Dealing with your orthodontic treatment can make day-to-day life somewhat complicated at times. This is no less true during the holidays, when your braces may require some extra attention.
However, with a little extra caution, you can have a festive holiday season and still keep your braces safe and your orthodontic treatment on track.
Holiday Treats to Avoid
While traditional holiday fare will vary from family to family, holiday foods are often sweet, sticky, hard, filled with nuts, and just generally harmful to braces.
Gooey, sticky treats such as toffee and candied fruit are extremely popular at this time of year, and can be a tremendous pain to clean out of your braces. They can get lodged in even the tiniest crevices, so definitely try to avoid these.
Hard, crunchy treats, and especially those with lots of nuts in them, can cause a lot damage to your braces. Nuts are hard and dense, and they can easily dislodge brackets and damage wires. Plus, small shards and particles can get lodged in the nooks and crannies between your braces and your teeth, causing discomfort.
Temperature Considerations
This is not something most people think of, but sudden changes in temperature could have an impact on your braces.
Braces are made of metal, and as such expand when exposed to heat, and contract when exposed to cold. While it’s very unlikely that sudden temperature changes will actually damage your braces, the frequent expanding and contracting of your braces is probably not good for them, or indeed for your teeth.
This simply means that if you’ve been out in the cold, you should try and wait a few minutes for your braces to warm up before you take your first sip of hot cocoa or cider.
Lastly, and this is important...
Do not use your teeth to open presents! Aside from this not being good for your braces, it’s just not dignified. It’s understandable to be excited, but please — just use scissors.
If you keep these few, small precautions in mind, and are extra careful to keep your teeth and braces clean, having braces shouldn't cramp your style at all this holiday season!
