Dental Education Lecture: Instructions for Braces

1.   The single most important phase of your treatment is keeping your teeth clean. It is essential that you brush your teeth after each meal, snack and at bedtime

2.   If you plan to use a waterpik, don't try to substitute this for good brushing and flossing. Flossing will be a little time consuming but must be done once a day.  If you keep your teeth clean, you can choose the color of alastics (A in Figure) next time

3.   Avoid sweets as much as possible. If you do eat sugary foods and snacks, remember to brush after you eat these sweets. Don't allow this sugary starch to lay on your teeth for any length of time and cause decay

4.   Avoid sticky as well as hard food such as taffy, caramel, sugar daddys, bubble gum, chewing gum, ice, peanuts, hard kernels of popcorn, pizza crust, carrots, etc.

5.   Before bedtime, brush thoroughly and floss. Rinse your toothbrush and then brush with the fluoride. After brushing with the fluoride, empty the excess out of your mouth but DON'T RINSE

6.   If any bands (B) become loose, wires (C) break, brackets (D) come off, etc., please phone our office immediately. Don't wait until your next appointment. This will only extend your treatment time

7.   Do not drink soda pop.  Instead drink water, milk and 100% fruit juice. Do not give child spent money to buy candy or soda pop from vending machine

8.   Wear rubber band (E) as instructed in term of wearing time

What should we do when braces are removed?  We will talk about it next.

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 01/17/2009, last revision 03/20/2010