You’ve made the decision to get braces to help straighten your teeth or to correct an underbite or overbite, and that’s a great decision. While braces can be a minor inconvenience while you’re living with them, the benefits they offer you far outweigh this temporary inconvenience. Here are five tips you should be aware of before you get your braces.
Don’t Be Embarrassed
Most importantly, you should never be embarrassed about having braces. You have them for a very short amount of time in your life, and the benefits will be realised for the rest of your life, so be proud that you’ve taken the step to give yourself a beautiful smile. If don’t like the idea of having braces on display, there are options for you, like the special types of braces Invisalign Birmingham orthodontists offer. Invisalign braces are far less visible than normal braces and if you’re interested in something like this, have a look here for more information.
Brush Often and Well
Keeping your teeth clean is going to be a bit more challenging when you have braces, because you’ll have to clean underneath and around all the fittings in your mouth. Thankfully there are many different products that can help you, like toothbrushes and dental floss specifically made for those with braces. Spend a few extra minutes on dental hygiene, cleaning in and around your braces well, and spending the time flossing. This way you can avoid tooth cavities in harder to reach places.
Stop Chewing on Things
If you have a habit of gnawing on the back of your pencil or chewing on plastic or your fingernails, having braces is an excellent reason to break that habit. Chewing these hard things is generally not very good for your teeth, but even worse for you if you have braces. Cut out the chewing! While you’re at it, you also need to avoid foods that can cause damage to your bracers or clog them up like caramel and gummy sweets, chewing gum, nuts, and hard candy.
Don’t Use Whitening Products
Whitening products will whiten only the parts of your teeth that aren’t covered by your braces, and thus using whitening products while you have them is generally not a good idea, as you might end up with unevenly white teeth. Avoid toothpastes and other products designed to whiten your teeth to avoid this.
Get Some Wax
You can still do anything you used to do now that you have braces, so don’t limit your activities. You can even keep playing sports, and even contact sports, by simply adding a good quality mouth guard to your equipment. If a particular part of your braces is sharp or causes irritation, you can carry a piece of special wax with you and apply it directly to that part of your braces to instantly cover it up and stop the irritation.
Your time spent with braces doesn’t have to be difficult or irritating. It should be a happy experience as you watch your teeth and your smile slowly improve over a few months.