Wearing dental braces can be one of the most difficult things one does in life. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. I write this from my heart for anyone who has braces and needs to know how to control them, instead of them controlling you. Braces don’t have to be hard, they can actually be fun, if you master a few areas from the first day you put them on…
I am sure this letter is reaching a variety of age groups, which is my hope and prayer. You see, I’m 41 years old and it felt a little weird getting full braces. Everyone in the waiting room was between the ages of 7 and 25, but my dentist said get them or not expect my teeth to straighten. If you are a boy, I hope you will like this article. If you are an adult, I hope to encourage you to the fullest as well.
let’s do it How do you master braces instead of them mastering you? A little disclaimer: what worked for me might not work for you, so please follow your dentist’s or doctor’s instructions first, but I’m going to be upfront and forthright to help most of you on this moment. .
The best advice I received from the beginning. Relax. Relax and try not to think about them being in your mouth. In fact, the dental assistant told me: Don’t think about it. Just be yourself and be normal. That was priceless. Why?
The first day I got my braces on, I wanted to take them off and tell the doctor to take them off my face. I even thought about the $4,600 I had to pay (my insurance didn’t cover it because I’m over 25) and thought about how I didn’t care even if I had to pay it, it just keeps this bottom bracket from breaking on my cheeks!
It’s okay. So I’m not trying to scare you, but wearing braces can be difficult if you don’t get the hang of them before they get the hang of you!
First of all, you have to have fun, laugh and be yourself just like you were before you got your braces. I know, I know, the instructions say “no sugar, no sweets, no caramel etc etc etc, again follow your dentist’s instructions but I say use moderation instead and enjoy your food!
Your teeth will ache for a while. There are some things that are normal that you will not feel as normal. I already called my dentist and all of the following is normal believe it or not: teeth moving, being able to touch the teeth and see them move, pain, tension and much more.
My dentist told me that I would feel normal in about a week or two. No way. It took me about a month and a half. After a month, I was starting to feel like the old “me” and beginning to enjoy my food. Now about the food. Please don’t make the mistake I did, don’t try to eat with ALL your teeth right away.
I thought, ok, this better be normal, so let’s go ahead and chew! Yuck! I have so much food stuck in my front teeth you could have filled two gum wrappers with it! Do not bite. Don’t eat as if your teeth were unaffected. Okay, everyone is different, but if I could give you this advice. If you used to brush hard, brush medium, if you brush soft, good for you. If you brushed a lot like I did, you’re going to have to back off a bit!
Let me explain. I went through a lot of pain of undoing the first few weeks just breaking my bottom teeth. Before I got my braces on, I just rubbed and rubbed. However, the bottom tooth is the one that is crooked, so I was really scrubbing daylight from a tooth that is MOVING. It’s not a good thing.
Notice, your teeth are moving right now, you wouldn’t clean a moving car with a 500lb jet sprayer, so don’t do it with your teeth either. You have to be a little more sensitive to yourself.
Once again, the first two weeks for me, I wanted to take my braces back to the dentist. Now, I hardly know there. Another thing is prayer. Seriously, pray and ask God for help right now. I’m a Christian, so one day I prayed this simple prayer and I encourage you to do it too: “Lord, please teach me how to eat again, with these braces on.”
He heard my prayer and I began to eat more with my molars. But first, there was peace! God gave me the peace to go on and I was moved by him to stop brushing so hard and also to eat more with my molars. Not to ignore my front teeth, and to chew on them too, but just to switch from main teeth to back teeth, if that makes sense.
The first three weeks for me can be summed up in one word: uncomfortable. Well, I can help you get through that too. I wanted to sit down at night and sip my “Welch’s Grape Juice Bars” every night. uh oh. No way. They were history. They are history for now. Until I take my braces off. It was too cold for my teeth and they all tensed up like they were preparing for war or something.
