Dr. Seema

Getting braces is the best thing you can do for your teeth. Yes, the process is painful. And maintenance of braces can get too much, but it is not undoable!

When you have braces on teeth, those teeth need extra attention to protect them from decay, staining and gum disease. You should also take precautions to avoid damaging the braces. For example, activities to avoid include eating chewy or sticky sweets, eating hard or crunchy foods, biting your lip, breathing excessively through your mouth and pushing your tongue against your teeth,

So if you got braces for the first time, here are some helpful tips you can swear by. Read on.

1. Listen to your orthodontist: This is kind of obvious, but seriously, listen to what your orthodontists says. You may wonder if you really need to do this or that, but not paying attention to your doctor’s advice can actually prolong your treatment, and extend the time you need to keep your braces on.

2. Brush every time you eat: Although brushing twice a day is the standard oral care recommendation, when you wear braces, you should brush after every time you eat — even after that mid-afternoon vending machine snack or some late-night munchies. That's because food particles easily become trapped in the braces, and the longer those particles stay trapped, the greater risk you have of developing dental problems. Use a soft toothbrush with round bristles, or an electric toothbrush if you prefer.

3. Rubber Bands: If you have been asked to use rubber bands, it is always recommended to carry rubber bands with you all the time, so if one breaks it can be replaced promptly. Rubber bands wear down and lose their elasticity, so they should be replaced often, definitely after every meal. Wearing the rubber bands all the time will keep the treatment progressing at an optimum pace.

4. Use your back teeth to chew: Don’t bite into that burger with your front teeth like you are accustomed to doing. This actually gets the food to stick on to your braces. So eat food that you can cut into bite size pieces and chew easily with your back teeth.

5. Drink plenty of water: Skip that soda, which will only erode your teeth, and drink water after meals. This not only keeps you healthy, but with water, you can swish it around your mouth to rinse out any big chunks of food.

6. Stay away from crunchy food: Crunchy foods are dangerous, not only do they get stuck in your braces, they also can get quite painful to remove. Plus, crunchy foods can be bad news for the shiny braces you just got for yourself.

7. Speak up: If during an appointment you have any query, no matter how silly, ask your orthodontist. Your doctor is there to help and guide you, so don’t shy away from asking questions and discussing your problems. Or if some part of the brace is hurting mildly, get it checked at once. Air your troubles, that is what your doctor is here for.

After The Braces Are Off-

Whitening products, including whitening toothpaste and mouthwash, should not be used until after braces are removed. After braces come off, some discoloration of the teeth will likely be present, so this is a good time for a child to use whitening strips.

Root canal therapy (RCT) followed by a crown is the most common mode of treatment for severely decayed teeth. However, this is not devoid of failure. In another case, if a tooth could not be salvaged by RCT, then extraction followed by a bridge (replacing the removed tooth with support from adjacent healthy teeth) became the next best option.

In both cases, especially latter, healthy teeth are being manipulated to support the tooth being replaced. The next quest was to work without touching the sound tooth. So, instead of taking support from adjacent teeth, thought was given to provide support from within the bone very similar to how a natural tooth stands. The lost root is replaced by a compatible metal, on which a tooth crown is then built. This was the beginning of dental implants, which has gained significant popularity over the last two to three decades.

Advantages:
1. Does not affect adjacent healthy teeth
2. Functionally better, as it has stronger support from the bone
3. More aesthetically appealing
4. Maintain facial bone and soft tissue structure
5. Better for the gum health compared to bridges
6. Easier oral hygiene practices

Mechanism:
A strong, biocompatible material is used to make screws, which are inserted into the bone. Titanium is the most preferred material, and because of its unique property of osseo-integration (fuses with the bone), it fuses with the bone to reduce bone loss after the tooth is gone. In most cases, the titanium screws, which act as the root for the implants are placed into the bone and allowed for some weeks to few months to fuse with the bone. Then, an interim crown may be used until the screw is ready to take on an implant. The screw is periodically monitored and once it is completely accepted, then an abutment is placed on it. This acts like a stump or a root, over which a crown will be placed.

Though most implants are done for replacing single teeth, in many cases, multiple teeth may be replaced using abutments. If the missing teeth are adjacent to each other or in the same quadrant, then a denture might be overlaid over the abutments. Alternately, a partial denture may be used which is screwed over an abutment.

Maintenance:
Regular brushing and flossing, rinsing and mouthwashing assume a greater significance in patients with implants. Also, regular visits to the dentist are a must.

Dental implants are a boon for missing teeth, with the various advantages. However, it is not for all, with excellent bone health being one of the prerequisites. A thorough dental examination will help determine if you are a right candidate. Visit your dentist to find out more.