Starting phase one treatment can be overwhelming, but we're here to help!
First and foremost, congratulations on investing in your child's smile! We're so excited about the gift you're giving your child and their future health.
When your kid has braces, both of you must commit to managing and maintaining them! It's important that you help your child keep their braces clean. You got this! We recommend the following daily tasks:
- Twice a day, have your child or help them brush their teeth for at least 2 minutes. We recommend using Colgate Total toothpaste!
- Using mouthwash or a water flosser, we recommend your child rinse their mouth twice a day for 30 seconds. We've used ACT and Listerine. For water flossers, we've used Waterpik before.
- You should invest in orthodontic flossers! Your child will use these to clean up any food or debris stuck behind brackets or wires. Orthodontic flossers are specifically made to clean around these appliances! You can find them at CVS, Walmart, Walgreens, Weis, and most drugstores.
Your child might have mild discomfort for the first one to three days after getting braces. It's common for wires to poke or a bracket occasionally to fall off. These issues happen because of moisture in the mouth during placement, foods eaten, chewing on pencils/pens/nails, etc. There's no reason to panic, though! Contact Shoe Orthodontics and schedule an appointment for repair. You won't need to be seen the same day unless your child is experiencing extreme discomfort.
It's also vital that you monitor your child's diet. Some foods will cause damage to their braces. Namely hard, chewy, or sticky foods. Below are some, but not all, of the foods you should avoid during treatment:
- Bubble Gum (sugar or sugarless)
- Hard Sourdough Pretzels
- Gobstoppers
- Snickers Bars
- Nuts
- Hard Bagels
- Laffy Taffy
- Swedish Fish
- Apples and Carrots should be sliced thin to eat
- Beef Jerky
- Kettle Chips
- Popcorn
- Gummy Bears
- Chewing on pens or pencils
- Starburst
- Ice
- Bottle Caps
There are still a lot of foods, snacks, and treats your kids can eat! Most foods you serve for dinner, find on a kid's menu, or have in your fridge are still allowed. Common allowed foods are meats, pasta, steamed vegetables, ice cream, cake, chocolate, ice cream, pudding, yogurt, Reese's, marshmallows, pie, pizza (without the crust), brownies, sandwiches, french fries, and much more!
If you have any questions at all, we're here to help! Dr. Shoe and our team at Shoe Orthodontics are so excited to help you provide your child with a healthy, beautiful smile.
The Team at Shoe Orthodontics
