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Living with invisalign
You’ve decided to get braces. Congratulations! You’re on your way to straighter teeth, a healthier bite and a confident smile. You may be wondering how wearing braces will affect your life while undergoing your orthodontic treatment, and what you’ll need to do to get the best results possible.
Living with braces will definitely require making some adjustments to your normal eating and drinking routine, and committing a little extra time to your oral hygiene. Your braces may also cause you some discomfort (it’s not a lot, but it’s part of the process). All of which will be worthwhile when you get the smile you’ve always wanted.
In this post, we’ll mostly be referring to braces with brackets and wires, whether they’re lingual braces that go behind your teeth or conventional braces that are placed on the front of your teeth.
Invisalign braces are a bit of a special case, and are generally easier to care for. Read more about why Invisalign braces are so popular.
The main areas to consider when it comes to living with braces include: oral hygiene/cleaning (brushing and flossing), eating and drinking (what should be avoided) and dealing with discomfort.
Brushing
Your first line of defense, outside of avoiding problematic foods and drinks, is your toothbrush. You should get used to carrying a toothbrush and toothpaste with you as often as you can.
Ideally you’ll brush your teeth after every time you eat, but if that’s not possible, rinsing your mouth out with water is the next best thing (until you can get to a toothbrush and toothpaste). Make sure to try to work the water into all the nooks and crannies, then spit it out. A couple rinses should work well.
At minimum, you should be brushing twice a day, ideally preceded by flossing (flossing at night is most important).
It is recommended you use a soft bristle brush. Powered toothbrushes are a great option too. Make sure to brush both sides of your top and bottom teeth, and rinse well with water after you’re done.
You might find that braces are a little tougher on your toothbrush and therefore it may need to be replaced more often (every couple of months is a good rule of thumb).
Watch Our How-To Brush With Braces Video...
Flossing
Flossing can be tricky with braces. In fact, it’s probably the trickiest part about having them.
Without braces, flossing is relatively easy. Just slide the dental floss or flosser between your teeth, floss away, and in a few minutes you’re done.
With metal braces and lingual braces, the wires make the process more difficult, but it can still be done. If it’s your child that has braces, you will want to give them a hand.
First, you may want to use waxed floss, as non-waxed floss can catch on your braces and leave bits behind in your braces. Waxed floss also slides more easily between your teeth.
A WaterPik can help make the process easier, but it is not a substitute for a toothbrush and floss.
Second, you’ll may want to try a floss threader. Some people find that they really help with threading the floss around the wires and in between your teeth.
When flossing, make sure to do each of your teeth. Gently pull the floss up and down (all the way to your gumline) as well as back and forth to dislodge stuck food, but also to scrub the surface of your teeth to help remove plaque buildup in between the teeth.
One should floss at least once per day (we recommend flossing at night), and more often if necessary.
Watch Our How-To Floss With Braces Video...
Eating
With
Invisalign braces
, you have more freedom, but you still need to be careful. There are fewer restrictions about what you can eat (since you can take your Invisalign aligners out when you eat), but you will still want to try to avoid eating anything that could get stuck between your teeth.
Some foods that we recommend avoiding if possible:
- Hard candy
- Popcorn
- Nuts (especially if candied or sugar-coated)
- Gum
- Caramels/Toffee
- Any gooey, chewy or gummy candy
- Beef jerky
- Ice
Drinking
The biggest tip here is to avoid sugary drinks like pop and juice.
The main reason for this is that tooth decay can be a major problem with sugary drinks, and with metal braces and lingual braces, you have more places for that tooth decay to hide due to the brackets on your teeth.
If you’re using Invisalign braces, you should definitely remove the aligners when drinking so you can ensure the liquid does not get trapped between your teeth and the aligner. Also, you should not drink hot drinks with your aligners in place, as it is possible you could warp them.
Watch Our Eating & Drinking With Braces Video...
Dealing with discomfort
Discomfort is an individualized experience among people who have braces. It’s not something to get too worried about, as it means your braces are working!
Because your teeth are being adjusted and moved to new positions, you may experience pressure. With lingual or conventional braces, wires are tightened on brackets to nudge those teeth towards that ideal smile. Invisalign uses a series of aligners to adjust your teeth.
Brackets, wires and aligners can also rub against the soft tissue in your mouth and cause discomfort until you become more used to them. You can use orthodontic wax to cover the part of your braces that’s causing the irritation.
The end of one of your wires may start poking you as your teeth shift. You can use orthodontic wax to cover this as well. Then contact your orthodontic office to set-up a time to have this fixed.
If pain medication is required, use the over the counter pain relief medication of your choice.
A good way to help avoid discomfort is to avoid those foods that could cause problems with your braces (see above). Stick to softer foods, especially after adjustments.
