Your Guide To Braces
What Types Of Braces Do You Offer?
We offer metal braces, clear ceramic braces, and gold braces. We also use the Damon bracket system, which uses self-ligating bracket technology to enjoy the benefits of specially designed clips. Replacing rubber bands, these clips hold the archwires in place and allow for more efficient movement.
Do I Need To Brush My Teeth More Often If I Have Braces?
Due to the presence of brackets, metal, wires, and other materials in your mouth, frequent brushing is highly recommended. With braces, food can get caught much more easily, allowing bacteria to build up and flourish. That is why we highly recommend brushing your teeth and flossing at least twice a day.
Here’s how to properly brush your teeth with braces:
- Brush the outside and inside of your teeth, as well as the chewing surface and gumline.
- Brush in small circles, at a downward angle on your upper teeth and an upward angle on your lower teeth, to reach between your archwires and around the corners of your brackets.
- Make sure you’re brushing thoroughly, but gently enough to avoid damaging your braces.
- When flossing between your teeth, we recommend using a specialized flossing threader that allows you to insert the floss thread in the space between your teeth and wires. Specialized flossing threaders have a solid end that makes it easier to push the floss through the archwires.
What Foods Do I Need To Avoid With Braces?
Try your best to avoid foods that are chewy, sticky, crunchy, or hard. These foods are infamous for damaging brackets, wires, and other orthodontic appliances. Additionally, Chewy, sticky foods can stick to your wires and pull them out of place, while hard foods can pop your wires out of place or break a bracket. Next thing you know, you’re visiting us for an emergency orthodontist appointment!
Here are some examples of foods to avoid when wearing braces:
- Chewy foods — bagels, hard bread rolls, Twizzlers
- Crunchy foods — popcorn, ice, dried fruits, Doritos
- Sticky foods — caramel, gum, Starburst
- Hard foods — nuts, Jolly Ranchers, hard pizza crusts, Nerds
- Foods that require biting into — corn on the cob, apples, carrots
Do I Have To Wear A Retainer After Getting My Braces Off?
We recommend wearing a retainer full-time for the first couple of months after braces come off, and then nighttime for a lifetime afterward to keep your teeth perfectly straight.
Retainers can wear out, break, or become lost over time, and we want to make sure that you experience as little downtime as possible. We also want to make sure that your retainers are fitting properly, that you’re using them correctly, and that you always have access to help from our team should any issues arise.
Our Lifetime Retainer Program allows you to get lifetime replacement retainers at no additional charge for an upfront fee of $780. This can be included in our in-office, interest-free financing program.
This program includes up to two free removable retainers per arch per year for the rest of your life! If you have a “permanent” bonded retainer this program covers one replacement of that over your lifetime. There will be a charge for the second bonded retainer and any future bonded replacements. Repairs of these bonded retainers are done at no charge.
Do I Still Visit My Dentist During My Orthodontic Treatment?
Yes, visiting your dentist is as important as ever. Your orthodontist and dentist are working together to create your beautiful, healthy smile. It’s important that you still receive professional dental cleanings every 6 months, or as often as your dentist recommends.
Maintaining good oral health throughout your braces treatment is essential for achieving the best results from your orthodontic treatment, and your dentist plays a key role in that.
