Before your teen undergoes orthognathic surgery, their orthodontist will install braces onto their teeth. This is done to move their teeth into alignment and is usually installed several months before the procedure. This gives the braces enough time to safely move your teeth. In order for the braces to work, they need to be maintained properly. Good maintenance involves keeping the braces bacteria free and preventing brackets from breaking or cracking. If your teen has never had braces, then this can be overwhelming for them. Luckily, there are a few tips that you can use to help your teen maintain their braces before their orthognathic procedure.

Avoid Giving them Hard Foods to Eat

Braces can loosen or break with normal wear and tear. However, they can loosen or break much quicker if an extreme amount of pressure is regularly applied to the dental device. This is typically common when eating hard foods. Hard foods make it difficult for your teeth to function under the intense pressure and may even lead to damage to your natural teeth. Rare steak is an example of a common food that is hard to eat and will damage a dental appliance if eaten regularly. Therefore, you should help your teen come up with a diet that includes foods that are softer and easier to chew. This can include anything from yogurts to soups. If you still decide to give your child meats, then it is important to cook the meat until it is falling off of the bone.

Make Sure that Food is Removed from Their Braces Following Each Meal

When it comes to wearing braces prior to our orthognathic procedure, it is important to ensure that the braces remain bacteria free. Braces are one of the many dental appliances that can easily hide food and other contaminants. Once the food hardens into tartar, it becomes increasing difficult to remove the debris without seeing a dentist. In order to help your teen avoid this, you need to ensure that they are brushing their teeth immediately after meals. In addition, a water flosser should be incorporated to safely dislodge remaining food particles. If their braces are cleaned immediately, then this makes it easier to keep bacteria growth under control.

Getting braces before orthognathic surgery may seem a little overwhelming. However, if you use these tips to help your teen maintain their braces, everything should go smoothly.