Skip to content
Robert Stoner Logo
  • (336) 274-7649
  • Payment Calculator
  • Patient Forms
  • Blog
  • Our Practice
    • About Us
    • What Sets Us Apart
    • Meet Our Doctor
    • Meet Our Team
    • Advanced Technology
    • Smile For A Lifetime
    • Our Reviews
  • Orthodontics
        • Braces
          • Types of Braces
          • Braces For Kids
          • Braces For Teens
          • Braces For Adults
          • Life With Braces
          • Payment Calculator
        • Clear Aligners
          • What Is Invisalign?
          • Angel Clear Aligners
          • Aligners For Kids
          • Aligners For Teens
          • Aligners For Adults
          • Aligners FAQ
        • Other Treatments
          • Orthognathic (Jaw) Surgery
          • Retainers
          • Airway Orthodontics
          • Early Orthodontic Treatment
  • Patient Resources
    • Your First Visit
    • Virtual Consult
    • Patient Forms
    • Financial Information
    • Orthodontic FAQ
    • Emergency Care
    • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Complimentary Consult
Complimentary Consult
Robert Stoner Logo
  • Our Practice
    • About Us
    • What Sets Us Apart
    • Meet Our Doctor
    • Meet Our Team
    • Advanced Technology
    • Smile For A Lifetime
    • Our Reviews
  • Orthodontics
    • Braces
      • Types of Braces
      • Braces For Kids In Greensboro, NC
      • Braces For Teens In Greensboro, NC
      • Braces For Adults In Greensboro, NC
      • Life With Braces
      • Payment Calculator
    • Clear Aligners
      • What Is Invisalign?
      • Angel Clear Aligners
      • Aligners For Kids
      • Aligners For Teens
      • Aligners For Adults
      • Aligners FAQ
    • Other Treatments
      • Orthognathic (Jaw) Surgery
      • Retainers
      • Airway Orthodontics
      • Early Orthodontic Treatment in Greensboro, NC
  • Patient Resources
    • Your First Visit
    • Virtual Consult
    • Patient Forms
    • Financial Information
    • Orthodontic FAQ
    • Emergency Care
    • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • (336) 850-6369
  • Payment Calculator
  • Patient Forms
  • Blog
Complimentary Consult
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Life With Braces

Home » Braces » Life With Braces

All About Braces

The best way to ensure a clean and healthy smile is by brushing and flossing. Food particles can accumulate on teeth and in braces, and over time, turn into plaque. The bacteria that results from this accumulation can lead to gum disease, tooth decay, and even loss of teeth. To avoid these problems while you are in orthodontic treatment, take special care of yourbraces, teeth, and gums to ensure you will have the best possible result.

 

Brushing

Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and a small strip of fluoride toothpaste. When you brush your teeth, move the brush in small, circular motions to reach food particles that may be under your gum line. Hold the toothbrush at an angle and brush slowly and carefully, covering all areas between teeth, between braces, and the surface of each tooth. It will take you several minutes to thoroughly brush your teeth. Brush up on the lower teeth, down on the upper teeth, and the outside, inside, and chewing surfaces of your front and back teeth. Brush your tongue and the roof of your mouth before you rinse.

Especially during orthodontic treatment, brush your teeth four times daily to avoid the accumulation of food particles in your teeth and braces:

  • In the morning after breakfast
  • After lunch or right after school
  • After supper
  • At bedtime

You will need to replace your toothbrush more often due to your appliances. As soon as the bristles start to wear down or fray, replace your toothbrush with a new one. It may be difficult for your toothbrush to reach some areas under your archwire. Do not swallow any toothpaste; rinse your mouth thoroughly with water after you finish brushing. It is important to floss and use an antibacterial mouthwash and fluoride treatment throughout your orthodontic treatment and beyond for optimal oral hygiene.

Flossing

For areas between the teeth that a toothbrush can’t reach, use dental floss to remove food particles and plaque. Flossing takes more time and patience when you are wearing braces, but it is important to floss your teeth every day.

