Patient Home Care Instructions (Braces)

Welcome to the wonderful world of Orthodontics! We are going to start on a long term treatment to improve the positions of your teeth so that they will not only last longer but also look better.

Things to do to make your treatment go easier and faster:

1. What to do if your Separators fall out:
   1. Call to make an appointment 2-3 days prior to your next scheduled appointment.
2. Use Tylenol (or equivalent substitute) in the recommended dosage to control any discomfort that may occur. (take tonight, tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon)
3. Use wax to cover any sharp edges that may irritate the lips, cheeks, or tongue.
4. Cut your foods into small pieces and chew carefully to avoid breaking, bending or loosening your braces and wires.
5. Keeping regular appointments is essential.
6. Careful toothbrushing will prevent an increase in cavities and decalcification (white spots) from forming.
7. Broken brackets, loose bands or lost appliances should be reported immediately to this office.
8. Don’t eat or chew anything that may break, loosen, or bend any part of your appliance (palatal expanders, space maintainers etc)
9. Foods you cannot eat:
   1. Popcorn, pizza crust and pretzels
   2. Chewing gum
   3. Chewy, Sticky candies such as: Tootsie rolls, caramels, starbursts, skittles, now and laters, jelly beans, snickers bars and fruit roll up.
   4. Frozen treats (ice cream bars, fruit bars, etc)
10. Foods to be careful with:
    1. Whole fruit (cut into small slices or cubes) Such as: Apples, peaches, plums, pears, etc.
    2. Vegetables: (cut into small pieces) Such as: Carrots (raw or cooked), corn on the cob, cucumbers, and pickles
    3. Thick and hard foods (cut into small pieces) Such as: Bagels, hard/thick breads, toast, croutons, meat (remove meat from any bone)
11. Bad Habits:
    1. No Biting into any hard objects (pens, pencils and fingernails, etc)!!!!!
12. YOU MUST BRUSH YOUR TEETH AFTER EACH MEAL AND SNACK!!!!!! You should use a fluoride toothpaste and a fluoride mouthwash. Care must be taken to not only brush the braces but also surfaces of the teeth, especially between the area of the braces and the gums.
13. If something is wrong and you cannot get to the office, you may snip off the offending piece with a nail clipper. When cutting the wire, you must make sure to hold both ends of the wire to prevent it from being swallowed or embedded in your cheek. If you cannot do this, use the wax to cover it up to protect your lips, cheeks, and gums.
14. Patients must maintain their normal dental examinations with their dentists to have their teeth thoroughly cleaned and checked for cavities.

*As a courtesy we supply you with this start-up oral hygiene kit, however we are not responsible for the replacement of any of the items inside of this kit.