We recommend using a soft-bristled toothbrush and a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste to brush your teeth. Move the brush in small, circular motions to ensure that you remove food particles that may be hiding under your gum line. Hold the toothbrush at an angle and proceed to brush slowly and carefully while covering all areas between teeth and braces and the surface of each tooth. If done correctly, it should take you several minutes to brush your teeth effectively. Brush upwards when cleaning the lower teeth and downwards when you focus on the upper teeth. Be sure to cover the outside, inside, and chewing surfaces of your front and back teeth. As part of your routine, remember to brush your gums, tongue, and the roof of your mouth and follow with an antiseptic rinse.

Remember to brush your teeth after every meal. This becomes especially important during orthodontic treatment to prevent the build-up of food particles between your teeth and brackets. As a reminder, include these key times in your tooth-brushing routine:

• Mornings after breakfast
• After lunch or right after school
• After supper
• At bedtime

Replacing toothbrush
While you are undergoing orthodontic treatment, you will need to replace your toothbrush more often. At the first sign of your bristles wearing down or fraying, replace your toothbrush with a new one. If you don’t replace your toothbrush, it will be difficult to reach the areas under your archwire and food particles will begin to accumulate there. Be sure to rinse your mouth with water after you finish brushing and do not swallow any toothpaste. It is also very important that you floss and rinse using an antiseptic mouthwash. We also recommend fluoride treatment throughout your orthodontic treatment.

Dental floss allows you to extract the food particles and plaque from areas between those teeth where the toothbrush cannot reach. Flossing with braces requires time and patience but it will pay off.

We will provide you with a reusable floss threader to floss under your archwire, this must be done daily. Pull a small piece of floss from the dispenser through the threader and slide it up and down along the front of each tooth. Be careful to not use too much force or place too much pressure on your archwire. After you finish flossing between your archwire and braces, continue by flossing between your other teeth and gums. Be sure to floss at night to ensure that your teeth are squeaky clean before heading to bed. Your gums may bleed a little the first few times you floss around your braces, this is normal and should go away with time.

A water pick is also a great tool that can be used to keep your teeth, gums, and appliances clean. A water pick acts as a pressure water sprayer for your teeth and gums. Water picks are found at your local grocery stores and most pharmacies.

We recommend that all orthodontic patients receive cleanings before getting braces and follow-up cleanings every 3 to 6 months to guarantee the success of their treatment. Don’t forget to keep your smile healthy, white, and shiny!!!

While you are undergoing orthodontic treatment with braces, you will have to make some adjustments to your diet. When you get your braces placed, stick to soft foods for the first day. After that, avoid any tough meats, hard or crunchy pieces of bread, and raw vegetables.

Foods to Avoid
You should avoid any foods that can break or otherwise damage your archwire or brackets. This means that should avoid hard foods, sticky foods, and any foods that are high in sugar. You should also eliminate bad habits such as nail-biting, pencil/pen chewing, and chewing any other foreign objects.

Examples of Sticky Foods to Avoid:

• Regular bubble gum (you can occasionally have some sugar-free gum)
• 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
• Hard Chips
• Popcorn
• Jolly Ranchers
• Pizza crust

Minimize Sugary Foods like:

• Cake
• Ice Cream
• Cookies
• Pie
• Candy

Cut to maximum once a day:

• Soda
• Sweetened tea
• Gatorade
• Kool-Aid
• Drinks with sugar

To have successful results, your appliances must remain in good condition during your treatment. We recommend regularly inspecting your braces for any bent or lose wires or brackets. If you find a loose or broken wire or bracket, save any loose pieces and save them to bring them to your next appointment. Call our office to extend your next appointment to allow additional time for repairs.

Some patients may develop sore spots on their cheeks shortly after beginning orthodontic treatment. We recommend placing wax over the bracket, wire, or appliance that is irritating your cheek. During awake ours, you can place cotton rolls between the appliance and your cheek to cushion the area. You can also use warm salt water rinse several times a day to soothe your gum and cheeks. With time, your cheeks will get used to your appliances and will no longer become irritated. We will provide you with wax at your first appointment, once you run out, feel free to ask us for more.

To alleviate soreness, you can take an over-the-counter pain reliever such as Tylenol or Advil or whatever you take for a headache. On average, patients report feeling some soreness for 3-5 days following an adjustment. Be sure to brush your teeth thoroughly after every meal, do warm salt water rinses several times a day, and you can also chew half a piece of sugarless gum to alleviate the discomfort.

A broken bracket is not considered an orthodontic emergency, if you find a broken or loose bracket, please call us during our next available office hours. We will schedule a time to repair your appliance promptly, we must allocate this additional time even if you already have an appointment scheduled with us.

If your expander becomes loose, please contact our office immediately.

If you lose your retainer or your retainer breaks or cracks, please contact our office immediately.

Place wax over the offending wire. If the wax does not help please call us and we will clip the wire to make you more comfortable. Poking wires are a common occurrence as the teeth move.

If you experience a traumatic injury that causes cuts to your lips or gums or if you have a loose tooth, please contact our office immediately. If you break any part of a tooth, you will need to contact your family dentist. If you suspect that your jaw has been injured or notice that your teeth have been moved by the accident, contact us, you may also need to be referred to an oral surgeon.