Finally, your orthodontics procedure has started, and your braces are fitted. Now you are on the way to having the straightest, most beautiful smile you ever thought possible. As you start this journey, there will be many appointments and much discussion about your treatment, the duration it will take to get your teeth adjusted, instructions on caring for them, fittings, measurements, and a host of other activity. Over the course of the treatment, leading up to us fitting your braces, you will have gotten a lot of information, filled out a lot of forms, and learned a great deal about your teeth. Now that the final fitting appointment is done, you are going to leave the offices with a new orthodontic fitting, and potentially even more questions.
We know that many people feel slightly intimidated by the orthodontist’s office and save their questions for a Google search or ask friends and family for advice. While this can be helpful, we prefer that you ask us questions since each patients' treatment plan is slightly different. Still, we will send you home with a packet of information that you can read to get basic information and care tips. If you have any further questions, please call us or ask them during one of your follow-up visits.
Questions aside, orthodontics treatments and braces do take a period of adjustment before you will start to feel normal with them in your mouth. The first few days are going to be spent getting used to them. As your mouth gets accustomed to idea of something taking up more space than just your teeth, and while your gums, teeth, and tongue become acclimatized to the braces you could experience some levels of pain and discomfort. The good news is that this pain is easily controlled with over the counter pain medication. The discomfort at this stage is the most you will experience throughout the treatment, meaning once it passes you will not have to deal with this again.
If you need medication to feel comfortable, we recommend that you stay away from Ibuprofen products since the medication can cause the movement of your teeth to slow down. Ibuprofen is the major ingredient in over the counter pain medications like Advil and Motrin. Instead, we recommend that you take Tylenol for your pain since it contains acetaminophen and has no effect on the teeth’s movement.
Whenever you get an orthodontics treatment, especially braces, there are certain foods you are going to need to avoid. Initially, you should eat soft foods so that you can eat in comfort. After a few days, you should continue to avoid super sticky foods, like candy and gum, extremely hard foods, like nuts or popcorn, and other foods that can damage the teeth. We will provide you with a complete list of foods to avoid at the end of your fitting appointment. Doing so will be important for ensuring that you don't accidentally pull a bracket out of place or cause a wire to break. If you do, they can be corrected but it will slow down your treatment time.
