Dentistry — Advice Letter to a Patient Starting Fixed Orthodontic Braces
An orthodontist writes an advice letter to a 16-year-old at the start of fixed orthodontic appliance therapy. The intermediate challenge is selecting the hygiene, diet, discomfort, and emergency contact instructions from the notes and presenting them in clear, age-appropriate patient language.
Letter type
Advice
Write to
Patient
Target length
190–210 words
The case notes
Patient: Miss Lily Thornton, 16 years old; upper and lower fixed metal braces bonded today; parent present
Oral hygiene: Brush after every meal (minimum three times daily) using a fluoride toothpaste; use an interdental brush under the wires; plaque disclosure tablet showed significant build-up around brackets today — hygiene quality critical to avoid white spot lesions (decalcification)
Diet restrictions: Avoid hard foods (crusty bread, raw carrots, hard sweets, ice cubes), sticky/chewy foods (toffee, chewing gum, gummy sweets) — these damage brackets and wires; no biting on nails or pencils
Discomfort: Soreness for 3–5 days after each adjustment is normal; paracetamol or ibuprofen (adult dose) for pain relief; wax provided for any wire irritating the cheek
Emergencies: Loose or broken bracket, poking wire — call the clinic for an urgent repair. Swallowed bracket: monitor symptoms; if choking or difficulty breathing, call 999
Reviews: Monthly appointments — do not miss them; treatment progress depends on regular adjustments
Task: Write an advice letter to Miss Thornton (and her parent) explaining how to care for her braces and what to do if something goes wrong.
Writing task
Write an advice letter to Miss Thornton (and her parent) explaining how to care for her braces and what to do if something goes wrong.
What to include, what to cut
The hardest mark to win is selection. The same case notes contain decision-relevant facts and distractors. Here is what an examiner expects to see in a Grade B letter for this scenario, and what should be left out.
Include
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Brushing after every meal, interdental brushes under wires, and the white spot lesion risk
White spot lesions are the most common avoidable complication of fixed appliances. The plaque disclosure finding today makes this a personalised, evidence-based instruction.
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Food restrictions by category, not just a list
A category approach — 'hard foods such as raw carrots and crusty bread' — is more useful than a specific list, as the patient can generalise to unlisted foods.
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The emergency protocol: call the clinic for a loose bracket; 999 if swallowed and breathing affected
Patients frequently delay calling about bracket emergencies. Naming the specific action and when to escalate prevents delay.
Leave out
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The full orthodontic treatment plan and predicted timeline
An advice letter is about living with the braces today. 'Your regular monthly adjustments will guide your treatment progress' covers the ongoing commitment.
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Biomechanical explanation of how fixed braces work
One sentence of plain-language context is the right level for a patient care letter.
Criterion in focus · Genre & Style
A letter addressed to a 16-year-old (parent copied) requires calibration: formal enough to be professional, accessible enough for a teenager to understand independently. Avoid clinical jargon — 'decalcification' becomes 'permanent white patches on your teeth that are hard to remove'. Use direct address ('you should brush after every meal'). The parent is in the background; the patient is the primary audience.
Now write the letter — and find out what is blocking your Grade B
Write a 190–210 words advice letter from these notes, paste it into the free checker for an instant read, then submit it for a human grade against all six criteria. Dr Mariam's team returns line-by-line feedback, from $12.