Just like anything else involving your dental health, wearing braces is a long-term commitment. Those braces will be part of your life for the next six months to two years so proper teeth and braces care will be vital to the overall long-term health of your teeth and gums. Braces make brushing your teeth very difficult because food particles, as well as plaque, could adhere to the braces and teeth. Follow our tips and techniques below for maintaining a clean and healthy mouth as well as our tips for proper oral care and cleaning.
Helpful Tips for Cleaning Teeth with Braces
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Effects of Bad Hygiene
If you have bad oral hygiene and are not regularly brushing, regardless of if you are undergoing orthodontics or not, you could easily develop other dental problems. Because of the design, braces can easily become a trap for food, bacteria and plaque. When plaque gathers around the brackets or wires of your braces, it can easily demineralize the enamel of the tooth and lead to the formation of cavities. If they do develop, an orthodontic specialist may have to remove the brackets in order to repair the cavity.
How To Brush Your Teeth With Braces
The American Dental Association recommends brushing your teeth at least twice a day to maintain good oral hygiene. Before you begin to brush your teeth, rinse your mouth out with water. This will help loosen food particles from the braces and between your teeth. Once you have rinsed your mouth and no longer see food particles in your sink start brushing at the gumline. After brushing the gum line move to the top of the brace’s brackets angling down to brush on top of each bracket. Next, you will perform the same brushing stroke at the bottom of the brace’s brackets. Make sure you go slowly. You could tear the bristles of your toothbrush if you brush too hard and brushing too hard can damage your gums. Go slowly. Ensure you brush every tooth at the gumline as well as the top and bottom of the brace’s brackets. This will help you to reach most of the tooth surface and to remove plaque and food particles. After thoroughly accessing each tooth, remember to clean your tongue before rinsing and spitting.
How To Brush Between Your Teeth With Braces
Flossing is a crucial step in proper dental hygiene. When you floss your teeth, you remove tartar and dental plaque that builds up through eating sugary, salty foods. You can opt for a floss threader instead of string floss to making flossing with braces much easier. You could also opt for soft picks because they help brush in the tight spaces found within your teeth and braces. Lastly, you may want to use a mouthwash rinse. This will help wash away any particles or plaque that are left from brushing as well as give you an added layer of cleaning in those tight spaces between the teeth and braces.
In addition to the methods described in this article, you could also opt for a brace-specific proxabrush to get between the brackets of your braces. When you’ve finished using your regular brush, consider using the proxabrush.
A proxabrush may help you more effectively clean between individual brackets if you are concerned your regular brush isn’t doing enough for your dental hygiene and to clean your braces.
Remember that you are dealing with wearing braces because you want healthy teeth and a beautiful smile. The results you should expect from wearing braces for an extended period of time can only be achieved with proper care and by keeping your mouth, teeth and braces clean with an effective hygiene routine. You should brush and floss after every meal and use a mouthwash at least twice daily. When food particles remain lodged in your braces, between your teeth, or on the surface of your teeth this becomes a breeding ground for cavities. It is the sugar that is found in various foods that causes cavities. When those food particles aren’t brushed off or rinsed away they sit on the surface or your teeth or between your teeth and the sugar found in those food particles mixed with saliva begin eating away at the enamel of your teeth, eventually eating deeper into the layers of the tooth to a point where either you have a cavity or the tooth is destroyed and more drastic dental procedures are required such as the tooth being pulled or a root canal. Take care of your teeth and your teeth will take care of you.
Achieve the smile of your dreams with one of our braces treatments! Contact Friendly Dentistry today to make an appointment!
Remember that you are dealing with wearing braces because you want healthy teeth and a beautiful smile. The results you should expect from wearing braces for an extended period of time can only be achieved with proper care and by keeping your mouth, teeth and braces clean with an effective hygiene routine. You should brush and floss after every meal and use a mouthwash at least twice daily. When food particles remain lodged in your braces, between your teeth, or on the surface of your teeth this becomes a breeding ground for cavities. It is the sugar that is found in various foods that causes cavities. When those food particles aren’t brushed off or rinsed away they sit on the surface or your teeth or between your teeth and the sugar found in those food particles mixed with saliva begin eating away at the enamel of your teeth, eventually eating deeper into the layers of the tooth to a point where either you have a cavity or the tooth is destroyed and more drastic dental procedures are required such as the tooth being pulled or a root canal. Take care of your teeth and your teeth will take care of you.
Achieve the smile of your dreams with one of our braces treatments! Contact Friendly Dentistry today to make an appointment!
