Should You Get Braces Before School?

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Should You Get Braces Before School?

Should You Get Braces Before School?

It’s not uncommon for teens to face the possibility of getting braces as summer comes to a close. Give your teen an extra couple weeks to adjust to the braces before sending them back to school. There's also the learning curve that comes with braces, such as getting used to eating with them on and learning appropriate cleaning techniques. Becoming familiar with these aspects at home and under your guidance is a lot easier on teens who are often a bit wary of the treatment. They'll be able to experiment with soft foods and slowly ready themselves for harder foods. By the time their school is back in session, your child will see their braces as more of a natural extension of themselves and less of a hindrance. Fortunately for them, braces aren’t what they used to be. They now come in a variety of colors for customization and your child can even rock their school colors on the first day back!

Tips For Going Back To School With Braces

  1. Make sure they have a braces care kit What is a braces care kit? It’s a bag or pouch of stuff that they might need to keep their braces clean and comfortable during the school day. An ideal kit includes a toothbrush and toothpaste, floss or flossing picks, and maybe even a small mirror, just in case they want to check and make sure there is nothing stuck in their braces but they don’t have time to visit the bathroom before class starts.
  2. Pack easy lunches This can be one of the most discouraging parts of getting braces, but there are still plenty of lunches that your teen will love. Just make sure that raw carrots, whole apples, nuts, chips, or large pieces of meat are not on the menu. It’s also a good idea to remind your teen not to chew on ice and to avoid sticky snacks like taffy or caramel. It’s also important to avoid hard breads when making a sandwich, for example.
  3. Check to make sure they have a water bottle Drinking enough water is essential for health, but it is especially important when your teen has braces. Not only does drinking plenty of water help to clear away and food pieces that might be hiding around the brackets or underneath the wire, water helps to neutralize the acids from the foods we eat, which keeps your mouth healthier. While most schools have water fountains, having a water bottle in their backpack is the best way to encourage them to drink water and is more convenient than getting up and leaving class when they need a drink.
  4. Let them have a special treat Going back to school with braces is hard. During the summer, most kids see only their friends. Being thrust back into the halls of a school where kids can be cruel is difficult for both you and your teen. Letting them have a small treat of a milkshake or a smoothie, especially on days when they have had an adjustment to their braces, can be a great pick-me-up.
  5. Help them understand that they are not alone Thirty years ago, they might have been one of only a few kids who had braces at school. Now, a huge portion of their class has either had or is currently wearing braces. They might feel that they have been separated from their classmates because they are wearing braces, but the truth is that most of their friends are probably wearing them, too. They shouldn’t feel embarrassed about smiling or laughing. In reality, very few people are even going to notice that they are wearing braces.