Dr. Dominika Schmidt BSc (Hons)
LOOKING AFTER
YOUR NEW SMILE!
GETTING ACCUSTOMED
For the first few days after fitting, you may experience some
discomfort and even tenderness with your new braces.
It is quite normal for your braces to feel strange in your mouth
for the first few days. In a very short time you will become fully accustomed to
them. If there are any sore areas, you may apply the soft wax to the braces to
avoid ulceration.
Ordinary Paracetamol tablets should be adequate to relieve any discomfort
arising from tenderness. Ibuprofen (e.g. Neurofen) can slow the movement of
your teeth, so avoid medications containing this.
If problems persist don’t wait until your next appointment, contact us straight away for advice.
EATING WITH YOUR BRACES
We know you are worried about this, but rest assured, you will not starve! It will be difficult to eat for a
few days, but you will get used to your braces pretty quickly and be eating normally soon.
Have some soft food on hand for the day you get your braces on. Things like soup, yogurt, pudding,
mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, & scrambled eggs will help you get
through those first few days.
Next, there are things you MUST AVOID with braces! These are:
1. Gum of any kind (even sugarless)
2. Sticky, chewy, and hard candy of any kind (like Skittles, Gummi Bears,
Caramels)
3. Foods that are really hard like nuts, some corn chips, some bagels, and
the hard outer edge of pizza crusts
4. Corn on the cob. Just cut the corn off the cob, and you’ll be fine.
5. Chewing on ice
6. Popcorn -- This is ok one kernel at a time!
7. Avoid carbonated drinks for the first 24 hours
You will need to reduce the amount of suagr in your diet, and make sure that you brush your teeth
afterwards if you do have a treat! Get that sugar off before it permanently damages your teeth! If you are
not home and can’t brush, get a drink of water, swish, and spit.
KEEPING YOUR BRACES CLEAN
Don’t let the fact that you are wearing braces interfere with the
high standard of care you would normally give your teeth when
cleaning them.
FIRST, remove all of the food and bacteria under the wire with
SMALL BRUSHES/PIKSTERS, or SUPERFLOSS. Rinse your
mouth thoroughly to remove anything that you have loosened.
NEXT, using a small headed toothbrush than you would
normally, brush your teeth using a circular motion above and
below the brackets. Failure to remove all the plaque from around
the brackets may result in permanent staining on your teeth. After you brush, you should spit any foam
from your mouth, but DO NOT rinse the rest out. Toothpaste has lots of “goodies” in it to help keep your
teeth strong while you are in braces. Although you may find cleaning difficult at first, it will become
easier… everything takes practice!
Once a week it is a good idea to check you are cleaning correctly with
the disclosing tablets provided. After you have cleaned your teeth,
chewing a pink tablet will show you all the areas you are missing.
If you are not cleaning properly, the plaque
will begin to decay your teeth, and you may
be left with unsightly white spots or even
worse cavities!
LOSS OR DAMAGE
It is possible that your braces or some part of them, may become loose, displaced or damaged. It is
important to learn a few basics so that if something does break or come loose, you can tell us what it is.
Some things can wait, and some can’t. If you know exactly what it is that’s broken or loose, we can tell
you if you need to come in right away or not.
If the braces, or some part of them, fall off try not to lose any pieces and don’t throw any parts away, keep
them safe and bring them to your next appointment.
If you are in doubt, please contact us immediately for advice.
REGULAR APPOINTMENTS ….
It is important that you see Dr. Schmidt at regular intervals to ensure that all components of the braces are
properly and well maintained. If you miss a lot of appointments, guess what? You will be in braces longer
than you have to be! Also, if you miss appointments without calling us to let us know, you may end up
getting charged for these.
It is important to do what Dr. Schmidt and any of the clinic staff ask you to do (rubberbands, brushing
and flossing) in order to keep your treatment going as scheduled. Firstly, not doing what you are asked to
do will beyond a doubt extend your treatment time. Second, Dr. Schmidt will know! She can tell if you’ve
been wearing them, no matter what you might try to tell her.
Be Patient! All treatment times that we have talked about are only estimates. Everyone is different, and
everyone’s teeth move at different rates. Your teeth will “look done” to you long before they really are.
The part of the tooth that you see moves faster than the root, which you don’t see. Dr. Schmidt will not
keep you in braces any longer than she has to, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to let you out of
them before you are totally done. She takes your teeth seriously!