News

If you’re currently undergoing Houston braces treatment, or plan to very soon, you may be wondering what you can do to ensure your treatment goes by smoothly. In this article, our Houston family dentists will offer some of our best tips to help you get the most out of your dental braces treatment.

Be Mindful Of The Food You Eat When Wearing Houston Braces

No, this doesn’t mean to go on a diet. This just means that you need to be careful that you don’t eat foods that will damage your braces. 

Some foods you should avoid, especially early on in your Houston braces treatment, include:

• Crunch foods, such as chips and popcorn
• Sticky foods, such as candy and bubble gum
• Foods that you usually bite directly into, such as carrots, corn, and apples. Instead, we recommend you chop these beforehand.

Not only will avoiding these foods reduce the pain and discomfort you feel shortly after getting dental braces, but doing so will also protect your braces from breaking over the course of your treatment.

Play Sports Safely

Most of our Houston braces patients are children, which means plenty of them regularly participate in after-school sports. Even some of our adult patients participate in sports in their free time. Regardless of how old our patients are, everyone who practices a close contact sport may benefit from wearing a protective mouthguard that is custom-fitted to their teeth. This way, if there is some trauma during a game, your teeth will be far better protected and we can address it in a timely manner.

Practice Good Dental Braces Hygiene

Good dental hygiene is a must, but Houston braces patients must be extra cautious with how well they take care of their teeth. You can read more about proper dental hygiene when wearing Houston braces here.

Get Affordable Houston Braces At Centra Dental

Our dentists, who treat families in Houston and South Houston, offer exceptional dental braces treatment, including ceramic braces, metal braces, and Invisalign Clear–all at an affordable price starting as low as $99/month. Please book an appointment with us so we can assess the health of your teeth and get you started with a Houston braces consultation. We look forward to giving you a healthy, beautiful smile! 

At Centra Dental in Houston and South Houston, we offer various types of dental braces at an affordable price, including Invisalign. Though sometimes mistaken as a less-effective way to straighten your teeth, Invisalign Clear Aligners are actually very successful at correcting the alignment of your bite, so long as you follow our recommendations for the best way to take care of your teeth while undergoing Invisalign treatment. In this article, our South Houston family dentist will discuss a couple do’s and don’t’s that will impact how well Invisalign works for you.

What To Do When Wearing Invisalign Clear Aligners From Our South Houston Braces Dentist

Here are things you should do if you are a South Houston Invisalign patient:

Wear Your Invisalign For At Least 20 Hours A Day

Compared to our other Houston braces, Invisalign is a more delicate and subtle method of shifting the teeth, which means it can take a little longer in some cases. We recommend wearing your Clear Aligners for 20-22 hours a day to provide as much time for your aligner trays to do their job. 

Keep Track Of Your Invisalign Clear Aligners

Because Invisalign isn’t glued to your teeth like ceramic Houston braces and metal dental braces, some patients run the risk of losing their aligners. If you lose them, you won’t wear them for as long as you need to in order to straighten your teeth. When you begin Invisalign treatment, be sure to store your Clear Aligners in your Invisalign case each time you remove them for meals and when you brush your teeth. Not only does this prevent you from losing them, but this also keeps them safe from damage and prevents excessive dirtiness. 

What Not To Do As A South Houston Invisalign Patient

Avoid the following when undergoing Houston Invisalign:

Skip Cleaning Your Invisalign Clear Aligners

Just because you don’t have to wear your aligners 24/7 does not mean you should forgo good dental braces hygiene. When you finish eating and put your aligners back on, they will collect the plaque and bacteria in your mouth. It’s imperative that you clean them by gently brushing them with a soft-bristled toothbrush in the morning and before bed. This will keep your aligners from getting smelly and will protect your mouth from cavities. 

Switch To Your Next Set Of Aligners If You Lose Your Current Pair

Sometimes mistakes happen and our Houston Invisalign patients lose a set of aligners. Do not jump to the next set if you’ve lost your current set because the aligners won’t fit properly, which means they won’t move your teeth the way they are supposed to. Instead, call our Houston braces dentists so we can determine the best course of action.

