I've had my brace on for a week now and I've come up with a pretty good kit to help keep my teeth and brace healthy and clean and my mouth pain-free!
The basics that you need are of course, toothpaste and mouthwash. I'd recommend sticking to the same brand throughout your entire 'brace journey' just to be on the safe side. I'd also highly recommend getting a children's toothbrush. The one I have is the Boots Smile Kids Toothbrush and it was around £1. I'd say get a children's toothbrush because it's easier to reach the smaller areas and also, it's easier to fit the brush in your mouth without over stretching your gums. As well as this, definitely get a travel toothbrush. Mine's just a standard one from Boots. It's important that you do this in case you go out for meals or end up staying over at a friend's house. You never know when you'll need one! The orthodontics recommend that you get some Interdental brushes. Mine are the Boots Expert TePe Interdental Brushes and these are great for cleaning in between the brace to make sure food doesn't get stuck there. You may have to change these every now and then depending on the spacing between the brace. Orthodontics also recommend getting some wax. Mine's just from my own orthodontics and it cost me just £1. You only need a tiny amount and all you do is pop it on top of the brace and it'll stop the brace from rubbing against your gums. It's literally a life saver. Another life saver is Bonjela. You will without a doubt get a lot of mouth ulcers from where the brace rubs - especially when you're sleeping. Bonjela is an instant pain relief and it helps to calm and heal the ulcer. Another thing you'll need is some form of pain relief like paracetamol and ibuprofen. I have the Nurofen Meltlets tablets just because I can't take tablets and they help a lot. Finally, I'd recommend getting a lip balm as your lips become more dry when you get braces. Also, make sure none of the products that you use are whitening as you'll end up with half of your teeth white and the other half not as white due to the brace blocking the whitening products from working!
The picture above is of me wearing my brace. The brace I have is the InVu Brace and as you can see, it's barely noticeable. I won't go into too much detail about it but basically they blend in with the natural colour of your teeth. They're also a lot smaller and more lightweight than your standard brace so it makes them more comfortable. I only have a brace on my top teeth as there's nothing majorly wrong with my bottom teeth.
Have you had braces before?
xxx