Watch Our Dealing With Braces Discomfort Video.
With proper care, cleaning habits and by avoiding the food and drink we recommend, your experience with braces should go smoothly and in a relatively short period of time, you’ll have the brand new smile you have always wanted!
If you have any question about caring for your braces, please contact us. We’re happy to answer your questions.
If you’re considering getting braces, you may already be familiar with Invisalign, often referred to as clear braces or invisible braces. There are three basic choices when it comes to Invisalign: Invisalign Full Invisalign Express Invisalign Teen Are you wondering which Invisalign treatment option is right for you? The decision is actually going to be much easier than you realize. Your orthodontist will assess your condition and determine which orthodontic treatment option is best.
If you've been researching "types of braces", one of the questions you're probably wondering is if you should get Invisalign or braces? An ideal person to answer this question is an orthodontist. They’ll be able to make a recommendation based on a thorough exam of your teeth and the issues you will need to fix. If your orthodontist feels that either Invisalign or braces are a viable option, you’ll then want to consider the advantages and disadvantages of each before making a decision. Conventional braces treatment involves metal or ceramic brackets glued to your teeth, connected by wires, and small rubber bands. Invisalign consists of clear plastic aligners that are switched out every two weeks or so for a new set. They are virtually invisible and are easier to clean than traditional braces because you can take your aligners out.
If you’ve considered getting braces, no doubt you’re familiar with Invisalign braces (sometimes referred to as clear braces or invisible braces). Today, they are one of the most popular options for dental braces. As orthodontists serving the Edmonton area, Mar Orthodontics can attest that Invisalign is indeed a very popular option among our Edmonton, Sherwood Park and St. Albert patients. Everyone seems to be asking about Invisalign braces! Why is Invisalign so popular?
IT IS SO EASY TO SEE DR. MAR
Usually your Orthodontist will make a strong recommendation after doing an oral exam and reviewing your x-rays and 3-D scans. Dr. Mar always explains the choice he made and welcomes discussion. For a new patient there are so many things to think about. Patients come in asking about various styles of orthodontic wear like: Clear Correct Invisalign In addition to your diagnosis, Dr. Mar considers many pieces of information to make the best choice for you. Dr. Mar feels strongly that the Orthodontic process should be exciting, stress free and easily manageable with your busy lifestyle. He believes empowering the orthodontic partnership with an honest and transparent patient relationship increases trust, excitement and commitment. Dr. Mar certainly prefers the use of CLEAR ALIGNER THERAPY thus providing every patient with a level of freedom throughout the treatment. The positives are less time to floss and brush, no foods you cannot eat, socially easier to carry out your lifestyle and less visits to the office. Dr. Mar explains carefully and in great detail why compliance when wearing aligners is a must. He is pleasantly surprised to see the strong commitment patients exhibit, even teenagers. Make your appointment for a FREE EXAM and discuss your options with Dr. Mar. Orthodontics is a big choice and it is so important you make an informed decision. Ask all the questions you may have about Invisalign, Clear Correct, Clear Aligner Therapy, Metal braces and Lingual braces (Hidden braces). Dr. Mar will welcome your questions and explain his choice.
Mar Orthodontics is now conveniently located in the Gateway Village Shopping Centre at Suite 128, 2 Hebert Road, just southeast of the St. Albert Trail and Gervais Road/Hebert Road in intersection (the first major intersection when you enter St. Albert from Edmonton). We’re less than a minute from Anthony Henday Drive, which makes our office very accessible for our Edmonton orthodontics patients. Take the St. Albert Trail exit into St. Albert. Landmarks around us include Superstore (located in the complex just south of us), TD Bank (located southwest of us), A&W (located in the same complex just west of us), Tim Hortons (located in the same complex just north of us), KFC (in the same complex west of us). Feel free to drop by and check out our new office!
One of the most popular teeth-straightening options these days is Invisalign (also commonly referred to as “invisible braces” and “clear braces”). Invisalign is not your conventional braces , it’s actually a set of wire-free plastic aligners. With Invisalign, there are no metal brackets attached to your teeth or wires to tighten. Orthodontic patients love Invisalign for two main reasons: 1) they are virtually invisible (a lot less noticeable than conventional braces) and 2) there are no restrictions on eating & drinking because the aligners are removable.
Propel is a new orthodontic technology and Mar Orthodontics is proud to be one of the orthodontic offices in the Edmonton area that offers it. One hesitation many people have about getting braces is the amount of time orthodontic treatment can take. Depending on how severe your orthodontic issues are, treatment can take up to two years, or even a little more. In many cases however, treatment does not take that long. You may be wondering if it’s possible to shorten the amount of time you need to wear braces ( conventional or lingual ) or Invisalign . Well, now it is!