Braces Information

Smile! You are on your way to having straight teeth. You may experience some discomfort a few hours after your visit. This is completely normal and to be expected. Some patients say that their teeth feel achy and sore. You can take any pain reliever that you would normally take for a headache such as Tylenol or Ibuprofen.

You may experience a change in your bite and/or spaces where you previously had none. This is part of the process of rearranging things to create a proper bite. We will be making adjustments to the wires every visit to help achieve this.

At first, eating may feel different and difficult. We recommend softer foods in the beginning until you get used to your braces. Cheek irritation is common. We have provided wax for you in your kit that can be placed over the brackets to help cover them and protect your cheeks from any roughness. It takes a few weeks for your cheeks and tongue to adapt to the braces.

Please notify us if a bracket becomes loose right away by calling us during our regular office hours. It is important for us to know in advance of your regular appointment so that we can schedule an appropriate amount of time for you. If we feel that it needs to be repaired right away we will provide you with an appointment as soon as possible. However, we may elect to repair it at your next scheduled appointment.

On occasion a wire may feel long in the back and cause irritation. You may try to clip it yourself by following the instructions in the emergency section or please feel free to call the office. We can quickly clip it for you!

If a colored tie is missing or has fallen off not to worry. This is not considered an emergency. We will replace it at your next visit.

• Please brush your braces when you brush your teeth.
• Don’t eat any sticky, chewy candy or gum.  These can loosen the braces.
• Don’t eat nuts or popcorn. These can get caught under the wires and in the braces and can cause irritation of your gums or can result in an infection. Please substitute with puffed corn.