M. Gabrielle Thodas, D.D.S., M.S.D.
Practice Limited To Orthodontics
150 Arch Street, Redwood City, CA 94062 650-368-8348

First Days, Weeks, Months in Braces
or
OK….I have braces on – What should I expect next?

First Days in Braces
There are many new things to get used to in these first days – the feel of the braces against your lips and cheeks, the feeling that you can’t relax your lips over the braces, the feeling that your lips are poofy, soreness of teeth, getting used to eating with braces, and brushing your teeth and your braces. Believe me (I know from personal experience!) you will get used to your braces in 3-5 days. Take Tylenol if you need to and USE WAX. If you have bite turbos, it will take a few days to get used to eating with these. BUT REMEMBER, bite turbos open your bite so that your teeth are unlocked so that they can move faster. It is estimated that by opening a bite you can cut off 3-6 months of treatment time.
POSSIBLE EMERGENCIES: pokys, loose wires, broken brackets

First Weeks in Braces
By now you’ve gotten used to the braces – the feel, eating, brushing. But since your teeth are moving, you can notice changes everyday. These changes (which are due to tooth movement) can make areas on your lips and cheeks sore that weren’t sore before. USE WAX. Teeth that are moving can become more sensitive. USE TYLENOL.  Wire can start poking out the back and irritate cheeks and tongue (call for a poky appointment!) But you can also see that your teeth are getting straighter and that it is easier to floss. Don’t be surprised if you start to get space between some of your teeth which means that your roots are straightening too. (this is normal and a good sign of progress)
POSSIBLE EMERGENCIES: pokys, loose wires, broken brackets

First Months in Braces
Your teeth are much straighter now and you have probably had your wires changed at least once. Once we get to a certain size wire, we will be taking a progress panorex x-ray to check root angulation and positioning. If needed, we will “reset” some brackets. We may be able to take off your bite turbos if we haven’t already. You will definitely start seeing space between some teeth as your roots align. Don’t worry – we will close it!!

Now that you think you’re a pro at braces, we will start adding things like power chain to close space or elastics to correct the bite.