Braces!

[Ammer]

Alright, so this topic seems like I should have posted it 10 years ago (I know PPT wasn't around then, but you catch my drift).

In any case, I finally got braces on my teeth (only the top part as of now, bottom part in 6 months) and I was wondering if anyone has some general tips they could give? It's only been 1 official full day since I've gotten my braces so I may be jumping the gun just a bit, but I wanted to be on the safe side.

I guess one of my concerns is of course, eating. I want to know the "for sure" foods I have to stay away from. And the foods which are recommended for those with braces. Another issue is brushing! I am so scared to brush because I feel as if I'm going to break the damn things!

As for the braces themselves, they're not that bad. They're clear in the front and on the backsides, they're metal. Obviously I'm not thrilled I got them but I made myself get it as I wanted my teeth to be even more straight. In any case, they should be coming off in under 2 1/2 years (the orthodontist said it will probably be much shorter so that's a good sign).

Any help and personal stories (whether your own or from friends - with permission of course) would be greatly appreciated

[Mongrel]

Do you have the clear porcelain kind? I've heard those are much more trouble than the metal kind in terms of the brackets falling off, but I'm not sure that's true. In any case, I had metal braces for...three years, I think, and in all that time I only had only one bracket come unbonded and none ever broke. But you shouldn't be too worried about the braces breaking even if they're porcelain. Braces are designed to pull your teeth in every direction, and if your orthodontist let you wear braces that break when brushed he should never be allowed to work again. Flossing was a nightmare for me and I just quit trying after the first time my floss got tangled in my braces. That's a bad idea, though, trust me.
The worst kinds of foods to eat are the taffy kind of candies, like Laffy Taffy, Now and Laters, or Mary Janes. Sugared drinks are also a bad idea, especially if you have softer teeth. The sugar can build up around the brackets and causes your teeth to become discolored or even pitted. They probably showed you pictures of that. Popcorn can be a pain because you can get bits of popcorn stuck in hard-to-clean spots. And supposedly you shouldn't eat carrots or tortilla chips(including Doritos) because...I dunno. You're just not supposed to. But I ate them just the same.
Mostly just experiment and be careful with hard or sticky or gooey foods.

[Shoyru_Lover]

That's a lot of sacrifices lol.

My little sister had braces for 3 - 4 years and she never really watched her diet. Totally fine.

Hmm when she got braces, I wanted to get braces too just because she got them. *shrug* They looked fun at the time.

[3lla]

I only ever had braces for a year. I didn't find them that annoying either except for when they would get tightened. Then that just made my mouth sore as a buggar.

My advice to you Ammer is to be obsessive over how clean they are, because so much gunk and food can get trapped in them which could eventually end up yellowing your teeth. But in general I never watched my diet and did perfectly fine.

[Byakuya San]

I had braces for a few years, but I'm going to be getting them back on soon for something entirely different. Anyway, don't eat anything that's too crunchy (especially in the category of bread) or you'll just break everything. As far as brushing goes, don't worry about it breaking anything. Like Moongewl, I just gave up on flossing because it's too hard to see where the little threader is going just by looking at yourself in the mirror.

Hope that helps a bit!

[Katherine]

I have braces too(for the second time, my orthodontist is a LIAR!) and I never watch my diet. If you're really worried about them breaking, get a soft bristled toothbrush to brush your teeth with. It also doesn't hurt right after you get your elastics changed or stuff like that. I don't floss unless I have something stuck in them. Do you have wax for them? Because if they rub on your lips/cheeks, you should use that suff like water. It really helps.

[theonlysaneone]

You can't eat apples when you have them on. The peels get stuck in them, and if you bite into them, the braces can even break off. Eeurgh. I remember wanting so badly to eat an apple when I had them on. I felt like Captain Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean.

[Katherine]

You can eat them cut up though.

[Twinkle]

I had braces for two years. Don't eat highly coloured foods and if you do, make sure you brush STRAIGHT after. I love Indian food and I'd have a curry and fall asleep after. It stained my braces so bad, they looked awful.

[Ammer]

Wow, that's some great advice guys Some of you had them on for a while and others for a little bit, is it normal for braces to come off earlier than expected?

As of now, I am brushing after eating a meal and I am flossing every night (which takes so incredibly long that I want to kill myself).

And I do agree about the bread, I tried eating some bread yesterday (with a hard surface) and I broke it into little pieces and the crust still hurt. So I guess I'm off hard crusts.

Just a couple of questions, can I eat chips? As in regular normal Lays chips or any brand like that?

Also, I have been eating this really soft chocolate chip cookie (they're packaged soft) and it doesn't seem to stick in my braces as of now.

[Katherine]

I eat chips all the time, so it's fine. You can still eat tortilla chips too, just don't eat them too much.

[Mongrel]

Wow, that's some great advice guys Some of you had them on for a while and others for a little bit, is it normal for braces to come off earlier than expected?

It depends entirely on your individual case. I had to spend an entire extra year in braces because I suddenly developed wisdom teeth. But if your teeth are mostly settled, and you have all the adult teeth you're going to get, the estimated time should probably be pretty close to the real time(barring unforeseen circumstances).

And I do agree about the bread, I tried eating some bread yesterday (with a hard surface) and I broke it into little pieces and the crust still hurt. So I guess I'm off hard crusts.

Foods may hurt now that won't hurt once you've adjusted to braces. I know my teeth were all kinds of weird when I first got my herbst appliance, though I don't remember about braces.

Just a couple of questions, can I eat chips? As in regular normal Lays chips or any brand like that?

Sure.

[Ammer]

Foods may hurt now that won't hurt once you've adjusted to braces. I know my teeth were all kinds of weird when I first got my herbst appliance, though I don't remember about braces.

Oh, so does that mean pizza isn't completely out of the picture?

And as an added side, what about cereal?

Wow, that's some great advice guys Some of you had them on for a while and others for a little bit, is it normal for braces to come off earlier than expected?

It depends entirely on your individual case. I had to spend an entire extra year in braces because I suddenly developed wisdom teeth. But if your teeth are mostly settled, and you have all the adult teeth you're going to get, the estimated time should probably be pretty close to the real time(barring unforeseen circumstances).

Thankfully I had my wisdom teeth pulled before I got braces, so I don't think that will be a problem.

[Mongrel]

Foods may hurt now that won't hurt once you've adjusted to braces. I know my teeth were all kinds of weird when I first got my herbst appliance, though I don't remember about braces.

Oh, so does that mean pizza isn't completely out of the picture?

And as an added side, what about cereal?

Very few foods are completely out of the picture. Some of them may simply be harder to handle. Pizza might be trouble until you learn how to manage gooey cheese. And cereal is usually pretty easy since you just chew it up with your back teeth and don't have to bite it apart with your front teeth.

[Katherine]

Just cut up the pizza until you can manage it with your teeth. Just don't eat it in public when you still cut it up. People laugh at you when you eat pizza with a fork and knife. *coughevenyourfriendscough*