Coping Series Part 3: Friends

First day with braces you will probably see your friends. They will of course notice that you got braces especially since you probably told them! Usually your friends will be supportive of you since after all most of them probably have/had braces at some point.
But sometimes they will have different reactions such as:

Teasing: You might get the usual name calling from your friends but they will probably not mean it. Everyone gets a hard time when they get braces (we did from our friends!) but they don’t mean any harm by it.

Encouraging: Most of your friends will probably have had braces so they will understand what you are going through.

Jealous: You will usually get a lot of attention your first day, people exclaiming “Wow you got braces!” and such. Some of your friends might get a bit jealous. So if some of them seem upset just remember that if they are jealous they will get over it after the excitement dies.

We hope this helps prepare or explain some of the reactions you might get!

-Amanda and Erik

Coping Series Part 2: Parents

Coping with your parents when you get braces is much different than with strangers. The only similarity is that the first few days you have your braces on, your parents will probably be asking how it feels and does it hurt and so on but this is much different than the general public because they will likely be being supportive of you!

Here are some things you might have to worry about with your parents:

1. Constant reminders: Most likely your parents will constantly be telling you to brush your teeth and be getting on your case about wearing your bands or head gear. This can get extremely frustrating at times, but if you just do what they say they will eventually calm down and leave you to it. Also the more you make sure you are brushing regularly and wearing all of your equipment, the sooner they will see that you can monitor yourself and don’t need them to constantly remind you. Just remember they are trying to help and they want the whole process to work!

2. Eating and food: Sometimes parents can be really strict about telling their kids what they can and cannot eat. As we have said in previous posts, most of the foods will not hurt as long as you are careful, but then again your parents are paying for the braces so if they are adamant about your not eating some foods it would be good to just listen. You can also try talking to them and coming to a common agreement about the matter.

Chances are your parents had braces when they were teens too. Don’t just brush them aside when they offer advice or get on your case because they may have reasons that aren’t apparent and will probably benefit you in the long run. Not to mention the braces your parents had were probably much more of a pain to wear than yours are!

-Erik and Amanda

Coping Series Part 1: Strangers

This is the first installment in our three part series on coping with braces.

Now when you get braces, people might look at you differently. But luckily since braces are not as noticeable as when your parents had them and they are also not a huge deal.

You must ignore any reactions. It will take away from your braces experience if you are constantly worried about what other people think.

A common habit some kids develop when they get braces is they use their hand to cover their mouth when smiling or laughing. Usually they don’t realize it, it just becomes automatic. But trust us, it just calls attention to your braces. And when you get your braces off you don’t want that habit!

Similarly to getting a reaction when you have braces on, you might see a difference when you get them off.

-Amanda and Erik

Update

Hello Readers!

There will be no new post next Wednesday (June 16). Thanks for the understanding!


-Amanda and Erik

Ode To Retainers

So I (Amanda) have had my retainers for about two months and I must admit it is very, very hard to keep up with them. Its very tempting to just wear them at night even tho I am supposed to wear them all the time except eating. Its not that they hurt or anything its just a hassle to put them back in. Now that is going to change. Since Erik just got his braces off, I must set a good example.

So we are both going to wear our retainers all the time except for eating and hard exercise. If you have retainers and you are reading this and nodding in agreement with the first paragraph, join us! All that money will be wasted if us braces-veterans don’t wear our retainers diligently!

It is hard to keep it up but we shall get through it together. Please comment telling us your story!



-Amanda and Erik

Teeth Pulling

You may have to get teeth pulled if you are planning to get braces, but have not lost all of your baby teeth. Obviously we don’t want to be putting braces on just to have a couple of the teeth fall out, plus then you would have to wait the time it takes for your permanent teeth to come in! Thus your orthodontist may prescribe getting your baby teeth pulled if he/she wants to get you in braces.

Here is how my (Erik’s) appointment with the oral surgeon went:

First I arrived at the office. My family and I sat around in the waiting room until one of the assistants escorted us to a separate waiting room. I had decided earlier that I did not want to be anesthetized so that I would be somewhat aware of what was going on during the surgery. This new room had a TV in it and, after about five minutes, the same assistant came in and gave me my glass of “happy juice.” It took, again, around five minutes for the stuff to take its effect and I became pretty out of it. They moved me into the surgery room and had me sit down in the reclining chair.

