Facts To Smile About

Smile with your braces! These fun facts may help you put that smile on.

Did you know that there are 4 million Americans are currently wearing dental braces in the US? Of those receiving treatment, 75 percent are younger than 18.

Braces go way back to antiquity, discovered in mummified remains in and around Egypt. Cords made from animal intestines were found wrapped around individual teeth to close gaps and straighten crooked teeth. Apparently, ancient Egyptians are concerned about their appearances even in the afterlife.

The braces that resembled today’s orthodontic design were first developed in France in 1728. It was French dentist, Pierre Fauchard, who created them from gold wire, fastened to teeth with thread. The guy is considered the Father of Modern Dentistry.

It was NASA that first created wiring out of nickel titanium which now is used for dental braces. The thin, highly elastic and flexible wires are activated by body heat or pressure and able to maintain their shape after being bent and attached.

Invisalign was invented by two Stanford business school graduates who had no dental experience whatsoever. They just had an idea for wireless braces and a 3D printer. Millions of transparent braces later has made it the most popular invisible braces used by majority of orthodontists

Teeth have memory. After you are done wearing braces and you don’t use retainers, risk of relapse is very high; evident in just one month. They will shift back to their original crooked position without retainers. In fact, about 25% of treatment end in failure because patients neglect their retainers. They are the only way to keep a straight smile after your orthodontic treatment.

Brace Yourself with Bellevue Dental Braces

Know more about dental braces when you visit us at Overlake Dental. We can give you more fun facts to help you along if this is the treatment for you. If you are convinced that straight teeth with no gaps is the route to self-esteem and healthy living, see us in Bellevue.

What To eat and What Not To Eat

Living with dental braces can post a lot of challenges for the wearer. Where diet is concerned, you may have to modify the food and drink line-up you have been used to taking. There are foods, and your manner of eating them, that can break the wires and dislodge the brackets. You will have to make a quick trip to your orthodontist for the broken pieces can hurt your soft tissues or you might even swallow some pieces. It is important to prevent injuries that might extend treatment time.

There are certain foods you should avoid or else change the way you eat them. For example, hard fruits and vegetables, like whole apples and pears, corn on the cob and raw carrots, can damage your appliance. If you must, chop them into small pieces or scrape the kernels off the cob but do not eat them as they are. Avoid nuts – like almonds and peanuts – that are too hard to chew; that goes also with popcorn, croutons, tortilla chips, taco shells, hard pizza crust and pretzels. Also avoid hard cookies, crackers, hard chocolate; cut up these before you eat them: hard rolls, French/Italian bread, and sub sandwiches.

There are sticky candies and sticky snacks to be avoided. Taffy, caramels and gummies can cling to your teeth, wires and brackets, possibly damaging them. You may suck on hard candies like peppermints and lollipops, but not bite them. Choose candies that melt easily and that you do not have to chew. Don’t chew on gum – they can get stuck on your brackets and around wires, creating a mess difficult to clean.

So what can you eat that are safe for braces? During orthodontic treatment, you can try dairy products like pudding and soft cheeses; breads like sliced lunch read, muffins without nuts, pancakes; grains like noodles and pasta. Also have soft-cooked chicken, meatballs, lunch meats; seafood like fish without bones, tuna, salmon, crab and crab cakes. Fruits without pits like bananas, grapes, oranges, and strawberries are good choices. You can also have soft foods – mashed potatoes, yogurt, peanut butter and jelly.

See that you have a wide variety of food choices to enjoy while you are with braces. The above-mentioned choices are also ideal for children who are wearing them. These foods are also healthy for your body, hence, the better are the results of your orthodontic treatment. A proper diet provides essential nutrients to bones and tissues undergoing significant change during braces treatment.

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Eating Right with Braces in Bellevue

Know more about right foods to enjoy even if you are under treatment and yet protecting your braces from potential damage. Let’s see to the success of your therapy together. We’ve got more healthy tips to share.

The Challenge of Cleaning

If you’re wearing dental braces, wires, springs and rubber bands, rest assure that you will need extra care for your teeth and gums, now more than before you had them. It can be a daunting task since braces may have to be worn anywhere from one to three years. If the patient is just a child, the parents’ and the orthodontist’s roles are crucial to the journey.

Poor oral hygiene while wearing braces is detrimental to the health of your teeth and gums. Food bits and beverages with starchy or sugary pieces or acidic elements can lodge in between the littlest of spaces and get trapped, including in between tooth surfaces and under the gumline. Half-hearted or irregular brushing can leave them behind to develop into plaque. With bacterial colonization, decay and cavities are not far behind.

Most orthodontists will recommend brushing after every meal or snack to prevent buildup of debris.There are special types of brushes designed to clean in-between braces. You can ask your orthodontist about it. Some will recommend to invest in and to know how to properly use an electric toothbrush which can make brushing a lot easier and faster. A prescription-strength fluoride toothpaste can help prevent decay and cavities during this time, and prevent unsightly round white spots from forming around brackets.

Practitioners will include fluoride mouthwash daily, essential to keep the enamel strong and resistant to bacterial attacks. Mouth rinses can also soothe inflamed or tender gums, often due to pressure from the brackets. For easy flushing of debris, a water pik or an air flosser is recommended. Using air or streams of water, these pinpoint appliances can make easy work of hard to reach places and under the gumline.

Flossing is a must for those with braces; difficult but rewarding. Ask your orthodontist how to best use floss with your braces. All your teeth will have to be flossed, the string variety is ideal , but there are handier and easier to use floss tools.

Also, rinse your mouth with water as often as you eat or drink; not just to keep your oral structures hydrated but also to ensure freshness and that you loosen food bits stuck in some places. You must protect your mouth via a mouthguard during sports activities. Finally, be faithful to your dental appointments.

Know more about dental care from your Bellevue dentist. If you take good care of your braces, they will serve you in good stead in time. Proper dental hygiene is key to all successful orthodontic outcomes.