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Patient Co-operation |
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Straight white teeth and a nice smile are the results of good
planning and good treatment by your orthodontist, and good
co-operation from you. |
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Good co-operation
during fixed application treatments involves: |
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Diet control |
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Do not
eat sweets or biscuits between meals. Only have fizzy drinks and
fruit juices at meal-times. Do not eat hard or sticky foods that
can damage your brace. Cut fruit, especially apples and pears,
and raw vegetables, into small pieces before eating them. Do not
bite into crusty bread or hard rolls. Broken braces will result
in your treatment lasting longer and may make your treatment
time longer and more time consuming with visits. It may more
importantly affect the quality of the result. |
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Cleaning |
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You
must spend enough time brushing your teeth, gums and braces, on
average 5 minutes every morning and every night. Ideally
you should have a travel toothbrush to clean your teeth after
meals. |
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Mouth-rinse |
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You should use a
fluoride mouth rinse every evening. |
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Mouth-guards |
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It is
important that you protect your smile during contact sports. |
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Appointments |
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You
must keep all of your appointments and attend on time. If you
arrive late there will not be enough time to complete all your
treatment. Missed appointments will make your treatment last
longer. |
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Instructions |
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You
must follow your orthodontist's advice if you need to wear headgear or elastics as part of your treatment. Removable
appliances and functional appliances must be worn all of the
time and you must continue to wear your retainers so that your
teeth stay straight when your orthodontic treatment is completed. |
