What You Need To Know
- You can choose from clear/ceramic or metal brackets.
- You will change your ties (colors) every visit so have fun with it!
- After placing your brackets and wires on, you will be sore for 4-5 days typically.
- Soreness means your teeth are responding to treatment! We need your teeth to be moving to straighten them out!
- There are some food restrictions during your orthodontic treatment. We will give you a list on the day your braces go on.
- Keeping up with excellent hygiene and maintaining regular visits to your dentist during treatment is very important.
Appointments
It will be important to see you every 4 weeks for an adjustment after your initial start appointment. We will schedule a future appointment at each visit. If you ever need to change your appointment, give us a call and we will be more than happy to arrange a different time to see you.
- Bonding appointments (braces on) last about 1 hour.
- Adjustment appointments are about 10-15 minutes.
- Broken brackets that need repair are an additional 30 minutes. Please call our office to inform us of any broken/loose brackets and we will adjust your appointment length as necessary.
The First Week With Braces
Everyone’s experience with braces is a little different – it depends on your pain threshold and how your teeth move overall. Some people report high levels of discomfort and others report very little. Either way your teeth start moving soon after your braces are on! During the first week, try to eat soft foods: mac and cheese, noodles, soups, smoothies, and ice cream! You probably won’t feel like eating a steak or salad. You may feel like your teeth are a little loose… this is very common and to be expected. Your teeth will be moving and aligning throughout your treatment, so you should expect that sometimes your bite may feel a bit different as well as it transitions to a new, better position.
Emergencies
Fortunately, with orthodontic treatment, there isn’t ever really a true “emergency”. If you ever have a broken bracket, pokey wire, or any other concerns give us a call at the office and we will do one of the following things:
- Guide you through clipping your pokey wire
- Schedule you to come in
- Adjust the length of time for your next visit to re-bond your broken bracket
