The power to have a quicker, more efficient orthodontic treatment is in your hands! Well, actually it’s in your mouth. But it’s also in your day-to-day routine. The things you do on a regular basis with braces can affect the outcome of your treatment, so make sure that you integrate these tips into your daily routine.
Wear Your Appliances Full-Time
- Full-Time wear of appliances provided to you will always speed up your treatment.
- Appliances provided might include elastics, a mouthguard at night, a retainer or something else.
- When your orthodontist gives you an appliance, they will inform you how often to wear each day.
Good Oral Hygiene
Good oral hygiene is very important. People with braces or retainers run a higher risk of cavities because bacteria has more places to grow in the mouth. All those brackets make it easy to trap food particles that don’t come out without a good brush. The last thing you want during the process of braces is cavities. Getting a filling and replacing a bracket on a tooth could set back your treatment time by months.
Show Up to Your Appointments
Showing Up for appointments and postponing as little as possible will, of course, speed up your treatment time. Getting a wire tightening with buccal braces, or a new invisalign fitted is important to the process of your treatment.
If you are dreading your appointments to the orthodontist because of the pain you feel after these changes, ask your orthodontist about a device called Acceledent. It is a handheld device attached to a small mouth guard. Initially designed to speed up the movement of teeth through a soft pulse, it also works to soothe the pain associated with a wire tightening or new retainer.
