If you've been wanting to drop a few pounds, the
first week wearing braces is just your chance! (If you're a skinny
kid, you can use it as an excuse not to eat your salad...) For the first
day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard breads,
and raw vegetables. Before long, you'll be able to bite into a slice of
cucumber again.
This picture of Garfield is used with the permission of Paws, Inc.
and Jim Davis
You'll
need to protect your orthodontic appliances
when you eat for as long as you're
earing braces.
Chewy Foods like bagels, hard rolls and licorice
Crunchy Foods like ice, popcorn and chips
Sticky Foods like gum
and carmel
Hard Foods like nuts candy, apples and
carrots
When you
forst get your braces they may rub on your lips and cheeks. Place
wax over the rubbing bracket before these spots get raw and painful.
The skin will soon toughen up so that you don't need wax
You may
feel general soreness in your mouth. This can be relieved by rinsing
your mouth with warm salt water mouthwash. Disolve one teaspoon of
salt into a cup of warm water, and rinse your mouth vigorously. If
the tenderness is severe, take asprin or whatever you normally take for
a headache or similar pain. Soreness should end by the thrid or fourth
day.
This is
to be expected throughout the treatment. Don't worry! It's
normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can be moved. The teeth
will again become rigidly fixed in their new straight positions.
Dive
Right In!
