After your braces are fitted, a little discomfort for a few days is quite common, although they soon settle down and you will adjust to them.
Choosing softer foods for several days makes sense. Returning to a broad diet is still perfectly normal whilst wearing braces, with a little care on how you approach harder foods.
This is part of living with braces, which isn’t too much hassle. A small number of adjustments can see you enjoy life as before and help to ensure orthodontic treatment brings success.
Oral Hygiene
Concerns that braces bring decay to your teeth, or cause breath odour really are myths. They are designed to allow you to clean your teeth and gums, you just need to take an extra degree of care.
Spending a few minutes twice a day on cleaning your teeth and once a day to floss them is time well spent. Rinsing with water after you eat, or drink is also a good idea.
Neither will you need the armoury of special brushes sold for braces cleaning. Extras you are comfortable using and you find really helpful are fine, a good quality toothbrush can still be your best friend.
The objective is keeping the bacteria which cause plaque at bay, as long as you do so, braces are not an impairment.
Eating With Braces
Beyond sticking to softer food for a few days after fitting, there is no need to amend your eating habits drastically. A change of approach to certain foods is useful, to prevent damage, or discomfort.
Avoid biting into food with your front teeth, especially harder foods. Cutting up foods you need to chew into small pieces is a good idea anyway, as is using the larger, safer area of your back teeth to chew.
With a sensible approach, you will not have to change your diet too much, or eat less healthily. About the only areas worth avoiding are sticky foods, including gum and toffee, or hard boiled sweets.
Perhaps you don’t but if you do, chewing on a pen, or pencil can cause problems. As with the few dietary variations needed, not a bad thing to change.
Getting Through Life
You now know there’s no need to live on pasta, or soup and keeping your teeth clean is a much a pleasure as a pain.
A few activities need care, such as playing a wind instrument, or contact sports. In the latter case, asking your orthodontist about a mouthguard makes sense. If you are a singer, practice should overcome barriers.
With more people wearing braces, there is less concern over looks. In any event, they can now look more attractive, or barely be seen, you have the choice.
Nothing needs to stand between you and choosing fixed braces, beyond a little patience. This will be well rewarded for many years to come.
