8 Simple Ways that Parents Can Help their Children deal with their Braces

1. Ensure That Your Children Brush After Every Meal and Floss Daily – Ensure that your children brush their teeth three times a day after each of their meals. You can limit the flossing for the night as it requires precision as well as you being available to actively supervise the process. For those of you that have stubborn children, you can simply tell your children that the longer they don’t clean their teeth the longer their braces will remain which ought to prompt them to keep their teeth clean.
2. Always Ensure that Your Children Carry Backup Rubber Bands – If your child’s braces treatment requires them to wear rubber bands, then make sure that your children always carry spare rubber bands with them in case their bands break or have to be replaced at short notice. Don’t worry too much if the bands are causing your child a bit of pain as this is completely normal and will disappear over time.
3. See Your Orthodontist if Any Brackets or Wires Become Loose – If your child’s wires or brackets ever become loose or break, take your child to your nearest orthodontist as soon as possible.
4. Soothe Your Child’s Pain – If anything happens to be protruding and rubbing up against the inside of your child’s mouth then you can reduce your child’s agony with wet cotton or wax.
5. Ensure That Your Child Wears his Invisalign Braces at All Times – If your child wears Invisalign Braces which are easy to remove when performing difficult tasks such as eating or playing sports. Make sure that your children pop their Invisalign aligners back into their mouths after eating though.
6. Keep the Needed Items in Stock – Throughout the course of your child’s orthodontic treatment, your child will require special supplies to look after his/her teeth properly. This could range from special toothbrushes, special flossers to oral analgesics to ease up a sore mouth after tightening the braces. Maintaining a stock of these dental care products will let your child know that you care about their wellbeing as well as making the pain more bearable.
7. Emphasize that the End Result will be Worth It – Emphasize that the end results of the treatment will be well worth the time and pain with a positive attitude.
8. Eliminate Bad Food for Braces from Your Home – Stop storing, buying, or cooking sticky, hard-to-eat foods for your home. By eliminating all these foods altogether, you are effectively removing all the temptations of eating these harmful foods from your children. Common foods that cause problems are candy, whole fruits, and vegetables, as well as popcorn. Maintain a decent stock of softer foods though, particularly when your children have just gotten their braces tightened.

Make sure that you and your child visit Dr. Koch, your closest family orthodontist in Lawrenceville to monitor your child’s oral progress as well as getting any new prescriptions or extra medication or treatment that may be required.