Brace face, tin grin, metal mouth...

Make sure to keep plenty of wax on hand to cover any rough spots when they occur.

The little floss threaders are a life saver getting under the wires too.

I wore braces as an adult and my daughter had 8 years of braces, retainers, wideners, head gear.... she had it all. The first couple of days after a tightening can be a bit tender, but you'll be surprised at how quickly he adjusts. It's really not torture and the end results are so nice. Good luck

What kind of wax?

Do you mean the little plastic sticks with floss stung between the holders? (I don't know how to describe them....)

8 YEARS!? Oh my.....

I hope the results are worth it. Mr. B and I are still suffering from a bit of sticker shock. Mo's teeth aren't too crooked, thank goodness!

Wax is used to cover wires or anything that may bother the inside of the mouth. You can buy dental wax at most pharmacies. It's just a little plastic box with rows of soft wax. You pinch off wee pieces of wax and place them over the offending wire.

The orthodontist usually dispenses wax freely, don't worry about it.

Whew!

I'm sure they'll cover wax during my orientation to braces.... right?

So....

Aspirin or substitute...
Numbing agent....
Chapstick....
Wax.....

Don't forget your checkbook

Don't forget the mouthguard for football.

http://www.firstchoicedental.com/category/blog-tags/what-not-eat-while-wearing-braces

What can I eat when I have braces?

When you are wearing braces and other appliances, it is important to avoid certain foods that can damage the appliances, brackets, and wires, which may cause delays in treatment.
The Key rule is: Nothing hard, sticky or chewy!

RED LIGHT
(Never Eat!)
Nuts
Popcorn
Chewing Gum
Hard Pretzels
Pizza Crust
Croutons
Gummy Bears
Caramels
Jelly Beans
Licorice
Jujubes
Chocolate Chips
Ice cubes
Skittles
Starburst
Smarties
M&Ms
Tootsie Rolls
Pens and Pencils

YELLOW LIGHT
(Use caution, must be cut or broken up and chewed carefully with back teeth.)
Nacho Chips
Bagels
Ribs
Chicken Wings
Raw Vegetables
Hard Fruit (i.e. apples)
Fruit with Pits (i.e. peaches)
Corn on the Cob
Crusty Bread
Crunchy Granola Bars
Foods high in sugar (e.g. pop, candy): don't eat often and brush soon after.

GREEN LIGHT
(Go for it!)
Ice Cream (no nuts)
Potato Chips
Steamed Vegetables
Pasta Potatoes
French Fries
Soft Pretzels
Yogurt
Pudding
Jello
Soup
Sandwiches, Subs
Cereal in Milk
Cheese
Eggs
Milkshakes
Caramilk Bars
Peanut Butter Cups

Something to add to the list with the dentist's okay might be a Waterpik type of tool to help gently remove trapped food and rinse off any mouth sores.

Some good info here:

http://www.wikihow.com/Deal-with-Braces

You notice that very few tasty things are in the green light vs all the other lights.

He already likes the mouthguards they make for braces wearers so we should be a-okay!

I think that list would make him cry.

Pizza crust? What's so difficult about pizza crusts?

I'll ask about the Waterpik. I was thinking maybe one of those Sonicare toothbrushes but I think I'd have to ask the doctor about that for sure.

Oh just seeing this!

Sozlet got braces late last summer. The whole thing has been WAY less of an ordeal than I expected.

When I had braces, I hated them, they were painful, they were annoying, etc.

She actually likes hers.

They get to choose colors for the bands, and she has a fun time with that.

She doesn't hide them at all -- grins happily, braces bared.

They seem to have much less of a stigma than they used to. I don't think the whole "brace face" sort of thing comes up at all.

Several of her friends have braces too.

It seemed super-young to me, but as long as they have all of their adult teeth it's fine.

And seems to go way faster!

Her teeth were messed up and she's already due to get them off this summer -- one year!

They were sore at the very beginning -- had a lot of mooshy foods on hand for that. And she's annoyed to not be able to have gum, popcorn, etc.

Otherwise it's really been pretty uneventful.

More:

Yes to wax, yes re: mouthguard.

Also the worst part of the very beginning was where the braces would rub against the inside of her mouth. That didn't last that long, but was unpleasant.

We used Rinsinol, helped a lot.

Yes, pizza crusts are tragic. Sozlet has them when they're super-soft. But the non-super-soft ones are somehow lethal. She had a regular but not super-soft pizza and popped off a bracket.

Good news! Yea!

He's excited about it. Quite a few of his friends already have braces. I think it's kind of a right of passage anymore -- it shows that their growing up.

He's already thinking about band colors. Maybe getting them to match his baseball uniform....

Tragic re: pizza crusts.

I usually get one day off from cooking and that's pizza night. Luckily his favorite pizza place has, in my opinion, awful soggy crusts. Unluckily it's the most expensive pizza I've ever seen.

I'll look for Rinsinol.

She goes in every six weeks or so and gets new colors every time. Currently scarlet and gray for OSU in the Final Four (not that that panned out....)

They have a ton of colors. The first time they let her choose THREE colors, which is a big deal, and she chose a range of oceany colors that were really pretty. I didn't really get the color thing at first -- I thought it would make more sense to choose white, or clear -- but I've come around.

It hasn't really been painful at all for about three months -- her teeth got into position amazingly quickly, and it's been more about cementing them in place than moving them more. She did just start having to wear rubber bands which is not fun, that shouldn't be long though. (Not the colored bands that hold the wire to the brackets, but the regular little tiny rubber bands that go from her upper jaw to lower jaw and correct something in her bite.)

Aw.

One more thing re: wax, they will probably give you a starter kit with a bunch of stuff in it, and probably coupons and such as well. I'm not sure I had to buy anything but Rinsinol. So you don't necessarily have to stock up ahead of time.

I had a generic Waterpik already because of the palate expander (which she had before braces), it was very useful for braces but then it died. We really should've gotten a new one but she's been OK with flossing tools (we did have to get a refill of those) and regular brushing.