Orthodontic treatment goes fastest — and most comfortably — when your teeth and appliances stay clean and intact. A few small habits make the months fly by.
Eating with braces
Enjoy
- Soft fruits, steamed veggies, pasta, rice, eggs, fish, and tender meats.
- Cut crunchy favorites — apples, carrots, crusty bread — into bite-sized pieces.
- Dairy, smoothies, and plenty of water.
Avoid
- Hard foods: ice, nuts, popcorn kernels, hard candy — they snap brackets.
- Sticky foods: caramel, taffy, gummies, gum — they pull at wires and bands.
- Chewing on pens, pencils, and fingernails.
Keeping everything clean
- Brush after every meal, angling bristles above and below each bracket.
- Floss nightly — floss threaders or a water flosser make it much easier.
- An interdental brush (the little "christmas tree" brush) is great for the spots your toothbrush misses.
- White marks around brackets are early cavities forming — great cleaning prevents them entirely.
Aligner ground rules
- 22 hours a dayAligners only work while they're on your teeth. Out for meals and brushing, in the rest of the time — including while you sleep.
- Nothing but waterWhile aligners are in, drink only plain water. Coffee, tea, and soda stain trays and trap sugar against your enamel.
- Track your traysChange to the next aligner exactly when instructed, and keep your previous tray as a backup.
Poking wire or broken bracket?
Press a small ball of orthodontic wax over the spot and call us — we hold time for quick comfort fixes. For a wire you can't live with, clean nail clippers can trim the very end in a pinch.
Lost an aligner?
Don't wait it out. Pop in your previous tray to hold your progress and call us — we'll tell you whether to move to the next tray or order a replacement.