I’m a juice bar nut, but I almost like ice cream as much as I like juice bars. Come find out, ice cream has less fat than some of those juice bars! Regardless, he needed some food that he could enjoy. Before I tell you about my favorite food with braces, let me cheer you up by describing some of my second-place finishers. I love eating corn cream, well-done ribs, because with your fingers you can take them off the bone…
A new love! Tapioca pudding! It’s actually an old flame, but for the first few weeks it helped me get over it! Also, health-wise: Fig Newtons! Awesome bland, healthy food, and eating them is fun with your braces. Once again, though, you should focus on eating with your back teeth, not your front teeth. Also, put some food on your tongue and let it sit there for a minute, then move it back, because you don’t want it to get stuck in your front wires!
Hmm… let’s see. Other foods you might like: peas, creamed corn-man this is satisfying with braces. Chile too! Yes, Chile! Do you have a Farmer Boys near your house? The best thing you can do for your little one after they get braces is to take them to Farmer Boys for a hot bowl of Chili! Farmer Boys makes them with meat, and not as many beans, and the meat is thin, so you’ll be nourished and feeling normal again in no time! Chile my friends! Chili!
Hmm… what else? Also, soft fruits are great. Watermelon, cucumbers, and orange slices all work great with braces.
But remember above all. You have to cut everything! You can’t just sit down and eat a cheeseburger! You need to cut all your sandwiches into quarters or eighths, make everything bite size. You can’t eat huge anymore.
Watch out for the nuts! They seem to be the hardest thing to eat with braces. You can eat them from time to time, but let me show you how. Does anyone like chocolate pecan clusters? I also! However, you can NEVER eat them with your front teeth! You just can’t! Eat them only with the BACK teeth. Trust me, you’ll thank me later. I tried to eat one for the first three days and it almost popped out of my mouth. Also, if you eat sweets, eat only one! Trust me, one is going to feel like four with braces on.
Second, eat slowly, enjoy and chew your food. Never before has chewing become so important! Chew on! Chew on! Chew on! Enjoy! You’ll be glad you did.
Also, lastly, you have to relax and be careful with the wax! The doctor told me to put wax, wax, wax. I have a scientific mind and he told me I’m just postponing the inevitable. Those braces next to the cheek are going to have to break and indent or bruise over time. So after using wax for only a day or two, I gave it up.
Then, of course, there was the usual pain, but after a day for me, it started to go away. Yeah yeah the braces indented my cheek and if I move my tongue under my cheek I can feel the scar tissue or whatever but hey my cheek has hardened and I don’t need wax anymore. . I have talked to people who have waxed for months!
Ok, I promised to tell you my favorite food. It’s vanilla ice cream, sherbet or strawberry. I only eat a tablespoon or two at night three or four times a week because it’s so soothing to my mouth. At first, my mouth started to get a little tight, but after doing it for a day or two, the tension has lessened and is hardly noticeable. I feel so good after having the ice cream because it is so relaxing for my mouth!
Now again, follow your dentist, but on my first braces check, I’m way ahead of the curve. I think I will have my braces off in 8 months or less! And that’s also eating ice cream!
My crooked truth has almost completely straightened out and it’s been less than three months! Also, I am wearing Damon Braces, and they are very comfortable and are a brand new technology that works with the natural movement of your teeth, and they don’t require as much tightening as standard braces! If you’re a parent shopping for braces, don’t forget that name!
Lastly, if I can do it at 41, so can you. Don’t let the brakes get the best of you. You must master them. And one last word on flossing too. You will NOT be able to floss every day. It’s too hard and you’ll get frustrated. Floss regularly, but most importantly, brush regularly and use plenty of mouthwash. It will soothe your mouth! Peroxide mouthwash! Colgate makes a great one.
Also, my dentist recommends Colgate Total for best results while wearing braces. Let me tell you why I agree with him. I’ve been a public school teacher for 20 years and once had a 6th grader do an in depth science experiment comparing Colgate Total, Crest, Agua-Fresh and more. To sum it up, Colgate Total was a winner in all areas: fewer cavities, fewer cavities, and most importantly, more teeth whitened than any other brand.
That student was one of my smartest and her research was intensive. Actually, I was an assistant principal at the time and a science fair judge. With that said, please enjoy your new braces and remember, be the master of them, before they master you!