Taking Care Of Your Braces During The Holidays

The Christmas bells are ringing, and the holidays are calling you. Holidays mean travel and family gatherings. Getting the family together means delicious food, BBQ, and much more. Unfortunately, for those undergoing orthodontic treatment, the concern is which foods they should avoid while in braces.

Taking Care Of Your Braces

All they want is to enjoy the treats while keeping their braces in perfect condition. Here at Dr. Maria Yazji Orthodontics, we want to help you enjoy these holidays while keeping your braces and orthodontic appliances right how they should be.

Before you go on vacation, you should also make sure you have enough elastic bands, interdental brushes, and carry some wax, just in case you get a poking wire. If you’re doing Invisalign® treatment, don’t forget your Invisalign® aligner case to keep your clear aligners safe. Also, if you’re having virtual checkups, keep scanning your smile so Dr. Yazji can monitor your treatment remotely while you’re in traveling the world. Keeping your oral hygiene on point takes more time while you’re wearing braces, and we know it’s even more of a challenge during the holidays.

That’s why we’ve put together a few tips to help you take care of your braces during the holidays.

Foods you should avoid

Hard chips and nuts are tempting snacks while on a road trip. Stay away from these as they can interfere with your treatment. Grabbing handfuls of buttery, delicious popcorn is a classic while enjoying a Christmas movie with the family. But if you’re wearing braces, you should avoid them because popcorn kernels can break your brackets. Popcorn hulls can press up against your gums when trapped under the wires of your braces. They can easily get caught in your brackets and wires and are difficult to remove. Plus, these tiny particles can cause pain and sometimes make your gums bleed.

The good news is that you can enjoy other snack options if you have braces:

• Ice-cream
• Cheese slices
• Baked (not fried) potato chips
• Berries, pear, banana, or other soft fruit slices
• Soft baked cookies, muffins, and baked goods like croissants and cakes
• Soft chocolate
• Yogurt
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Soft pretzels

Braces Care Tips

If you want to keep your braces in good condition, you must:

Brush your teeth: Ensure bacteria is removed from your teeth by brushing your teeth twice a day. If possible, brush after every meal to remove loose food from under brackets and wires to prevent the buildup of food leftovers in the mouth.

The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste for two minutes each time.

Floss: Flossing is a must and should be done after every meal or at least twice a day. Flossing will help keep your brackets and braces are clean. If you’re wearing Invisalign® aligners, you can floss as you would normally do. If you have braces, make sure you take interdental brushes with you. These brushes serve as an alternative to flossing, and they can help you reach hard-to-reach places, such as underwires, between brackets, and in the back of your mouth.

Rinse: Don’t forget to rinse with a mouthwash solution.

Elastics: If your orthodontist instructed you to wear elastics, remember to wear them all the time. You can only take the elastics off during meals or while brushing your teeth. If you don’t wear the elastics, there could be an increased risk of shifting teeth.

Whether you are undergoing orthodontic treatment with braces or Invisalign®, the holiday season is that time of the year to be jolly, unwind from work, and spend time with the ones you care about the most while enjoying yummy foods. Just make sure you stay on track with your orthodontic treatment as planned by your orthodontist.

However, if you’re not wearing braces and would like to start your journey to a straight smile, request a complimentary consultation for regular braces, ceramic braces, lingual braces, or Invisalign® treatment with Dr. Maria Yazji at one of her offices in Broward County or Miami-Dade County: Weston, Downtown Brickell, or West Miami.

Braces in Miami, Florida.

Isn’t it so cute when kids suck their thumbs?

It turns out that this seemingly cute and harmless habit of many kids can cause misalignment of your child’s permanent teeth. This is exactly what happened to me. What is worse, it can also affect the jaw or the shape and roof of the mouth.

Braces Near Me

I used to suck my thumb vigorously when I was a child. My parents didn’t pay much attention to it because it’s a common habit among kids. Little did they know that this habit of mine would rob my self-confidence in later life. I kept sucking my thumb until I was ten. As a consequence, all my teeth came out crooked. I was shy to even smile in public, I would cover my mouth because I was ashamed of my teeth. That’s when my mom thought it was time to do something about it. She started searching online for the best braces in Miami, and talked about it with her family members, hoping that someone could recommend a smile specialist in the area. That’s when a family friend recommended Dr. Maria Yazji in Miami.

So, we called her office and book a free orthodontic consult. When I had my smile consultation with Dr. Yazji, I learned I could start orthodontic treatment to fix my smile and I was so happy she could help me straighten my teeth. She explained everything about dental braces and all the treatment options I could choose from.

Types of Braces

Many people think of braces as just metal pieces to hold your teeth. Well, that’s a thing of the past now. Maria Yazji offers many other braces types to help correct your teeth like:

Traditional braces

Traditional braces are usually made of metal. These braces have metal brackets that get attached to the front of your teeth. They also have flexible wires that are used to hold braces or bands in place. Some braces may also include rubber bands or metal ties that help link the braces to the wire.

Ceramic Braces

The metal brackets are replaced by tooth-colored ceramic brackets in this type of braces. Because the color of the bracket matches the enamel, these braces aren’t very visible.

Lingual Braces

The brackets on these types of braces are attached to the back of the teeth. No one will know you’re wearing lingual braces unless you tell them. Like Invisalign® aligners, models are made from 3D scans. Then Dr. Yazji works on your orthodontic case and prepares the prescription for the lab.

Invisalign® Clear Aligners

These are the braces option that most people prefer nowadays. If you google ‘braces in Miami’, you will get options mostly related to clear aligners. Invisalign® aligners are clear, removable aligners that gradually straighten your teeth. While in treatment, you must wear a series of trays every one or two weeks as prescribed by your orthodontist. The trays apply pressure to your teeth to make them move into the right position and hence straighten your smile. The convenience of clear aligners is that they are removable, and you can easily brush your teeth and eat whatever you want. You’re expected to keep them on for at least 22 hours a day.

We had a detailed talk about it with Dr. Maria Yazji and I chose ceramic braces to fix my smile. They are supposed to hurt a little, but my experience was comfortable overall. After two years, I had my ceramic braces off, and I revealed a huge difference in my teeth. My smile was perfectly aligned and was able to laugh with confidence, showing off my perfectly straight teeth.

If you are also looking for the best braces in Miami, I’d suggest having a consultation with Dr. Maria and getting a perfect smile. You can request a complimentary appointment here.