How to Eat when you first wear or tighten braces: 13 Steps (with Photo) - tips

Video: Foods To Eat When You First Get Braces/ Tightened

Content

Steps
Advice
Warning
What you need

If you recently put on or tightened braces, your teeth may feel uncomfortable and painful for the first few days. The pain usually goes away after a few days, but you also need to make conscious food choices during this time. Hard or sticky foods can damage the braces, causing pain in the days when braces are first worn or adjusted. The following article will guide you how to eat food when you first wear or tighten the braces. Learning about what foods to eat and how to eat them can help you adjust to your new braces with ease.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Adjusting the diet

Choose soft foods. Soft, non-chewy foods are best with braces. Not only less damaging braces, soft foods also cause less pain for sensitive teeth. You can still eat some foods, such as hard vegetables, but need to steam them until they're soft and easy to chew. Some foods that are good for braces and that don't irritate sensitive teeth include:
- Soft cheese
- Yogurt
- Soup
- Cooked meat is soft, not chewy, boneless (chicken, meatballs, ham, ...)
- Soft boneless seafood dishes (fish, crab meat)
- Pasta / noodles
- Boiled or mashed potatoes
- Soft rice
- Egg
- Beans cooked softly
- Soft bread without hard edges
- Tortilla corn tortilla soft shell
- Pancake
- Soft pastries, eg cookies or muffin
- Pudding
- Apple sauce
- Banana
- Smoothie, cream or milkshake
- Jelly
Avoid hard foods. Hard foods can damage the braces and cause mild to severe pain in the days after the braces are installed or adjusted. Avoid hard or crunchy foods, especially after seeing your orthodontist. Some common hard foods to avoid include:
- Nuts
- Granola Cake
- Popcorn
- Ice
- Hard bread crust
- Bagel bread
- Pizza rim
- Tortilla chips and cornflakes
- Hard shell Taco cake
- Raw carrots (unless cut into very small pieces)
- Apples (unless sliced)
- Corn (unless it's just corn kernels, avoid whole corn)
Cut back on sticky foods. Sticky foods are not good for braces and can be painful to chew when you first wear them. Sweets and chewing gum are the worst sticky foods you should avoid eating with braces. Avoid sticky foods like:
- Types of chewing gum
- Licorice
- Toffee
- Caramel candies
- Starburst marshmallows
- Sugar Daddies
- Chocolate
- Cheese
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Part 2 of 4: Changing the way you eat

Cut food into small pieces. How to eat is one of the biggest risk factors that can cause braces to damage. Conventional biting of food can cause the brace to fall off your teeth or break. To avoid this, cut food into small pieces. This helps to control the number of times your teeth have to chew food at any given time.
- Use a knife to cut the kernels off the core. The corn kernels are soft enough to be eaten safely, but biting on the cob can cause toothache, damaged braces or a sore jaw.
- Cut apples into slices before eating. Similar to corn, biting on the core of an apple can cause pain or damage to the braces.
- Even if you eat foods that are good for your braces, cut them into smaller pieces. This helps control pain and protects teeth from damage.
Chew with your molars. Most of us don't think too much about which teeth we use to bite and chew our food. However, when you first install or adjust the braces, your teeth will be more sensitive. So, you should chew with your molars - usually thicker and better structured to crush food - to help ease the pain in your front teeth.
- When you chew, avoid tearing or separating food with your front teeth. This is also the reason why it is more beneficial to eat chopped foods.
- Another less tooth-damaging way is to take the food deep into the mouth (but not as deep down the throat to avoid choking).
- If you are unfamiliar with putting a fork deep in your mouth and are concerned that you might bite the plate, you can try holding the food with your hands and gently placing the food where you can chew with your molars.
Eat slowly. Although very hungry (especially when your teeth are so painful that you won't be able to eat in the first few days of having braces), it's important to eat slowly. Eating too fast can make you forget the right way of eating (eating small pieces, chew with your molars) and increase your risk of biting on seeds or bones. If you chew too quickly, your teeth may become sore or inflamed. The reason is that the bones and ligaments supporting the teeth in the mouth are already weakened by the impact of forces that help align teeth.
- Drink plenty of water while eating. This will make it easier to swallow if the food is difficult to chew. Drinking water also helps to wash away food residue that may be in the braces.
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Part 3 of 4: Managing pain

