When you first get your braces, you may feel general discomfort and your teeth may be tender to biting pressure for three to five days. We tell our patients to eat soft foods for a few days and take the pain reliever of choice if necessary. We will give you all you need to properly care for your braces, to include a new toothbrush, travel items for school/work, floss-threaders and wax. We strongly encourage you to brush and floss your teeth regularly and start biting down on soft foods by the second day. Initially, your lips will feel like they are protruding far in front of your face, but they are not. The braces are really small but when you put them on the teeth, they feel bigger than they are. Because braces shift teeth, you are going to feel them loosening so they can be moved to their proper position. Do not worry, this is normal. Addtionally, your bite will immediately start to change. One week you can be biting on one side and after a few weeks, it could shift to the other side. This will continue throughout your treatment until Dr. Pulsipher has lined up all of your teeth.
Eating with Braces
For the first few days, eat only soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads, raw vegetables, and anything that is sticky or chewy.
We ask our patients to lower their sugar intake, to include sodas. This will help with your braces and the
overall health of your gums and teeth. In order to protect your braces, avoid the following foods:
Hard Foods: Nuts, Jolly Ranchers, Hard Candy, Bread with Hard Crusts
Foods You Have to Bite Into: Corn on the Cob, Apples, Carrots
Cut these into SMALL pieces and eat carefully
These foods can break your brackets off your teeth, potentially lengthening your treatment time.
Your Appointments
Following your initial appointments, we will see you every four to six weeks for your orthodontic adjustments. These appointments generally take 20-30 minutes with a longer appointment sporadically throughout treatment. We make every effort to be on time for our patients and ask that you extend the same courtesy to us. If you cannot keep an appointment, please notify our office at your earliest opportunity. If you have to cancel, we will do everything we can to reschedule your appointment as soon as possible.
Patient Cooperation
Orthodontics is a patient/doctor relationship. Dr. Pulsipher promises to give you the best possible result, yet he can only do so with your cooperation. We ask that you regularly brush and floss your teeth as instructed while avoiding foods that could damage your braces. Additionally, should you need to wear elastics (rubber bands), headgear, or any removable appliances (these are worn to move the jaws and teeth to their optimal position), you will need to do so according to Dr. Pulsipher's instructions.
Athletics
If you play sports, it is important that you consult our office for special precautions. A protective mouth-guard is advised for playing contact sports. In case of any accident involving the face, check your mouth and your braces immediately. If the teeth are loosened or your braces are damaged, call our office immediately to make an appointment. If it is a serious emergency, call our office and should our answering machine answer, there will be a number in which to contact Dr. Pulsipher.
Emergency Appointments
Do not be alarmed if a wire or a band becomes loose this happens occasionally. If a wire is protruding and irritating, use a blunt instrument (back of a utensil) and carefully push the irritating wire under the bracket. Simply get it out of the way to alleviate the irritation. If the discomfort continues, place wax on the wire to reduce the annoyance until you can call our office. During office hours, we will see you that very day to get you comfortable. If time permits, we will fix a broken band or bracket. If not, we will remove the broken piece and schedule another appointment to re-bond the broken piece.
The Initial Days
