of wax. If the wire is painful, you can cut it with nail clippers or scissors that have been washed and sterilized in alcohol. If you cannot resolve the wire irritation, call our office for an appointment.

Lost Separators

Most patients lose a separator during their treatment. Do not worry about losing a separator, but call our office to see if it needs to be replaced.

To replace a spacer yourself: Take two pieces of floss and insert them through the spacer. Pull on both pieces of floss to stretch the spacer and slide it back and forth between the two teeth where the spacer came from. When half the spacer slips under and over the tight spot (so that it encircles the tight spot), let go of the floss and pull it through, leaving the spacer in place.

Discomfort with Orthodontic Treatment

During the first week after your braces are in place and routine adjustments are complete, you will likely feel some pain, soreness or discomfort. You may take acetaminophen or other non-aspirin pain relievers while you adjust to your new braces. A warm wash cloth or heating pad may reduce the soreness in your jaws.