The Secret to Sleepovers

One trouble we ran into is keeping up your orthodontic materials when going to a sleepover. We recommend not skipping out just because you go to a friend’s house.

Here are some tips for dealing with it:

Head Gear:
1. Wear it during the day if possible so that when you have a sleepover you can snack and eat later in the evening without having to worry about getting in your 12 (or whatever) hours.
2. If that isn’t possible decide on a time that you will put it on so that way you can eat before then
3. You can also put it on right before you and your friend(s) go to bed so they don’t ask about it if you are embarrassed.
4. If you think that it will just be a pain and get in the way you can also just skip that one night but we’d say only do that if it’s really going to be hard to wear it.

Braces:
1. If for some reason your friends don’t plan on brushing their teeth, just excuse yourself and brush your teeth. Since you have braces and as we have mentioned in post “Cleaning Techniques” and “The Health in Hygiene”, it is extra important to brush your teeth if you have braces.
2. You can probably skip flossing on the night of your sleepover since it is so time consuming.

Bands:
1. You can just wear these when you normally do since they are inconspicuous.
2. Bring extra just in case your bands break.

Retainers:
1. Bring your retainers with in you in a hard plastic case of some sort. That way when you are going to eat you can slip your retainers into it so they don’t get broken accidentally.
2. And remember to put your retainer in after you eat preferably after brushing but it doesn’t really matter as long as you brush your teeth at some point.

One point we cant stress enough is bring your orthodontic materials home. And in one piece! And as our orthodontist once said “The safest place for your materials is in your mouth or at home” So if you think that there is any chance of losing or breaking any of these it would be better to just leave them home. But don’t use it as an excuse to take a break. The more you wear all your bands and gears now the less time you will have to later! So don’t let your mouth get in the way of having fun at your sleepovers!

-Amanda and Erik