Who doesn’t want that picture-perfect smile that’s going to light up your Instagram feed?
For this, you’re going to need to get your teeth straightened with the help of braces.
Braces can help treat several orthodontic problems, like:
- Crowded teeth
- Bite problems
- Jaw misalignment
- Gaps in teeth
Whatever is your hurdle to getting the perfect smile, braces can help you. Getting braces as orthodontic treatment is a long-term commitment that requires getting a mouth full of metal wires, regular visits to the orthodontist, dietary restrictions, and keeping up a strict daily dental hygiene routine.
So, before you embark on the long-winding course of orthodontic treatment, here are a few things you should consider for braces before and after.
What You Should Know About Braces Before You Begin Orthodontic Treatment?
You’ll need to be mentally prepared to make a few changes in your life when you get braces:
You Will Feel Mild Discomfort When You First Put On Braces
When you first get fitted with your braces, you might feel mild discomfort because of the foreign sensation of having metal wires on your teeth. You can deal with this by putting an ice pack on your painful jaw area or taking an over-the-counter painkiller like ibuprofen.
The other primary type of pain associated with braces is if the wires can cause mouth ulcers and blisters on the inside of your cheek in the first few weeks of getting braces. You can minimize this pain by applying dental wax in the area.
You’ll Have to Change Your Diet
You’ll have to change your diet when you get braces drastically. All of these foods are a complete no-no:
- Chewy food like bagels, licorice, pizza.
- Crunchy food like popcorn and chips.
- Sticky food like caramel candies, chewing gum.
- Hard food like hard candy.
So if any of these foods are on your list of favorites, satiate yourself with them before you get braces.
You’ll Have to Make Time to Visit Your Orthodontist Regularly
No matter whether you’re getting clear aligners like Invisalign, or traditional metal braces, you’ll have to make time to visit the orthodontist regularly.
With traditional metal braces, the patient needs to visit the orthodontist every four to eight weeks throughout the treatment. The orthodontist will check the progress of your treatment and tighten the wires of the braces if needed.
You’ll Need to Wear Your Braces For Approximately Two Years
You’ll need to be mentally prepared to wear your braces for around two years. But the treatment time from each case can differ since there is no rule-of-thumb on the time period to wear braces.
You’ll Need to Follow a Strict Oral Hygiene Routine
You will need to follow a strict oral hygiene routine since it’s really easy to have food particles stuck in your teeth with braces, which can cause cavities and plaque. This can derail your braces treatment significantly, so brush and floss your teeth after every meal.
What You Should Know About the Aftermath of Your Orthodontic Treatment?
Here’s a glimpse of what will happen after your braces come off
Your Teeth Will Be a Bit Sensitive for the First Few Weeks
Since your braces have just come off, your teeth are still getting used to being without braces. So don’t binge on the restricted foods, since it might cause a toothache.
You Might Need to Wear a Retainer
Your orthodontic treatment isn’t over after your braces come off. You will need to wear a retainer after braces at night for a few months so that your teeth don’t shift back into their original positions they were in before you started your orthodontic treatment. Your orthodontist will advise you on whether you have to wear a detachable retainer or a fitted one, and on the period of wearing it, but it will depend on your individual case.
You Might Need to Schedule a Cleaning
After your braces come off, you might see small spots of discoloration on the teeth left by the brackets and wires of your braces.
While a few minor spots of discoloration can be evened out with daily oral care, if you see a big difference in your teeth shade, you can wait one or two months to schedule a teeth whitening treatment.
The reward of seeing your picture-perfect teeth is worth wearing braces. Having straight teeth means that you not only have a great smile, but you have better oral health as well.
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