Aftercare card
Living with braces
How to cope with sore teeth in the first week of braces, which foods to avoid, how to clean around brackets, and what to do about a broken bracket or wire.
First week
Do
- Expect sore teeth for 3–5 days; take the pain relief you normally use, as directed on the pack.
- Eat soft food such as dal, khichdi, curd, idli, soups, bananas and scrambled egg.
- Press orthodontic wax over any bracket or wire that rubs the cheek or lip.
- Rinse with warm salt water for sore spots or small ulcers.
- Learn to brush around the brackets; ask the team to show you.
Avoid
- Hard, crunchy and sticky food such as chana, nuts, hard biscuits, toffee, chewing gum and caramel.
- Biting directly into whole apples, carrots or corn on the cob; cut them into pieces.
- Chewing pens, ice or your nails.
Throughout treatment
Do
- Brush after every meal and before bed, for at least 2 minutes, angling the brush at each bracket from above and below.
- Use interdental brushes or a floss threader once a day to clean under the wire.
- Use a fluoride toothpaste and ask if a fluoride mouthwash suits you.
- Wear elastics (rubber bands) exactly as instructed.
- Keep every adjustment visit, usually every 4–8 weeks.
- Wear a mouthguard for contact sport.
Avoid
- Sugary snacks and fizzy drinks, which cause white marks and decay around brackets.
- Skipping visits or leaving elastics out, which lengthens treatment.
If you have clear aligners
Do
- Wear the aligners for 20–22 hours a day, taking them out only to eat, drink anything other than water, and clean.
- Brush your teeth before putting the aligners back in.
- Clean the aligners with a soft brush and cool water; store them in their case.
- Change to the next set on the date you were given.
Avoid
- Drinking tea, coffee or sweet drinks with aligners in.
- Hot water, which can warp them, and wrapping them in tissue, where they are easily thrown away.
Normal while it heals
- Sore, tender teeth for the first 3–5 days and after each adjustment
- Small ulcers or sore spots on the cheeks or lips in the first 1–2 weeks
- Teeth feeling loose for a short while as they move
- A lisp with aligners for a few days
- Slightly more saliva at first
Call the clinic if
- A bracket has come off, or a band is loose
- A wire is poking into your cheek or gum and wax does not help; do not cut it unless advised
- A wire has slipped out or come loose at the back
- Pain that is severe or does not ease after 5–7 days
- A cracked or lost aligner, or aligners that no longer fit
- A swollen, sore gum or face, or a chipped tooth
- Swelling with difficulty swallowing or breathing: go to a hospital now
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