It's been about 5 months since I had my braces on and I am glad that I can still look back at this blog to remind myself how it felt like when I went for my first dental appointment with Dr Ho. I am glad that I started this blog because now I see that it is helping a friend of mine who just got her braces yesterday and have no idea what to expect ahead of her.
When you first got your braces on, there are bound to be a few questions that you must be wondering and is probably too shy to ask your dentist. Some of these questions may include:
1. When can I start eating after I got my braces on?
2. What are the food I can eat?
3. How often do I need to brush my teeth?
4. Can I kiss with my braces on?
5. When will it start to hurt and when will I stop feeling the discomfort?
6. What are the requisites I need for my oral hygiene?
I will answer these questions based on my own experience and do bear in mind that such experiences may differ from individuals to individuals, so yeah..
Okay, so question #1.
I believe you can start eating as soon as you got your braces on, just that you will need a while to get used to your new biting technique. I started off with KFC 2 pcs chicken as soon as I got my braces on that evening and I totally regretted it because it hurts like crap after a while and this is because your teeth will start to shift once you got your first few bite and that is when the pain and discomfort kicks in. After struggling to finish 1 pc of chicken I surrender and proceeded to take mash potatoes instead. The next few days felt like shit. I could barely chew or bite anything. I had horfun almost everyday in school and I had to swallow down my horfun because it was too painful to chew before I swallow. Aside from horfun I will take porridge or soup. I couldn't really take rice or simply anything that requires me to chew. I am not sure if you have higher pain threshold than me, but good for you if you do because you get to eat better.
Question #2.
You can eat anything and almost everything except that you need to bear in mind whatever you eat is going to get stuck somewhere in between the wires and brackets so try to avoid anything sticky. Oh yes, try to avoid hard food like apples because that was what my dentist told me. I guess that's because it can cause you to break your wires and brackets so yeah, don't try until you are sure you are good to do so. It will be good to cut down on sugary food because they can increase plaque formation and you don't want that to happen to you. In addition to this, you will find yourself getting annoyed whenever you eat because half the time these food gets stuck in your braces so much so that it makes you wonder if you are the one eating or your braces and you will probably end up like me, trying to use my tongue to remove them off my brackets and wires while eating.
It is very important to ensure your teeth are clean just in case you get tooth decay and halitosis from poor oral hygiene so this brings about my next answer.
Question #3.
You should brush your teeth as often as after every meal. But do not end up like me. I used to be so obsessed with brushing after every single meal or every single time after snacks. I ended up causing abrasion to my gums. I used to brush my teeth after I wake up, after my breakfast, after my snacks, after my lunch, after my snacks, after my dinner, after my snacks and before my bedtime. Haha! So basically I took every opportunity I had to brush my teeth but it soon became a chore. It is impossible to adhere to such strict oral hygiene schedule and it is definitely not healthy for your teeth and gums. I also abstained from soft drinks and sweets and chocolates but now I eat them in moderation. I do not know if you agree with what I do these days but I rinse my mouth with gargle/water when I wake up and brush my teeth only after I had my brunch (or after breakfast and before lunch if it is few hours apart to your next meal) and I make it a point to brush my teeth strictly after breakfast or brunch because I always have my caffeine fixed every morning. Because caffeine causes staining on your teeth, you need to make sure you brush them thoroughly and for me, I use whitening toothpaste and I swear by Darlie Expert White but you may not like it as much as I do. Although it doesn't make your breath smell fresher like other products, it does whitening like magic. To fix your breath, you can use Listerine Mouth Wash which (in my opinion) work better than Colgate's. Also do make an effort to use inter-dental brush in between your brackets to remove excess food that were not removed from brushing. I use Systema's brush along with the gel and it works great. I even use it to clean my teeth and gums after brushing. By the way, they have different sizes that you can choose from.
Anyway nowadays when I don't get a chance to brush my teeth I make it a point to rinse my mouth thoroughly and remove the food that are stick on my teeth or braces. That is the least you can do for your teeth.
My mama told me that people with braces will have halitosis no matter how often or diligently they brush their teeth so in case you are very conscious about how your breath smells, always keep a pack of sugar-free mint with you. :) I actually got myself a breath spray but I hardly ever use it so yeah, you don't need that in case you were wondering. Just pop the mint.
Question #4.
Of course you can kiss with braces on! I used to think if it will cut their lips or something but it is proven that it will not so yeah. Haha! Just be careful not to knock your teeth into your significant other's because I assure you that it will hurt like siao especially you are into your first few weeks of braces. After a while when the pain is not so intense you are safe to knock it however you want. Nah, just kidding. You must always ensure that you care for your teeth. :)
Question #5.
Like I mention earlier, it will hurt as soon as you take your first meal after you first got your braces on and you will experience pain and discomfort especially when you sleep, particularly so if you sleep on your side because it puts pressure on your bracket and wire. I am sure many of you know how braces work to align your teeth. But just in case you don't, base on my understanding, it is the tension on your brackets and wires which causes the root of the teeth to break off and shift, causing your gums to feel sore/tender and whatever discomfort that you are feeling. The pain will go away maybe after a few weeks or after the first 2 months. It depends.
During my previous few dental appt when my dentist change my o-rings, it hurts quite a bit so do prepare to experience some pain and discomfort during each visit because your gums are still very tender as your teeth continue to shift. I read on the internet that you can take some painkillers before each dental visit but I have never done it so you might want to if you have very low pain threshold.
Question #6.
You are going to need a traveling oral hygiene kit which includes a gargle, toothbrush, toothpaste, interdental brush, interdental gel, floss. Of course all these are not necessarily a need but if you want to, you can get them. Make sure you brush your teeth thoroughly and properly especially on the inside of your teeth. Follow the brushing protocol in which you have been taught back in primary school if you want to make sure you brush your teeth properly.
My friends always tell me that I am exaggerating when it comes to dealing with my braces but I think that since I paid so much for it I need to take good care of it. Afterall I waited so long to get my braces done. It doesn't matter how people look at you even if you are brushing your teeth in public toilet. Just remind yourself of the amount of money you spend and pain you have to go through you want to give your teeth the best you can. I just don't want to end up like some people who eats any and everything and are lapsing in their oral hygiene because their breath smells really bad and you can see all the plaque forming up on their teeth. Eww.
Okay that's all for today.
Hope the above information helps you and if you have any questions, feel free to post them and I will see if I can answer them for you base on my experiences!
