Oral Hygiene with BracesWhen you look in the mirror, do you see a set of straight, white teeth, or do you see a mixture of metal, ceramic and wire? If you have straight, white teeth when you look in the mirror, you either were born with those perfect teeth, or you had braces to straighten them. At any given time, over 4 million people in the United States are wearing braces. We know that wearing braces can be frustrating, but at the end of it, you'll have some beautiful straight teeth. While you're waiting, you need to keep your teeth and gums as clean and healthy as possible. Let All About Orthodontics® answer your oral hygiene questions. What Tools Do You Need to Clean Teeth Effectively?There are tools you can use to clean your teeth effectively. First, you'll need a small, soft, toothbrush. You'll use that to clean the brackets on your braces. You'll want to have a toothbrush with flat bristles instead of the angled ones you usually use on your teeth. You'll want to make sure the bristles are soft because hard bristles might damage your gums, braces, or your teeth. We have special brushes for your braces, so don't forget to ask us for one. You'll also want to use fluoride toothpaste. We love fluoride because we know it helps to protect your teeth from a cavity. Be sure that you have dental floss because it is one of the most essential tools you have for cleaning your teeth with braces. To really use your dental floss well over all of your braces, you'll want to have a floss threader. Floss threaders help you move your dental floss between your wires and brackets to get to all of your teeth. It will take you more time to floss your teeth with braces, but it's crucial for healthy teeth and gums once the braces come off. How Do I Brush and Floss?Because braces make it difficult for you to keep your teeth and gums clean, you need to brush them more often. We recommend that you brush your teeth after you eat meals and snacks. You'll need to brush them before you sleep as well. Braces can trap food particles in the brackets, or in between the brackets and the wires. That's why you need to brush on and around each bracket. Flossing with braces is also a challenge because of the wires and brackets. You need to use a floss threader to get in between your teeth and the brackets of your braces. A floss threader looks like a big needle. You thread the needle of the floss threader just like you would any other needle, and then you can work the floss around the brackets and wires of your braces to get in between your teeth. It will take you a while to get the hang of flossing, but we promise it will get faster each time you floss. If you recently got braces, and you have concerns about your oral hygiene, why not give All About Orthodontics® a call at us at 586-999-8818 for Warren location or at 734-999-4774 for Southgate location? |
 Dentistry Made Affordable Warren586-999-8818 Southgate734-999-4774 Clinton Township586-834-8000 HoursMon - Fri: 9:00am - 7:00pm Sat: 9:00am - 4:00pm |
