Caring for Your Braces in Bellevue, WA

Caring for braces means eating braces-friendly foods, keeping your teeth and brackets clean, easing normal soreness, and protecting your braces during sports. At Advanced Orthodontics Bellevue, Dr. Barton Soper and our team give you everything you need, including wax and guidance, so your treatment stays on track and on time.

Great results with braces are a team effort, and a little daily care goes a long way. At Advanced Orthodontics Bellevue, we want your treatment to be smooth, comfortable, and as short as possible, and that starts with knowing how to care for your braces at home. From what to eat to how to handle soreness, these simple habits protect your braces and keep your smile moving in the right direction. Here is everything you need to know.

What Can You Eat With Braces?

For the first day or two after your braces are placed or adjusted, stick to soft foods like yogurt, pasta, soup, eggs, and smoothies while your teeth feel tender. After that, you can eat most things, as long as you protect your brackets and wires. The foods to avoid fall into a few groups:

• Chewy foods: taffy, fruit leather, chewy granola bars
• Crunchy foods: chips, pretzels, ice
• Sticky foods: caramels, marshmallows, toffee
• Hard foods: nuts, hard candy, unpopped popcorn kernels
• Bite-into foods: whole apples and pears, corn on the cob, raw carrots and bell peppers (cut them into small pieces instead)

When in doubt, cut food into bite-size pieces and chew with your back teeth.

Keeping Your Teeth and Braces Clean

Braces give food and plaque more places to hide, so good cleaning is essential to avoid stains and cavities. Brush after every meal, or rinse well when you cannot brush, and clean carefully around every bracket and wire. Floss daily using a floss threader or water flosser to reach under the wire. Good hygiene now means a healthy, even-colored smile when your braces come off. For more, see our tips on preventing white spots and cleaning teeth with braces on our blog.

Easing Soreness From Braces

It is normal for your teeth to feel sore for three to five days after your braces are placed or tightened. This means they are moving. To stay comfortable:

• Take an over-the-counter pain reliever such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) if you need it.
• Stick to soft foods until the tenderness passes.
• Rinse with warm salt water to soothe irritated gums.
• Use the orthodontic wax we provide to cover any bracket or wire that rubs.

If a bracket or wire is poking or broken, see our emergency care page for what to do.

Why Rubber Band (Elastic) Wear Matters

If Dr. Soper prescribes elastics, or rubber bands, wearing them exactly as directed is one of the most important things you can do. Elastics correct how your top and bottom teeth fit together, and they only work when worn consistently. Skipping them is a leading cause of treatment taking longer than planned. Wear them as prescribed, and change them as directed, to finish on time.

Protecting Your Braces During Sports

You can absolutely stay active with braces. The key is protecting your mouth. We recommend wearing a mouthguard during any contact or high-impact sport, and our practice can provide a mouthguard designed to fit comfortably over braces. If you take a hit to the mouth, check your braces and call us if anything is loose or damaged. See our emergency care page for injury guidance.

Questions About Your Braces? We Are Here to Help

Our team is always happy to answer questions about caring for your braces. Call (425) 747-9494 or request a visit online. Advanced Orthodontics Bellevue is on NE Bel-Red Road, just minutes from Crossroads and Overlake, serving Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, and Mercer Island.