Think You Need Houston Braces? Visit Our South Houston Dentist 

If you think it might be time to get dental braces, please book an appointment for a Houston braces consultation so we can determine if Invisalign is right for you and proceed with a treatment plan. We will provide you with further education on how to get the most out of your Invisalign Clear Aligners.

So you’ve decided it might be time for Houston braces. That’s great news! You are well on your way to a beautiful, healthier smile. However, before you get your Invisalign, ceramic dental braces, or metal dental braces, you must first undergo a Houston braces consultation so that our family dentists in Houston and South Houston can design a customized treatment plan that will change your smile. In this article, we will discuss when is the best time to come in for a consultation, what you can expect at this appointment, and what the next steps will be.

When To Get A Houston Braces Consultation

When it comes to dental braces treatment, the earlier the better! If you’re a parent looking into Houston braces for your child, then you will be glad to know that they can come in for a consultation once all their baby teeth have fallen out and their permanent teeth have emerged. 

If you’re an adult looking into adult dental braces treatment in Houston, then you can come in for a consultation as soon as you’d like. 

What To Expect At Your Dental Braces Consultation At Our Houston And South Houston Family Dentist Office

When you visit us for your first consultation, a few tasks need to be completed:

• Gathering X-rays
• Taking dental photographs
• Taking impressions

We will also take the time to learn more about your needs and preferences. Once we have these materials, we will review them and determine whether Invisalign, ceramic dental braces, or metal dental braces may be best for your particular case. Once you decide on which type of Houston braces treatment you will undergo, we will map out the course of your treatment or that of your child’s utilizing our state-of-the-art dental braces technology. 

What Happens After Your Houston Braces Consultation

Once we know what dental braces treatment you will undergo, it’s time to book your fitting. If you will undergo Invisalign, we will get your aligner trays made at our lab before you come into our office to wear them for the first time. 

If you are undergoing ceramic dental braces or metal dental braces treatment, your next appointment will be the one in which we actually attach the braces to your teeth, which will last about 1-2 hours. You can learn more about what to expect when first getting braces here.

Ready For Dental Braces? Visit Us At Our Houston Or South Houston Family Dentist Offices

If you believe that it’s about time for you or your child to get braces, then please book an appointment with our dentist so we can begin with our dental braces consultation and design an effective treatment plan. We look forward to giving your teen a beautiful smile they are proud to show off!

Houston braces are a big deal, and we are proud to offer affordable metal braces, ceramic braces, and even Invisalign Clear Aligners. In monitoring our patients’ progress during their dental braces treatment, we take note of how well they take care of their dental health and often get asked what they can do to reduce their chance of getting cavities. In this blog, our Houston family dentists will offer our top tips for maintaining your best dental health possible while undergoing Houston braces treatment.

Tip 1: Brush Your Teeth More Frequently 

When wearing braces, it is easy to miss a few spots when brushing your teeth, so our South Houston dentist recommends carefully brushing your teeth after every meal and snack. It may seem excessive, but this is the best way to prevent food from getting stuck in the brackets of your metal and ceramic dental braces, or behind the plastic of your Invisalign Clear Aligners. Remember that food left behind impedes your treatment from working properly. 

Tip 2: Consider Using Interdental Brushes

Interdental brushes, also known as brush picks, are a great step between brushing your teeth and flossing because it gets rid of any stray food particles that were left behind after brushing. We recommend using them after each time you brush and then switching to string floss at night before bed, which brings us to our next tip...

Tip 3: Floss Your Teeth Every Night

Even if you use a brush pick, there might be smaller, harder-to-reach food particles that floss can easily remove. Today, there are several types of floss available, including floss designed to be used while wearing dental braces. Although flossing can be tricky with braces, patience helps and so can we the next time you come to our South Houston dentist office for a cleaning and a check-up.

Tip 4: Get A Teeth Cleaning At Our Houston And South Houston Dental Offices Every 6 Months

By coming into our Houston family dentist office for your teeth cleanings twice a year, we can check on your overall dental health and clean your teeth more deeply and thoroughly than you would at home. If it’s time to get a dental cleaning, please book an appointment so we can schedule one as soon as possible and assess the health of your teeth.