Five Common Questions About Braces
Is it normal for my teeth to feel loose?
Absolutely. Constant light pressure applied to teeth (as with braces) causes changes in the tissues and bone around your teeth that allow them to move. A side effect of this process is that the teeth become quite loose. You’ll be able to notice and possibly see movement of your tooth with pressure from your tongue, finger, or when you bite. No, your teeth aren’t going to fall out even if they feel like they’re going to!
The looseness of the teeth also makes it vitally important that you wear a sports mouthguard while playing any kind of contact sports. There are mouthguards made especially for when you are wearing braces. I have recommendations for the best over the counter products here.
What foods should I avoid?
The brackets for braces are bonded to your teeth. While this bond is pretty strong it can be broken if the forces are strong enough. Your jaw generates a ton of force when chewing so if you combine hard, sticky, or chewy foods with braces, the braces will lose every time. Some of the common foods you should avoid include…
- Nuts
- Popcorn
- Corn on the cob
- Ice
- Biting into apples without cutting them up first
- Hard candies
- Sticky candies such as starbursts or skittles
- Gum
- Crusty bread
- Beef jerky
- Hard tacos
What kind of pain is normal with braces?
When you first get your braces on, you’ll have some pretty significant soreness in all of your teeth for about a week. With time this soreness with get quite a bit better. For some people the soreness goes away entirely while other people continue to have very mild soreness throughout the process.
Thereafter, every time your orthodontist or dentist changes your wires, adds springs, adds build-ups, adds powerchains, or any other orthodontic technique to apply more force you’ll develop soreness for about 3 days afterwards. This will subside more quickly than when you first got your braces on.
Do I really need to wear my bands?
Only if you want to get your braces off! There are certain types of tooth movements that only work if you wear the bands your dentist or orthodontist recommends. Not wearing your bands only increases the amount of time you need to wear braces. Also, if you’re going to wear bands, wear them for the amount of time recommended. If you don’t wear them consistently throughout the day and night they won’t be effective.
What is the best way to clean my teeth with braces?
I really think everyone with braces should get an electric toothbrush and a waterpik. Most electric toothbrushes have a special attachment that is good at cleaning around braces. The waterpik should be used in conjunction with your electric toothbrush. Waterpiks have proven to be just as effective as regular string floss in cleaning between your teeth. It’ll save you time and help you clean far more effectively. If you don’t get those areas clean you can develop cavities around your braces or your gum tissue can get really irritated and swell around your teeth and braces.