Gargle with normal saline. Teeth, gums, lips, tongue, and cheeks can be sore for a few days after braces are installed or adjusted. This is normal and can be controlled in many ways. The easiest way to reduce inflammation in the mouth is to rinse your mouth with saline.
- Mix 1 teaspoon of salt in an 8 ounce cup of clean, warm water. Do not use water that is too hot to avoid the risk of mouth burns.
- Stir until the salt is completely dissolved.
- Gargle with the salt water mixture as often as needed throughout the day, especially during the first week after braces are fitted or adjusted. Spit out the salt water after rinsing.
Apply dental wax on steel wire braces. Many people wearing braces hurt when their lips, cheeks, and tongue rub against metal braces.Others experience wire stabbing into their lips, cheeks, and tongue over and over again. Both of these conditions are quite common. The best way to cope with the pain is to apply dental wax to the braces or cords that cause pain and discomfort. The dental wax helps when the mouth has to adapt to the new device on the teeth or as a temporary solution until you see the orthodontist to fix it. However, if the braces break or the steel wire sticks out, it's best to see an orthodontist as soon as possible to fix the problem.
- Only apply dental wax on the braces. Ask your orthodontist for the wax to take home or you can buy dental wax from a pharmacy.
- If the wax is constantly falling down during the application, ask your orthodontist to heat a small amount of Gutta-percha resin and apply it to the wire. The resin will cool down after 40 seconds and stick on the steel wire for a longer time than normal wax.
Take medicines. If you experience severe pain after the braces are fitted or adjusted, you should consider taking medication to control the pain. Common over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) are very helpful in relieving pain.
- When giving medication to children or teenagers, avoid giving aspirin as it can cause Reye's syndrome in children and teenagers. Reye Syndrome is a health problem because the use of aspirin in young people can be fatal.
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Part 4 of 4: Dental care

Floss your teeth regularly. It can be difficult to brush with new braces, but this step is even more important when you are wearing braces. Food can get caught between the teeth or around the braces, causing discomfort and can increase the risk of infection. Some dental products like Floss Threaders or Superfloss thread make it easy to brush between teeth and around the braces bars.
- Brush under the wire, then insert the floss through the upper part of the wire between each group of teeth.
- Bend the thread to a C shape while brushing each tooth to ensure removal of all food residue.
Brush your teeth after each meal. Brushing is an important step when you wear braces and can be especially helpful when new braces are installed or tightened. Food residues can cause pain in teeth and soft gums. Brushing your teeth after each meal and before bed can help remove food residue.
- Use a soft bristle brush to relieve pain on your teeth and gums when brushing.
- Consider using an interdental brush to clean between the braces and the wire.
- Brush your teeth towards your tongue to ensure that any food residue is completely removed. That means you will brush from top to bottom for the upper teeth and bottom up for the lower teeth.
- Not in a hurry to brush your teeth. It is recommended to take about 2-3 minutes for each tooth brushing to ensure brushing of each surface of each tooth.
- You may need to repeat the process of brushing and rinsing your mouth more often than usual. At this point, the plaque has spread to a wider surface that is teeth and braces.
Wear orthodontic elastic as instructed. Your doctor may recommend using an orthodontic elastic to correct teeth that are not aligned. The braces themselves will help straighten the teeth, but if the teeth are out of alignment (eg, plump or chuck) the orthodontist may recommend a special orthodontic elastic. The spandex is worn by hooking each end around a special hook on two symmetrical braces (usually one in the front and one at the back, one above and one below on each side).
- Orthodontic t-shirts should be worn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week until the orthodontist tells you to stop wearing them.
- Orthodontic elastic should only be removed when eating or brushing teeth. Otherwise, you should wear orthodontic elastic constantly, even at bedtime.
- You may want to remove the orthodontic elastic a few days after each braces correction. However, adhering to the specific recommendations of the orthodontist would be best for teeth.
Adhere to the examination schedule. Orthodontists usually schedule a follow-up visit and tightening of the braces every month. It is very important to follow the schedule recommended by the orthodontist to ensure that the braces work and that the teeth are in good shape. Avoid tightening the braces only prolongs the time to wear the braces. In addition, you should visit your dentist at least every 6 months to ensure that your teeth are always strong, as well as make sure you are maintaining proper oral care habits. advertisement

Advice

Do not further irritate the sore teeth. Touching your teeth, gums, and braces only makes the pain worse.
Do not eat again if it starts to hurt.
Avoid soft drinks as most soft drinks are high in acids and sugars. These substances can corrode teeth and dental equipment and leave white spots on the teeth. Drinking too much soda can cause tooth decay.
Reduce your risk of pain by trying not to let your lower teeth touch your upper teeth.
If you feel too much pain but still hungry, drink a COOL smoothie or shake. The cold will help relieve the pain, while the smoothie will help reduce hunger.
Apply lip balm when you go back for a check-up and tighten your braces. Lip balm helps prevent dry, chapped lips after a dental exam.
Do not eat foods that an orthodontist loves you to avoid. The doctor knows what he is doing and what is good for the braces. This way, you can avoid rupture of your braces and not have to wear long braces.
If the sides of your mouth start to hurt, don't move your mouth too much and try to talk less.
Try mashed potatoes as they are tender and will help you feel full.
It is okay to drink ice but not too much at a time. Drinking too much ice can cause pain.

Warning

Do not touch the braces. While it looks sturdy, steel wire is fragile and can easily bend or break. Repairing broken braces is very expensive and prolongs the time of braces.
Braces are special equipment and are easily damaged by hard foods such as tacos / tostada crust, apples, bagels, as well as sticky foods. These foods loosen or even cause the braces to come off completely. Avoid chewing on non-food items that cause the wire to bend and cause discomfort.