tips for adjusting to dentures

Wearing braces is a long process, but if you aren't careful and doing everything you are supposed to be doing, you may end up needing to wear those braces for much longer. Wearing braces may entail wearing not only the brackets on your teeth but also wearing different gauge wires and rubber bands as well. This all depends on the severity of your teeth and jaw placement. These extra devices need to be worn in order to get your teeth as aligned as possible. To help you care for your teeth and braces, there are a number of things you should know. Read on for helpful information.

Brush Your Teeth Twice Daily

Brush your teeth two times per day with a traditional toothbrush and with a cone-shaped toothbrush, such as a Proxabrush, to get in between your brackets and to remove the food that can get stuck in and around the brackets where your toothbrush cannot reach. Brush your teeth for at least two minutes and try your best to floss your teeth as well, although this can be a bit difficult with the wires in your mouth. Brushing often will help to prevent your teeth from staining while wearing braces and being left with marks on your teeth where the brackets once were after the braces have been removed.

Wear Your Rubber Bands

The rubber bands are a way to help pull the teeth forward or back depending on what is necessary for your teeth alignment. You need to wear the small rubber bands the way the orthodontist explains to you and you need to wear them daily until you are told otherwise. Wearing the rubber bands can be a bit of a chore at first, and can sometimes be difficult to maneuver into your mouth, but after a while, it becomes very simple. 

Eat The Right Foods

Don't eat anything that can do damage to your braces or to your teeth. Biting into an apple, for instance, may seem like it's something good for your teeth, but it may break off the brackets in your mouth. Biting into anything too hard can cause this same type of damage, so be sure to avoid biting into anything hard. Candy and gum can also damage your teeth or your braces, so avoid hard candies and chewing gum.

If you are wearing braces, you may be in them for some time. Don't lengthen this process any longer than necessary—take good care of your teeth and your braces. Talk to the orthodontist about other things you should know about caring for your braces.