Your fixed brace
Your fixed brace has now been cemented to your teeth. Please take good care of it!
Your brace may be uncomfortable for the first few days. This often happens as the teeth start to move and is quite normal. Take paracetamol if you need to, according to the instructions on the bottle. Parts of the brace that rub your mouth can be covered with the white wax that we have given you.
If you want your treatment to work well it is important to:
- Eat and drink
sensibly during treatment. Do not eat sugary foods and
drinks between meals. This can cause permanent damage to your teeth.
Acidy drinks (fruit juices, coke etc.) even if they are “low sugar” can also cause damage to your teeth if you drink them frequently.
Do not eat very hard, sticky or chewy foods. This may break of bend parts of your brace. - Look after your teeth and gums during treatment. Lasting damage can occur to your teeth and gums if you do not clean them properly. Brush well with a fluoride toothpaste two times a day. Use a fluoride rinse at night throughout the treatment to protect your teeth from decay.
- Take care of your brace and treat it gently. If you damage your brace repeatedly, it will not work well and your treatment will take longer than it should.
- Let us know if you break or damage the brace as soon as you can. Do not wait until your next appointment.
Fluoride Mouthwash
- If is more difficult to clean your teeth with fixed appliances in place. Permanent damage to the teeth (decay) can occur if the teeth and brackets are not kept clean and if sugary foods and drinks are consumed often e.g. between meals.
- It is therefore very important to care for your fixed brace by careful brushing and eating a sensible diet.
- To help reduce the risk of tooth decay we recommend that you should use a fluoride mouthwash throughout your treatment. Fluoride toughens the teeth and protects them against decay.
- The mouth wash should be used every night before going to bed. Use it after cleaning your teeth and after you have rinsed out. Hold it in your mouth for one minute, swish it round, then spit it out. Do not have anything to eat or drink after this.
- You can buy fluoride
mouthwash from a chemist or a supermarket. WE would recommend that you
use a daily fluoride mouthwash such as “Colgate
Fluoriguard Daily Rinse”