Braces: How Braces Work, Pain Relief, & Keeping Braces Clean

Braces can correct misaligned teeth to improve your smile and your dental health, but braces pain can make you uncomfortable.

How Braces Work

Knowing a bit about how braces work can help you prepare for the braces pain you might experience. Braces place continuous pressure on the teeth to slowly move them into a different position. The key components of braces are:

• Brackets: A bracket is attached to each tooth or to a band placed around the tooth. Brackets hold the wires that actually cause the teeth to move. Braces pain associated with brackets may include pain from the band or the brackets.
• Wires: The wires used for braces are known as arch wires. They are attached to the brackets, and an orthodontist adjusts them at regular visits. Sometimes braces pain occurs soon after the braces are adjusted.

Benefits Of Braces

Braces pain can be uncomfortable, but wearing braces to improve your bite can help to eliminate other types of mouth and tooth pain caused by misaligned teeth. Other benefits of braces include:

• Easier Oral Care: Straight teeth are easier to clean, so you will be at less risk for tooth decay and gum disease.
• Increased Confidence: When braces have corrected your misaligned teeth, you’ll enjoy the improved self-confidence that comes with a healthy smile.

What Causes Braces Pain?

The exact cause of braces pain is unknown, but it may be attributed to internal or external factors.

• Internal: Some research has shown that braces pain may be caused by changes in blood flow that occur when the braces apply pressure to the teeth.
• External: The physical rubbing of the brackets and wires can cause braces pain in the soft tissue inside the mouth. This type of braces pain usually lessens with time, as the tissues become tougher. Sometimes one of the arch wires can cause braces pain by poking into the back of the mouth, but orthodontic wax can usually relieve this.

How to Relieve Pain from Braces

Many products are available to provide relief of braces pain. For pain associated with the pressure of the braces, try over the counter pain relieving products. Tablets or capsules such as Motrin or Advil can provide relief of braces pain, or you can use topical pain relieving products. Ask your dentist for recommendations if your braces pain persists. In addition, toothpaste, mouth rinse, and dental floss designed for sensitive teeth such as those in the Crest Pro-Health Sensitive Shield regimen can help relieve tooth pain. (1), (2)

Try these additional tips to relieve braces pain:

• Eat Soft Foods: If you tend to experience braces pain after an orthodontic adjustment, stick to soft foods, such as Jello®, pasta, and soft-cooked vegetables for the first day or so.
• Brush Soft: A soft-bristled toothbrush can help ease braces pain.
• Protect Your Braces: If you play contact sports while wearing braces, be sure to use a mouth guard. Being hit or falling during sports can cause brackets to break or wires to come loose, which causes braces pain and adds to the expense of orthodontic care.

How to Brush Your Teeth with Braces

While brushing teeth with braces may be a bit challenging it’s even more important for people with braces to brush properly. That’s because food particles can easily get caught in your braces, which can lead to harmful plaque bacteria that can cause gum disease. Effectively brushing teeth with braces is very important for your long-term oral health.

How to Clean Braces

• Ask your dental professional for a brush that's specifically designed for brushing teeth with braces. These brushes are made to reach in between all brackets and hardware.
• Brushing teeth with braces takes a bit longer than it does without braces. Brush from top to bottom and in between all braces. Take your time to ensure you keep your teeth healthy and protected while you wear braces.
• Brush more often, including after every snack or meal.
• Use an anti plaque/gingivitis mouth rinse to help remove food particles that linger in places your toothbrush can’t reach, as well as to prevent new plaque from forming.
• Ask your dental professional if they have any recommendations for brushing teeth with braces. They can show you the best techniques and ensure you know the best approach.

Once again, effectively brushing teeth with braces can help keep your teeth and mouth healthy. When your braces come off, you’ll be thrilled with your healthy teeth and bright, beautiful smile.

To read the entire article visit crest.com

Stutler Dental

Brad Stutler, DDS
1460 North Green Street, Suite 300
Brownsburg, IN 46112
(317) 225-4520
Website: StutlerDental.com

What Is the Best Age for Braces?

Below is an article written by by Steve Auger and found on Colgate.com 

Responsible parents always want what is best for their children, even if the kids don't see it that way. That means yearly physicals, regular dental checkups and an orthodontist appointment if you suspect your child needs braces. While you're preparing for the visit, brush up on the best age for braces.

