Tips to Help You Adjust to Braces as an Adult

While it’s everyone’s wish to have the perfect smile, nature doesn’t grant it to everyone. The good news is that it’s possible to remedy this, even as an adult, by getting braces. If you’ve been prescribed braces by your dentist in Denver, here are five tips to help you adjust to wearing them as an adult.

Brush and Floss

Getting braces means that you need to upgrade your oral hygiene. Make sure that you brush after every meal and use dental floss to get between the gaps. Good oral hygiene includes brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes at a time and flossing. This is important because food can easily be trapped by the braces next to your teeth, leading to cavities and similar issues. You don’t want to solve one problem and create another, so make it a habit to thoroughly clean your mouth after you eat or drink anything.

Watch What You Eat

From the moment you get your braces fitted, you will need to be careful about the food you eat. To avoid discomfort the first few days after you get braces, eat soft foods like soups, oatmeal, scrambled eggs, and pasta. Avoid hard, chewy, and sticky foods which can get stuck in your braces, loosen the brackets, and even break the wires in your braces. Starchy and overly sweet foods can cause a buildup of plaque, leading to cavities and gum disease, so also avoid these.

Keep Interacting With People

When you get braces, you should not shy away from socializing with your friends and family in Denver. Maintain healthy interactions and don’t change your lifestyle because chances are that no one will even notice your braces. Even if they do, they will be happy that you’re improving yourself and not be overly fixated on them. Everyone knows that not only children wear braces, with one in five orthodontic patients being older than 18. For this reason, maintain your normal lifestyle and you will find that your experience is not negative in any way.

Get Over The Counter Pain Relief

To help with the aches and soreness that come with getting braces installed, it’s a good idea to get over-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen from any pharmacy in Denver. These will enable you to adjust more easily to having braces, giving you an easy time and making it easy for you to eat, talk, and even sleep. If you would rather avoid medication, use a warm compress or heating pad to help with the discomfort and alleviate pain naturally.

Know When to Seek Assistance

While you are supposed to expect some pain and discomfort, it’s important for you to know when you need to get help from your orthodontist. If you feel a loose band, a broken wire, or severe pain at any point, give your orthodontist a call to schedule an emergency appointment. To help you stay comfortable if you can’t head to your appointment immediately, use clean, sterilized fingernail clippers to cut the pointed end of the wire. If you have some dental wax at hand, use it to cover the wire and any part of the braces causing you pain, then head to your dentist’s office.

Apart from aesthetics, the second most common reason why people get braces is to fix an overbite. If this is the case for you, you should not be worried as you won’t have to wear the braces forever. When you follow the advice you’ve been given and wear the braces for the prescribed length of time, you will finally get that smile that you can be proud of.