Traditional Braces: How They are Applied

Congratulations! You are about to become one of the millions who have already started their journey to a healthier, straighter and beautiful smile! Don’t worry, getting braces is not something that is simply “trendy” to do. In fact, by making sure your teeth are straight and your alignment is correct, you can help to improve your overall health. But no need to try and sell you, you are already getting them!

By now you may be getting closer to the big day and are starting to have questions such as how long does it take and how bad it hurts. Well we are here to answer some of those questions and give you look into what to expect from your Orlando orthodontistwhen getting your traditional braces put on.

What to expect on the big day...

Once seated in one of our chairs, our team will start by making sure your teeth are properly cleaned and dried before applying the bonding and brackets are glued on. If you needed spacers, which are small applications or rubber bands placed in-between teeth to make sure enough room is there for the bands with your braces to fit around your back teeth, these will have been put on days before your braces are applied. After your teeth are clean and dry, the orthodontist will begin to attach the brackets. Brackets are small metal and sometimes ceramic pieces that will hold the wires in place on your teeth. They are attached by applying a small portion of bonding glue to the center of each tooth. The orthodontist will then shine a blue light onto the glue to set it. To be quite honest, the glue usually does not taste like a piece of cake … or anything else you may willingly eat. While it does taste bad, the glue itself is safe to you and not toxic.

Once the brackets are in place, it is now time to put on the bands and then the archwires. All these pieces are then strapped down by small rubber bands around each bracket and wire. This is what some of our patients love about traditional braces- picking out the new colors of the bands! Lots of fun and creative combinations to explore.

After the braces have now found a new home inside your mouth, you will start to feel some pressure and discomfort, usually within a few hours of leaving our offices. Patients have expressed that they have pain only when they eat, or that they may have had a headache or dull pains for several days after the braces were applied. Most of this discomfort can be relieved by using over the counter pain medication (such as acetaminophen naproxen or ibuprofen to help ease the pain.

The first few days make sure you are eating soft foods such as mashed potatoes, yogurt, ice cream or even scrambled eggs. This will help to reduce pain from chewing. Your orthodontist will also give you some wax to help create a barrier between your new metal and soft tissue along your cheek (ouch!). You can use this wax to cover any sharp wires.

Within the first week of getting your braces you may be more aware of your mouth, but once you have adjusted you won’t remember what it was like without them!