Use the reusable floss threader provided by our office to floss under your archwire daily. Pull a small length of floss from the dispenser through the threader and slide it up and down along the front of each tooth. You will be able to feel when the tooth is clean and hear the squeak of the floss against your clean teeth. Use care around your archwire and do not floss too forcefully around it or put too much pressure on it. After you floss between your archwire and braces, floss between your other teeth and gums.

If you are flossing without the floss threader, pull a small length of floss from the dispenser. Wrap the ends of the floss tightly around your middle fingers. Guide the floss between all teeth to the gum line, pulling out food particles or plaque. Unwrap clean floss from around your fingers as you go, so that you have used the floss from beginning to end when you finish. Floss behind all of your back teeth.

There are also several different types of water flossers that are available online or at your favorite local retailer. These flossers easily reach around your braces and in between teeth and may be just what you need to ensure that your new smile will look its best.

Floss at night to make sure your teeth are clean before you go to bed. When you first begin flossing around your braces, your gums may bleed a little. Generally, the bleeding will go away after the first few times as you develop this great new habit.

 

Eating With Braces

What can you eat? Let’s talk about what you shouldn’t eat! For the first day or so, stick to soft foods. Avoid tough meats, hard bread, and raw vegetables. Before long, you’ll be able to bite a cucumber again. But you’ll need to protect your orthodontic appliances when you eat for as long as you’re wearing braces.

Foods To Avoid

  • Chewy foods: bagels, hard rolls, licorice
  • Crunchy foods: popcorn, ice
  • Sticky foods: caramels, gum
  • Hard foods: nuts, candy
  • Foods you have to bite into like corn on the cob, apples, carrots

Also, keep in mind that chewing on hard things (for example, pens, pencils, or fingernails) can damage the braces. Damaged braces will cause treatment to take longer.

General Soreness

When you get your braces on, you may feel general soreness in your mouth and teeth may be tender to biting pressures for 3 – 5 days. Take Tylenol or whatever you normally take for headache or discomfort. The lips, cheeks, and tongue may also become irritated for one to two weeks as they toughen and become accustomed to the braces. We will supply wax to put on the braces in irritated areas to lessen discomfort.

Loosening Of Teeth

This is to be expected throughout treatment. Don’t worry! It’s normal. Teeth must loosen first so they can move. After treatment is completed, the teeth will firm up in their new, corrected positions.

Loose Wire Or Band

Don’t be alarmed if a wire or band comes loose. This happens occasionally. If a wire sticks out and is irritating, use a blunt instrument (eraser end of a pencil) and carefully, gently push the irritating wire back under the archwire. Simply get it out of the way. If irritation to the lips or mouth continues, place wax or wet cotton on the wire to reduce the annoyance. Call our office as soon as possible for an appointment to check and repair the problem.

Rubber Band Wear

To successfully complete orthodontic treatment, the patient must work with the orthodontist. The teeth and jaws can only move toward their corrected positions if the patient consistently wears the rubber bands or other appliances as prescribed. Lack of cooperation in following instructions and damaged appliances lengthen the treatment time, so please follow instructions.

Athletics

If you play sports, it’s important you let us know. A protective mouthguard is provided for playing contact sports.

Dr. Stoner
Logo

request appointment

Get started today

The first step toward achieving a beautiful, healthy smile is to request a complimentary orthodontic consultation with Dr. Stoner.

Complimentary Consult
Transparent Logo

patient Reviews

Our 5-Star Experience

We are passionate about serving our patients with the highest level of care possible. Check out what our patients are saying about their 5-star experience with us!

