Caring while out and about
Parents should assemble a “to-go kit” for their children who have braces. This encourages healthy dental habits in order to prevent issues such as infection, pain, or awkward food stuck in their braces. Included in the kit should be: toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, rubber bands, wax, and lip balm. It’s a great idea to have your child keep this kit with them as much as possible, especially when they’re first experiencing their new set of braces.
A new dental routine
Maintaining a healthy and proactive dental health routine is not only necessary for everyone, but it’s especially important for a child with braces. It’s vital that both morning and night, your child completes the full dental hygiene routine: brushing, flossing, rinsing. It’s also important to avoid sugary foods as much as possible. The extra material from the braces can pick up sugary foods and hold them in the crevices more so than your standard set of teeth. Due to this scenario, bacteria have an additional area to thrive in and can cause more damage.
Dental Bands
Some children may require rubber dental bands that can cause their mouth to become sore. To prevent soreness from occurring, it’s important to equip your child with backup rubber dental bands in order to ensure that they are able to replace a band if it breaks or loosens to the point of becoming uncomfortable. The great thing is that if your child continually wears the bands through the initial, uncomfortable stage, they’ll stop the hooks of the braces from poking your child’s mouth. It’s also important to note that if your child accidentally skips a day of wearing the bands, DO NOT double the amount of bands the following day to compensate for the missed day. Treat it similarly to a medication, i.e.: don’t double the dosage to make up for a missed dose.
Wires & Brackets
If the wires or brackets within your child’s braces ever loosen, be sure to contact your orthodontist ASAP. They should be able to see your child and make the proper adjustments in order to ensure that braces continue to perform as expected.
Experiencing discomfort and/or soreness?
Prior to having your child’s braces attached to their teeth,they should apply a form of lip balm to prevent chaffing from the extended periods of having the mouth open while the orthodontist is performing the procedure. After the procedure is initially completed, the teeth and jaw may be sore due to the foreign feeling of having braces within the mouth. To help relieve some of the soreness, have your child rinse the mouth with warm salt-water. Also, applying wax to the braces can help prevent irritation as the mouth adjusts to the new braces.