Frequently Asked Questions

Having braces will require that you give up extremely hard, sticky, and high sugar foods. These foods can get caught on the braces, bend wires, loosen cement and pull the braces off and/or cause cavities and permanent white marks on the teeth. Soft foods or foods cut into small pieces are much better for your teeth and for your braces. You will also need to spend a few extra minutes cleaning your braces after meals. For the most part, you’ll find braces will not cramp your style. You will still have fun. You will still be able to sing, play your musical instrument, smile, play sports and of course, kiss. You can even make a fashion statement by having your orthodontist add color to your braces. Your friends will be accustomed to you in braces more quickly than you think.

Foods and habits to avoid with braces:

• Hard, chewy candies – Chewing gum, Starburst, Skittles, Caramel
• Pretzels, pizza crust, baguettes, bagels, Doritos
• Nuts, popcorn, beef jerky
• When eating apples or pears, cut it in pieces and chew with the back teeth
• No nail- biting, crunching ice cubes or chewing pens, pencils, or pen caps

Poorly arranged teeth can break easily and can trap food particles that cause tooth decay and gum disease. Malocclusions may interfere with the ability to chew. The result is poor broken down food which can affect digestion and overall health. Finally, poorly arranged teeth detract from your smile. Your smile is not only one of the more important features contributing to the beauty of your face, it is your means of expressing joy, contentment, and humor. A great smile and a healthy mouth is the best investment one can make for the future.

Braces use steady, gentle pressure over time to move teeth into their proper positions. Like the hour hand on a clock, braces may not appear to be doing anything, but they are in fact causing positive changes in your mouth at every moment of your orthodontic treatment. The brackets we place on your teeth and the main arch wire that connects them are the two main components to braces. The bracket is a piece of specially shaped metal or ceramic that we affix to each tooth. We then bend the arch wire to reflect your ‘ideal” bite (what we want you to look like after treatment). The wire threads through the brackets; the wire’s attempt to return to its initial shape applies the pressure to move your teeth. Picture your tooth resting in your jaw bone. With pressure on one side from the arch wire, the bone on the other side gives way. The tooth moves. New bone grows in behind. It may look like nothing is happening but we’re making progress a little at a time.

Teeth rarely align by themselves as you grow. After the first permanent molars grow out around age 6 or 7, the amount of available space between these teeth will usually decrease and contribute to the crowding of teeth.

 

Just as we inherit eye color from our parents, mouth and jaw features are also inherited. Local factors such as finger sucking, pacifier sucking, high cavity rate, gum disease, trauma and premature loss of baby teeth can also contribute to poor alignment or a bad bite. Abnormal muscular habits and jaw development can also result in poor alignment or bites. One out of every five school age children has a severe bite problem so it is not surprising that braces are very common.

Tooth removal is necessary if we cannot save or make enough room for all of your teeth. Additionally, you may choose to improve your facial profile or your bite by having teeth removed. Don’t worry, we will give you all possible options and let you decide. If you need to have your teeth pulled, recovery is about 2 days for most patients. There is no need to be concerned about the immediate cosmetic effects of teeth removal. Your orthodontist will close any spaces and no one will even notice you have less teeth than before.

Appointments are usually every 4-6 weeks. Normal adjustments may be completed in only 10-20 minutes. It is very important that appointments are kept so that we can provide the proper follow-up and treatment to ensure both the best and the quickest results possible.

Having braces should not be painful. However, there will be some soreness of the mouth after the braces are initially placed, and after each adjustment of the braces. Soreness will typically last 1-2 days after treatment. At Superlative Smiles we believe in using very gentle forces to minimize discomfort to your mouth.