Owners Guide To Braces

owners-manual-for-dental-bracesSan Antonio Orthodontist Dr. Keith Blalock believes that taking care of your braces can have a great impact on the way they should work to make your smile straight and beautiful.   After all, if your braces aren’t properly attached to your teeth, the teeth will not move to their desired place.  Check out some of our tricks and tips to keep your braces functioning properly:

  • Don’t chew gum! Gum is a terrible idea when you have braces because it can stick to them, pull them off, and even bend the wires.
  • Don’t use your front teeth to bite into anything. Make sure to cut all your food into small pieces and chew with your back teeth.
  • Avoid crunchy and hard foods. Don’t eat popcorn, hard chips, or pretzels.
  • Don’t eat ice
  • Try and avoid sticky and hard candy. Don’t eat candies like tootsie rolls, jolly ranchers, starbursts, etc.
  • Don’t chew your pencils, pens, or fingernails.

You should try and stay on a soft food diet for your first week while you get used to having braces.  Try eating foods like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and soups.  If your teeth start to feel sore, don’t freak out! This just means that your teeth are moving, which is what we want to happen.  You can take ibuprofen, Motrin, or Advil for pain relief.  If you happen to have an emergency feel free to call our office for help.

Most importantly, make sure to keep your teeth and braces clean. Oral hygiene is a huge part of having a beautiful smile. If you don’t keep them clean, the bacteria that is left behind can cause a range of oral problems.  Brush your teeth after every meal and floss every night.

Come to all your appointments and take care of your braces to make sure you receive the best results in the shortest time possible.

The San Antonio Orthodontics practice of Dr. Keith Blalock, recognizes that every patient is different, and we work hard to cater to the unique needs of each patient. We offer the latest in dental braces and Invisalign, plus we treat our patients like family and will go out of our way to make them smile from the inside out!  For a free consultation, call us today at 210-695-9995 or visit http://www.blalockorthodontics.com