5 Ways to Help Your Child Deal With Their Braces

Posted on December 3, 2020 | Orthodontics

Contrary to what your child might believe, braces weren’t invented to ruin their lives. As a parent of a child with braces, you might feel you’re the one doing the heavy lifting when it comes to ensuring your child’s teeth stay clean and healthy. Either way, we want to help you help your child. A healthy oral hygiene routine is important with or without braces, but adding braces into the mix definitely requires a little more effort.

Here are 5 simple ways you can help your child deal with their braces:

1. This might seem like a no brainer, but give your child some hope! Remind your child regularly why it’s totally worth it to go through the discomfort. Tell them that one day they’ll be so glad that their smile is straight and aligned.

2. Help your child with their routine. First, make sure that the necessary items are on-hand (i.e. floss, toothbrush, braces-friendly toothpaste, and proxy brushes). Encourage your child to make his or her cleaning routine a priority. You might also need to remind them of the negative consequences of not caring well for their teeth while they have braces. Teeth are at a greater risk for cavities in areas that aren’t cleaned well. Also, the portions of teeth that are covered by brackets and the portions not covered can become varied in their color if not properly cared for.

3. Check in on your child’s discomfort level. Make sure you’re aware if there is any discomfort that can be alleviated. There are times your child might experience a poke from a wire or a bracket. Often, these issues can be taking care of at home, if the issue is minor. Be sure to keep some orthodontic wax available for situations like this.

4. Do your child a favor, and keep the “off limits” items out of the house. We mean, anything that your child shouldn’t have with their braces, but might be tempting to them. Go ahead and take those sticky or hard candies off your shopping list, and make sure there are softer foods available. Remember having braces is not a reason to skip healthy fruits and veggies; cutting them into smaller pieces can making them a braces-safe food.

5. Lastly, keep up with appointments and stick to the recommendations from your orthodontist. Staying on track will help ensure that your child gets their braces off within the original expected timeframe. Also be mindful of repair and maintenance. If there is ever a time when a bracket or wire breaks off, be sure to contact your child’s orthodontist and have the repair made ASAP.

We know braces require a bit of adjustment on everyone’s part. Feel free to reach out to us if you have questions about orthodontic care: (734) 971-3368.