One or two years with braces can change your life forever. During your treatment time, you learn how to take care of your teeth. Perhaps even, you become that person who spends hours brushing, flossing, mouth washing, and perhaps even spending too many hours in the dental section of the drugstore or supermarket looking at the newest toothpaste flavors and brush types. Let’s face it, after the initial apprehension with the idea of braces, you look forward to your regular meets with Dr. Sharma and the Aura Orthodontics team almost every six weeks.
Does this all sound familiar? It probably does for any patient who’s seeing the changes in their teeth alignment. To get even more benefits from your treatment plan, we’ve compiled some do’s and even sneaked in a few don’ts.
1. DO WHAT THE DOCTOR HAS PRESCRIBED.
If Dr. Sharma has instructed you to wear elastics or aligners. Please do so. Try your very best to not forget or not follow instructions. If Dr. Sharma is certain you need to wear elastics or whatever, you should be wearing them. To receive the best end results, your participation in the process is necessary – wear your elastics and be prepared to be wowed by how healthy and fabulous your teeth will at the end of it all.
2. GO TO ANY APPOINTMENTS AND LET THEM KNOW IF SOMETHING BREAKS.
Brackets can fall, wires poke your cheeks, aligners might get lost (do take care though), retainers might break too. Don’t wait to contact the office, since such a “small” incident can just make your treatment longer or even put it on hold. It is better to get the advice of Aura Orthodontics – we are always here to help you. Do try to solve the issues as soon as possible. Or discuss with your doctor to have the best solution available. Don’t miss appointments and try to do your part of the job the best you can.
3. YOUR TEETH ARE SENSITIVE. DON’T MAKE IT HARDER.
You have to understand that your teeth are under a lot of “stress”. It’s not easy being a tooth, having those metal things on you, being pushed and pulled around. Your teeth need care and protection. Even if you can eat hard foods, don’t do it. We all love nuts, whole apples, and other hard foods, but this doesn’t mean you should be eating them with braces. Even if your teeth don’t hurt right away they seem to be pretty strong, please take note that they are moving to their decided position and you shouldn’t be chewing on hard things. This doesn’t mean that you are limited to soft food only, but take note of Dr. Sharma’s ‘do not eat during treatment’ list.
4. BRUSH, BRUSH AND THEN BRUSH SOME MORE.
People will think it’s odd you are carrying around toothpaste and brushes and brushing a lot. However, you will find that when you start treatment, you will also start caring more for your oral hygiene (at least that is what we hope for at Aura Orthodontics). When you eat with braces, you will find that you will have stuff stuck in your teeth and brackets, it’s perfectly normal to brush and floss way more. Partly the visual aesthetics of food crammed in your brackets and partially because you don’t want to have tarter on your teeth and to not develop cavities.
5. IMAGINE YOUR SMILE AFTER the TREATMENT WILL BE DONE.
The easiest way to go through the duration of treatment is to envision your smile after the treatment. Watch TV commercials, look up pictures on the internet of people with those perfect smiles and perhaps even say to yourself “this is how my teeth will look”. This little self-motivation will help you to succeed.
6. WEAR YOUR RETAINER
There is no point of getting braces if you forget to wear your retainer. Many people who have had their teeth get crooked again didn’t wear their retainer properly. It’s unpleasant to have to care for this too after so many months being braced. We understand this at Aura Orthodontics, but your retainer is the secret to KEEP your smile. Some wear it for few months, some for some years or even a lifetime.
Straightening your teeth and solving your bite problems are not something that can be done in days. It’s not done in weeks either, but many months, even a few years, depending on the severity of your case. This means you need to prepare yourself for your treatment and have enough patience to successfully finish the treatment.
Your treatment means wearing some sort of an orthodontics device for as long as needed, plus many other bits and pieces that will come and go as your teeth get into the desired position. As always, Dr. Sharma and the team at Aura Orthodontics are always ready to assist with answering questions and helping to ensure the entire braces experience is educational and customized for every patient. If you have questions about a free orthodontic consultation or questions about your current treatment, contact our office.
