How to Maintain Oral Hygiene With Braces
Braces give you a beautiful smile, fix the incorrect bite and align misaligned teeth. But it is vital to take care of your braces for your treatment to be successful.
The treatment can be somewhat painful in the beginning. But your orthodontist provides you with an appropriate solution for braces pain relief.
The bigger challenge is the difficulty in cleaning the teeth properly with braces. The unhygienic condition of your mouth can lead to cavities and tooth decay.
Following are the 5 most recommended tips for you to maintain oral hygiene with braces:
Rinse With Mouthwash
Don’t underestimate the effect of a good rinse. You can use simple water as well. But it is better to use a mouthwash.
People mistake mouthwash as an alternative to brushing and flossing, which is not true. But mouthwash reduces germs, bad breath, and cavities.
A germ-free mouth prevents you from the common issues arising during braces treatment like gum diseases, dry mouth, and oral sores.
Brush With Right Technique
You need to brush in the right way to clean your teeth while wearing braces. Use an interdental and soft-bristled toothbrush for deep cleansing.
Hold your toothbrush at 45 degrees and brush from top to bottom and then in circular motions.
Ask your orthodontist to prescribe a good-quality fluoride toothpaste (#ad) for you. It helps teeth to resist the acid made by food. And it also rebuilds lost minerals due to tooth decay.
Floss With Braces
Your daily dental hygiene routine is incomplete without flossing.
You need to floss at least once a day while wearing braces. A unique tool like a floss threader is used to floss with braces. The threader works under the arch wire and between the teeth.
Take your time to floss each tooth properly. You can also consult your orthodontist to understand the correct way to floss with braces.
Avoid Some Food Items
- You need to right-off the following food items from your diet because they cause damage to your teeth and braces:
- Hard foods like hard nuts and pretzels.
- Whole food like apple and carrot. Cut them into tiny pieces.
- Sugary foods and drinks.
- Sticky and chewy food like gum and caramels.
- Also, avoid biting meat from the bones. It damages the wires and brackets of your braces.
Don’t Miss Your Regular Orthodontic Check-ups
Your orthodontist wants to meet you regularly during your treatment. These regular check-ups are to track the progress of your treatment. In this way, they can catch any issue like gum disease or cavities early on.
Professional dental cleaning is a great way to ensure the best oral hygiene with braces. But make sure your orthodontist approves of it.
Parting Words!
We hope you will take all the necessary precautions and steps to ensure proper oral hygiene.
It will make your braces treatment more manageable and less painful. But if you still feel tooth pain with braces or any other troublesome symptom, don’t hesitate to visit your orthodontist at the earliest.
Author Bio: Dr. Satish Pai
Dr. Satish Pai is an orthodontist and Ivy League trained dentist who has served as a faculty at Columbia University. He believes a perfect smile not only makes a person look great but feel great. As the founder of Putnam Orthodontics and a Partner at Brite Orthodontics, he is dedicated to providing the best orthodontic treatments to his patients. He also writes to educate people about everything orthodontics and the importance of correctly aligned teeth along with good oral health. In his free time, you can find him golfing, doing yoga or surfing, and spending time with this family.
