Dr. Rohit Shah

Pay utmost attention to your oral health during pregnancy. Brush twice a day and floss daily.

So you've decided to straighten your teeth and get a great smile that too naturally but the road to a brilliant smile comes with a guide map and here are some of the key stops.

1. Keep them clean

While braces are a great tool that work on natural teeth with no side effects, caring for braces is extremely essential in order to ensure that you don't end up with any post orthodontic dental work.

Braces be it metal or ceramic tend to accumulate food and in turn cause cavities or stains. A lot of people suffer from post braces unnecessary treatments only because they couldn't keep them clean.

2. Know what foods to avoid

Wherever you are in your braces journey remember when you started you were warned about a bunch of things you have to stop eating and drinking. That memory maybe fading away but the truth is the dietary restrictions need to be followed atleast to a certain extent if you want the braces off on schedule.

Foods like pizzas, sticky candies or biting into anything from your front teeth is a strict no as it'll cause the front braces to come off and besides interrupting the treatment you may also end up hurting yourself.

Sodas should be avoided as they cause the braces glue to dissolve and they come off your teeth earlier than we would want.

3. Bracket breaks

The system of braces is basically individual brackets that are placed on your teeth to move them and a wire that engages all these brackets together.

A common occurrence with braces is the brackets come off or break if you're not careful. When this happens it's like a derailing a machine everything comes to a standstill and its very important to get this fixed at the earliest for the treatment to continue efficiently.

Bracket breakage can be prevented by maintaining dietary precautions, efficient brushing and avoiding trauma to the face.

4. Be on the lookout for pain or blisters

Although less common now there's an occasional chance of slight pain or ulceration after braces are placed in the mouth for the first time. Our body is getting used to a large foreign object and it may react by rejecting the areas that hurt and forming an ulcer which may last a few days and settle.

The pain sensation of tightness and tooth movement can be eased with a mild anti inflammatory or pain killer on the first appointment if need be.

5. Don't miss appointments

Missing your regular dental appointment is bad enough but your orthodontic (braces) appointment is the most important day of the month for you. Skipping or missing this appointment disrupts the schedule of tooth movement and you may delay an already prolonged treatment procedure.

So if you want that brilliant smile be as soon as possible follow the steps above and you will breeze through your orthodontics treatment without a snag!

If you are advised to wear braces, it could be due to crooked / improperly positioned teeth which are not cosmetically pleasing or are not very efficiently chewing the food. Today, there is a big variety of braces available to correct the problems. Although all braces serve a similar purpose, but not all braces are suitable for everyone. Here, I am trying to explain some of the types of braces available, which will help you in a better understanding of braces. 

1. Metal braces: These braces are placed in the outer side of the teeth . A wire is then placed in the brackets which helps in realigning your teeth. This wire needs to be replaced from time to time with other wires usually the wires are replaced in 4 to 6 weeks. This type of braces are the most are the most affordable of the lot and thereby the most common choice. 
2. Ceramic braces: These types of braces are very similar to the metal braces in terms of functionality. The advantage of ceramic braces is that they resemble the colour of the teeth and are less noticeable. These braces are costlier than their metal counterpart and take a longer time to mount. One common complaint about these braces is that they become yellowish over time. It is therefore very important to clean your teeth properly on a daily basis. 
3. Lingual braces: Lingual braces mounted at the back of the teeth. As a result, these braces are hardly visible. They are typically recommended to those whose teeth are not very crooked and the amount of teeth straightening required is very less. These braces are ideal for those patients who require an orthodontic device for a long time. They require very good oral hygiene and are also expensive when compared to other braces. 
4. Damon braces / Self-ligating braces: Damon braces can be mounted on any patient who is fit to get for regular braces. These braces do not require any extra attachment for holding the wire in place. The wire can straight away pass through the brackets making the treatment time shorter by a good six months or so. The healing process tends to be faster with these braces and is one of the easier ones to mount onto the teeth. 

They are costing almost close to the cost of the lingual braces. These details are to give you a broad overview of the types of fixed braces available. Your orthodontist will be able to discuss the pros and cons of each after analysing the changes needed and desired. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a dentist.