Orthodontic Blog - Fresh Orthodontics

Unbeknownst to our staff here, several American dental associations banded together to raise awareness about sports injuries, and named March of 2014 the National Facial Protection Month. This is an important issue, and one that touches on orthodontics in several ways.

When you first get your braces, you may be shocked at how very different everything is once the anaesthetic wears off. You may have to get used to speaking differently, holding your tongue differently, and moving your lips differently.

When wearing braces, it is important to avoid certain foods, or to get them processed somehow. When food gets stuck in your braces, bacteria start to eat away at it, and this harms the already vulnerable tooth enamel (orthodontic treatment always puts the patient at slightly more increased risk of tooth decay as the teeth are under stress). It may be difficult to remove sticky and gooey foods, or ones with tiny parts in them. Here are the 5 foods we recommend avoiding while in braces.

Patients are frequently at a loss when they are told that they “need” orthodontic treatment. They have a nice enough smile, they can clean their teeth with ease, and they have no difficulty eating at all, so why is orthodontry needed? Is orthodontry ever truly “needed”?

Orthodontic braces, whether for functional or aesthetic purposes, are no longer the territory of the early teens- adult braces are a big and ever-increasing industry.