Next my surgeon took a needle and injected local anesthetics into my mouth so my gums would be numb when he pulled out the teeth. Although I don’t remember most of this, the oral surgeon pulled out my two baby teeth and replaced them with squares of gauze to help stop the bleeding. Then he helped me back into the waiting room and gave instructions to my parents on what I should do and eat for the next few days. We then went home, and I slept for about three hours. When I woke up I was in very minimal pain and was even able to do some schoolwork.

After having the surgery, the goal is to get the spaces where the teeth were stopped up with a blood clot. This clot is very “loose” and can easily be knocked out by eating hard food, so you will probably be instructed to stay on a liquid diet (i.e. soup, smoothies, etc.) for the next few days!

-Erik and Amanda

Methods of Assessment

The main point of going to a checkup is to assess your progress to straight teeth. Here are examples of the many different methods your orthodontist may use to do this:

1. X-ray:
Before you get an x-ray, your orthodontist will ask you to take off any outside metal (e.g. earrings, headbands etc.). Then you will put on a jacket-like lead bib and stand next to a machine. Then you will bite onto these two plastic pieces, one for your upper jaw one for your lower. Next x-ray machine will spin around your head and make a ringing noise, while taking an x-ray of your jaws. Then you are done!

2. Pictures:
Another method is to take pictures every few checkups. Unlike the picture taking we spoke of in "The Classic Checkup", here your orthodontist will have you pull your cheeks open with plastic stretchers. Then he/she will take pictures from the front and sides, while opening your mouth and biting your back teeth. If your orthodontist needs to show you and your parents something they may pull up these pictures on the computer or print them and show them to you. They are used to show what your orthodontist is talking about.

3. Jaw mold:
Before you get anything that is going to fit in your mouth(bite-plane, retainers and such) your orthodontist will make a mold of your teeth. Your orthodontist will put some colored goop in your mouth then push it against your teeth and then pull it out. Then later on they will make a white mold that is a exact replica of your mouth from the inside using that mold. This they use to make your retainers and such so that they fit your mouth perfectly.

These are some examples of how you will get to see your progress. Hopefully now you won't be confused if your orthodontist starts doing these things!

-Amanda and Erik

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

Loose Bracket

Sometimes you will have a bracket fall off or get knocked off your tooth from eating or something. When the bracket isn’t attached it will not pull or tighten that tooth so its important to fix it as soon as possible.

Usually you can schedule an appointment so we would recommend doing that soon. Usually your orthodontist will go through the whole procedure of glueing your bracket back on, so its nothing you haven’t done before.


Here are some tips for the time period before your appointment:

1. Try not to play with it because you can dislodge other brackets and ruin the wire.
2. Try not to eat on the part of your mouth where your loose bracket is that way you won’t damage it more.


So if you feel in your mouth one day that something is loose or you hear a crack after you bite into that hard piece of bread, don’t be alarmed! It happens to everyone at one point and is very simple to fix. Just remember to schedule that appointment!

-Amanda and Erik

Getting Food Unstuck

Although your orthodontist has probably told you not to eat certain foods, and although we do not necessarily condone it, most of us eat the “forbidden foods” anyway. These were discussed in our post, Damaging Delectables.

We know that a lot of these foods get stuck in your braces really easily, so here are some tips for dislodging the toughest pieces:

1. If it is a piece of chewy candy, you can swish-and-spit some hot/warm water. The water will help to dissolve the sugar in the candy, thus making it easier to remove.
2. Short of trying to push out the food with your tongue, sometimes your orthodontist will give you a little tool that is a pipe-cleaner with a little plastic handle that can be used to push out the snagged pieces (this device was discussed in the post Cleaning Techniques). Another option would be to use a toothpick!
3. You can brush your teeth or floss. It may seem obvious, but sometimes it is easier to just brush your teeth than it is to spend time trying to push out the food by hand.

One problem is that if you are out in public and you get some food stuck in your braces you can’t pick at it with your fingers because that would be rude, and you will most likely not be able to brush your teeth, so the simple solution is to not get food stuck in the first place! Here are two tips to do this:

1. Try to in general steer clear of the foods that get stuck easily, like corn, lettuce, pineapple, etc. If you just don’t eat these foods, then you will not have to even worry about getting gobs of food stuck!
2. If you are going to eat the foods that get caught, try chewing it slowly and carefully. When you chew really quickly and heavily, you jam the food up in your braces, so try chewing a bit more carefully.

-Erik and Amanda