Colored Braces: A Practical Guide for Teens and Parents in the UAE

By Your Health Magazine Contributor

Your Health Magazine Contributor

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Colored Braces: A Practical Guide for Teens and Parents in the UAE

Introduction

When the bonding appointment is over, the family goes out into the car park. The teenager looks in the mirror on the sun visor about four times before we get to the exit barrier. At some point between the clinic and home, two questions typically occur: what can I eat tonight and can I change the blue next time?

The use of coloured braces helps a great many young patients to accept the treatment, a feat that is far from easy since it lasts for several months. Associated with that positive point are a number of practical issues which parents have to deal with every day. The guide lists the actual things that arise, in the order in which they usually occur.

The First Few Days at Home

The teeth tend to become tender when the wire starts to take effect, the sensation usually appearing a few hours after the appointment and then continuing over the following days. The lips and cheeks might also feel as if they have been rubbed in the areas where they come into contact with the brackets.

Soft food is very helpful in the first two or three days, and things such as soup, laban, scrambled eggs, mashed vegetables, pasta, rice with stew and smoothies all prove effective. Since cold foods alleviate soreness, freezing fruit and blending it into a drink serves a double purpose.

There’s a reason that orthodontic wax is included in the kit. If a bracket is irritating your cheek, you can press a small piece of the wax over it, which allows the tissue time to become tougher, and it will do so within a week or two. Moreover, rinsing your mouth with warm salt water also helps to relieve any sore areas. If necessary, the painkillers that your family usually takes can be used, and your dentist will tell you which ones are appropriate for your child.

Food Rules That Actually Come Up in UAE Households

Telling teenagers to avoid hard and sticky foods only leaves them guessing, whereas specific advice is more effective.

• Biting directly into dates with stones can damage brackets. Take out the stone or, better still, cut the date into pieces.
• Nuts, whether eaten by themselves or scattered over kunafa and other sweet dishes, do require careful consideration.
• Desserts that are sticky, such as toffee, chewy sweets and certain types of halwa, exert a direct effect on brackets.
• Stopping ice chewing has to be done completely, and that is more difficult than it sounds in the summer.
• Cinema popcorn contains unpopped kernels, and a single one can knock out a bracket in a second.
• Whole apples, corn on the cob and hard khubz should be cut up or torn into pieces rather than being bitten with the front teeth.
• Fizzy drinks and sugarcane juice cause decay at the edges of brackets, so enjoy them only from time to time.

Nothing on the list is permanently forbidden; most of it reappears when the braces are removed.

A Cleaning Routine a Busy Teenager Will Follow

By week three elaborate routines are given up while simple ones carry on.

With braces, it is more important to brush after meals than it is without them since food gets caught in the brackets rather than being washed away. It takes approximately a minute for an interdental brush to get under the wire and carry out the task which an ordinary toothbrush simply glides past. Fluoride toothpaste gives protection to the enamel for the months to come.

For long periods when the teeth are being cleaned, slight white marks may appear on the enamel in the areas where the brackets used to be, and these marks become visible when the braces are removed. It is more effective than giving repeated reminders to simply mention this once in a calm manner. A number of teenagers react positively to having a travel toothbrush that is kept in their school bag, as this eliminates the excuse.

Choosing Colours, and When to Change Them

The coloured portion is a small elastic loop known as a ligature, and it is used to keep the archwire in each bracket. Since ligatures are replaced at each adjustment visit, a new colour becomes available every time without the need for an additional appointment.

Colour has no influence on the movement of the teeth; the choice is entirely cosmetic, which is precisely the reason it’s worthwhile allowing your child to make the decision.

Some practical advice will help them make a good choice. White and bright ties take in the colour from turmeric, tomato sauces, karak and berry juice and retain this tint until you visit again. Darker colours conceal all these stains. Compared with natural enamel, a bright white can make teeth look duller whereas deeper blues, greens and plums have the effect of making them look brighter.

In the UAE the popular choices are in keeping with the calendar: red, green, white and black can be seen everywhere during December, the month of National Day. The colours worn by schools, those of football clubs and the ones chosen for a family wedding are all typically used.

School, Sport and the Summer Break

Speech might appear very slightly different for a few days before it returns to normal, and reading aloud at home helps to accelerate this process.

You need a mouthguard specifically made for use with metal braces since this type is bulkier than a regular one and guards the lips from being pushed against the brackets; football, basketball and martial arts all fall into this category. Swimming, on the other hand, does not require any special gear.

It’s a good idea to have a talk about summer travel before making a booking. Those going abroad with their families for six or eight weeks should mention this in advance so that appointments can be scheduled around their trip. You should find out from your orthodontist what to do if a bracket comes loose while you’re away, and take with you a small kit containing wax, a travel toothbrush and the clinic’s contact number.

What Parents Should Plan Around

Adjustment visits typically occur once every few weeks and are rather brief. If you book them after school hours for the entire term in one go, this will avoid the need for repeated rescheduling.

The time when exams are taking place and the period of orthodontic discomfort overlap significantly, so it is advisable where possible to avoid scheduling an adjustment a few days before a major exam. During Ramadan eating habits and clinic hours change, and many families prefer to have their appointments in the evening then.

Just as planning is needed at the end of treatment, parents often find out about it too late to make any preparations for their child. When the braces are removed, retainers are introduced, typically consisting of a clear tray worn at night and at times a thin wire bonded to the front teeth. Without the retainers, the teeth tend to shift, which is the reason why a large number of adults who are currently undergoing treatment had stopped wearing retainers after their braces as teenagers. If retention is presented as an integral part of the treatment right from the start, it is much easier for a sixteen-year-old to accept when the time comes.

Small Problems and What to Do About Them

A wax cover can be placed over a wire that is inserted into the cheek and, if necessary, gently pushed into position with a clean cotton bud until you are able to be seen. Although loose brackets are not emergencies, they do require an appointment rather than waiting until the next scheduled visit. If elastic bands are lost they should be replaced using the spare pack at home. Whenever pain continues and does not subside after a few days it should be reported by phone.

Talking to a Teenager Who Has Gone Quiet About It

A few young patients enjoy the entire process and choose a new colour each time they visit, while others feel self-conscious, especially during the first month, and keep quiet about photographs and school events.

It is normal to feel this way. Trying to force people into being enthusiastic usually doesn’t help, but what does work is recognising that it is strange at first, noting that a great many of the other students are in the same situation, and then allowing them to make the small decisions themselves, including the choice of colour.

Conclusion

Wearing braces requires a family to be patient over a number of months, and coloured braces just make that period a bit more pleasant for the person who has them. Although the colours are a matter of style and not of any practical use, it is steady cleaning, making sensible food choices and attending the appointments that actually determine the result. If you deal well with those three aspects, let your child choose whichever shade they like at each visit and the months will go by more smoothly than most parents anticipate.