Kate S.
Great experience all the way through. Dr. Stoner and staff are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful!
Michelle B.
My son and I both are patients here and have had the best results! They made my Invisalign journey a breeze and I’m very happy with my new smile. Highly recommend!
Carrie R.
Dr. Stoner and staff were excellent. I got Invisalign and they were patient and thorough throughout the whole process. I appreciate their care so much I even sent my son to them for his braces. Highly recommend.
Nat C.
Amazing work!! You will love your smile😁🩷🩷
Amy S.
Very friendly and attentive staff! I would recommend their orthodontic services to anyone!
Hailey K.
The best ever!! Dr Stoner is always amazing. All the girls here are the sweetest ever! I recommend them to everyone!
Kim “Kim K.
Hands down the best in the state of NC. My almost 5 year experience. The staff is amazing and always go above and beyond to make sure not only your smile is gonna be amazing but also your overall dental care is taken care by partnering with your dentist. I can’t say enough about Dr. Stoner and the amazing staff. Wish i could give them 100/100.
Gentle G.
I recently completed my braces treatment with Robert Stoner, and I absolutely love my smile! From start to finish, my experience was excellent. Dr. Stoner and his team were always professional, kind, and patient. They explained everything clearly and made sure I was comfortable at every visit.

The office runs smoothly, appointments were always on time, and the staff made me feel welcome at every step. The results speak for themselves I couldn’t be happier with how my smile turned out!

If you’re thinking about getting braces, I highly recommend Robert Stoner and his team. They truly care about their patients and the results.
Jean B.
I searched until I found this group of angels at Stoner Orthodontics. I started with braces and was very conscious being an 'older' adult but Dr. Stoner and staff are the best at making everyone feel comfortable. The entire experience was great from start to finish and now I would recommend them to the world as the BEST in this business.!!! I can now SMILE with confidence!!
Thanks everyone!!!
beth H.
Can’t say enough about or experience at Stoner Orthodontics! They are so easy to work with and their customer service is amazing!
Krystal M.
Staff was very helpful and working with my schedule. Thank you, Dr. Stoner for making Camdens teeth perfect. Camden smiles more now.
Abby L.
they were so so kind and amazing and very helpful!!
Adriane H.
Today I officially graduated from wearing my retainers. I had a wonderful journey with the whole team. I laughed and had a great time with all the ladies and Dr Stoner. They made me feel comfortable each visit. And I walked away with a beautiful smile!. Thank you to the whole staff for being so awesome!.
Jallon T.
My second time getting braces here and it went amazing! Thank you ! For making my smile perfect again
Emily F.
Working with Dr Stoner and his staff has been a wonderful experience.
The staff has been so kind and so well organized. Dr Stoner was great to explain each process and the outcome of treatment is what we hoped for and more!
Would recommend to anyone anytime to come here!!!
Andrea M.
Very professional and kind. Made my invisalign journey easy.
Valencia H.
I had such a great experience! The entire team is awesome and so happy with my new smile!
Samuel C.
Very nice and supportive people very glad I got my braces done here never felt better
Amber C.
I absolutely love this place. The staff is amazing. Shout out to Leslee for taking care of me, and Lindsey for keeping up with the progress! I came into the office to get my teeth straighter and to loose my gap and Stoner and his team has not disappointed at all. Highly recommend
Amy Q.
We have been at this practice for 10 years with four children. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else for our family's orthodontic treatment. The staff is phenomenal and the care is second to none!! Our smiles say it all!
Read More
Happy Family
Robert Stoner Orthodontics Team
Logo

Our locations

Come visit us

We have two locations conveniently located in the Greensboro area. We look forward to meeting you and your family soon!

GREENSBORO

  • 1304 Beaman Place Greensboro, NC 27408

SUMMERFIELD

  • 6161 Lake Brandt Rd. Suite D Greensboro, NC 27455

Phone

  • (336) 274-7649

Office Hours

Monday7:30am – 4:30pm
Tuesday7:30am – 4:30pm
Wednesday7:30am – 4:30pm
Thursday7:30am – 4:30pm
Friday8:00am – 1:00pm
Summerfield
Greensboro
Wave Shape
Robert Stoner Orthodontics Logo
Complimentary Consult
QUICK LINKS
  • Our Practice
  • Orthodontics
  • Patient Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Our Practice
  • Orthodontics
  • Patient Resources
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
CONTACT INFO
  • Greensboro
  • Summerfield
  • (336) 274-7649

© 2025 Robert Stoner Orthodontics | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Anti-Spam Policy | Notice of Privacy Practices | Click for Accessibility

Marketing & Web Design by HIP Creative