Your Child Needs Braces, Now What?
Pediatric dentists and orthodontists try to avoid using interceptive orthodontics unless needed. Finding out your child needs braces and orthodontic treatment at a young age can be intimidating for both the parent and the child. Your child will probably have a lot of questions: Will they hurt? What foods can I eat? Will my daily schedule need to change? These are all fair questions for a child to ask. Pediatric Dentistry of Central Iowa would like to provide some tips on what you can do to help your child adjust to living with braces.
Be Honest and Supportive About Braces Procedure
If you ever had braces as a kid, you remember that they truly were not that bad. But to a child who has never experienced something like this before, it can seem menacing and embarrassing. As the parent or guardian figure, it’s important that you be honest about what to expect with braces while also being a positive role model. As your dentists, Drs. Barsetti & Whittemore are here to help with any sort of support and clarity that you and your child might need.
Soft Foods Are Your Child’s Best Friend
The first couple of weeks with braces are the hardest. As your kid’s teeth adjust, they will feel pain in their gums and will most likely take a little bit to learn how to eating with braces. During this time, your child should be eating only soft foods to help the pain as adjusting teeth are starting to settle in. Foods such as rice, yogurt, pasta, mashed potatoes and applesauce will all help a child with braces.
Orthodontic Wax Helps Relieve Pain
The brackets on braces can be annoying to the inside of your child’s mouth. To combat this constant rubbing, your orthodontist should provide you with orthodontic wax. To use, simply have your child apply it to a finger and rub it over the brackets that are causing irritation. The wax will harden up on the bracket and create a protective layer that stays on for long periods of time.
We also recommend that your child has orthodontic wax on hand at multiple places in the event that irritation occurs. Having some at home, school, and even taking with them to sports can help reduce any serious irritation that your child might encounter.
Pediatric Dentists of Central Iowa
If you child needs braces or any of our interceptive orthodontics services, get in contact with us today! Drs. Barsetti & Whittemore have been creating beautiful smiles in the Des Moines area for decades. We have locations in Ankeny and West Des Moines and are always accepting new patients. We look forward to seeing you at our offices!