What Do Braces Do?
Orthodontic treatment solves multiple mouth issues. Some of those issues include teeth crowding, missing or extra teeth, tooth spacing and improper bites. Orthodontic issues are referred to as malocclusions. Malocclusions that aren't fixed can cause problems down the line, including worn enamel, tooth decay and issues with chewing and speaking.

First Visit to the Orthodontist
The American Association of Orthodontists recommends scheduling a child's first orthodontist visit by age 7 or at the first visible sign of a malocclusion. At that age, the child's teeth and jaw are still developing, making orthodontic issues, such as tooth crowding, easier to address.
Your child might be a bit apprehensive about the visit. A good orthodontist will take measures to put your child at ease, like giving them an office tour and introducing them to the staff. Once your child is more relaxed, the orthodontist can conduct the initial exam to determine if treatment is needed. Photographs and X-rays of the mouth and teeth will be taken to help the orthodontist decide how to proceed.

To read the entire article visit Colgate.com

The remainder of the article details the following:

• Types of Misalignment
• Adapting to Braces
• Not Just for Children

Stutler Dental
Brad Stutler, DDS
1460 North Green Street, Suite 300
Brownsburg, IN 46112
(317) 225-4520
Website: StutlerDental.com

Invisible Dental Aligners

Straighter Teeth Done Invisibly!

Do you crave straighter teeth, but have no patience for the time commitment required with traditional processes? Maybe, as a professional adult, you find the appearance of metal braces on your teeth completely unacceptable. Dr. Stutler and Dr. Klaes are delighted to provide their patients with Invisalign™ invisible aligners. These aligners address both your concerns. They straighten teeth in only 9 - 15 months, and nobody but you and your dental office know that you're wearing them.

These state-of-the-art aligners fix wide gaps between teeth, overbite, crossbite, underbite, and overcrowding. 3-D computer imaging generates the complete treatment plan, beginning with the current position of your teeth and ending with the desired result. A series of aligners is created to fit over your teeth and gradually shift them to their new position. Approximately every two weeks, you'll exchange your current aligners for the next set until you reach your objective for straighter teeth. Even better, because you only need an evaluation every one to two months, very little time will be spent in our dental chair.

The ingeniously designed Invisalign system represents cutting-edge technology that produces the same results as traditional metal braces. Ingenious design, because even up close they are barely noticeable. Ingenious design, because although you wear the aligners all day as well as while you sleep, they are easily removable for eating and brushing. That means no food restrictions while in treatment! And keeping your teeth clean and free of plaque is just as easy as it was before treatment, because there are no braces to get in the way of brushing and flossing. Ingenious design, because they're comfortable. They're all one piece with no wires to be adjusted or irritating metal to be checked. No restraining headgear is necessary!

Ingeniously designed Invisalign aligners make it easy for you to have an amazing smile!

Stutler Dental
Brad Stutler, DDS
1460 North Green Street, Suite 300
Brownsburg, IN 46112
(317) 225-4520
Website: StutlerDental.com

Orthodontic Treatments

More Than Just a Straight Smile

We've always been your first choice for your child's routine dental care. But do you know that we also have extensive orthodontics training? Correcting teeth and jaw disharmony early in life produces the best results for your child for the least amount of money. Early treatment by a trained dentist can save thousands of dollars as opposed to seeing a specialist later, and it can actually prevent unnecessary extractions of permanent teeth in their teen years. We can address early crowding of their front teeth, crossbites in their back teeth, and a mismatch of their upper and lower jaws. These treatments normally take less than 6 to 18 months and occur before they get to their teenage stage.

For all of our patients who want to correct crooked teeth or bite issues, we use the latest in modern techniques. These comfortable and attractive options are a huge improvement over traditional metal braces. You no longer have to spend 3 - 5 years in treatment! The time needed for treatment will differ from person to person but usually can be completed in two years or less. For cost-effective and time-tested results, traditional metal braces may be the way to go.

Stutler Dental
Brad Stutler, DDS
1460 North Green Street, Suite 300
Brownsburg, IN 46112
(317) 225-4520
Website: StutlerDental.com

Great Ways to Improve Your Smile # 5

Braces
While orthodontic work that begins while a child is growing helps produce optimal results, that doesn’t mean that adults can’t have braces. Thanks to advances in orthodontic treatments, metal brackets are not your only option. Removable aligners, or invisible braces,î or clear plastic brackets can all be used to straighten crooked or crowded teeth.

The above article is from: MouthHealthy.org

Stutler Dental
Brad Stutler, DDS
1460 North Green Street, Suite 300
Brownsburg, IN 46112
(317) 225-4520
Website: StutlerDental.com