Braces and other orthodontic appliances will align your teeth into your desired straighter position. They can fix bite problems and make you proud of your smile’s appearance. Brackets and wires on your teeth during this treatment might seem bothersome. But with guidelines from your dentist, you can maintain a beautiful, healthy smile throughout this teeth-straightening process.
Oral hygiene might seem difficult with fixtures blocking access to parts of your smile. But you must still practice good oral hygiene in order to prevent serious dental problems. Read on to find advice from your dentist that will allow you to keep your smile clean while you undergo braces treatment.
Stick to a Consistent Oral Hygiene Routine
Oral hygiene refers to the regular act of cleaning your teeth. Natural oral bacteria will generate plaque, and this film, along with lingering food particles, can weaken your teeth if they remain on your smile. You should never skip any steps in your oral hygiene routine, or you could face irreversible damage to your teeth.
Even during orthodontic treatment, this consistent regimen is crucial to maintaining your oral health. If you develop gum disease or cavities, these dental issues could disrupt your teeth-straightening process. Avoid contracting these problems by keeping up with oral hygiene.
Good oral hygiene will involve brushing your teeth twice per day, morning and evening. You will also need to floss every day in order to clean between your teeth which a toothbrush cannot reach. Attend routine dental cleanings at your dentist’s office as well so that your dentist can maximize oral cleanliness to preventive oral health care.
Brush with Purposeful Motions
You might notice that you cannot brush the entire surface of your teeth at once with braces like you normally would. However, you can still get your smile clean as you brush your teeth if you use purposeful techniques.
Begin brushing your teeth above the braces brackets and angled upward toward your gums. Then you can turn your brush to a downward angle and clean the surface of your teeth above the brackets. Finish this task by brushing the area below the brackets using an upward angle of your toothbrush.
Employing this careful method for brushing your teeth ensures that you do not miss a spot and allow harmful residues to hurt your teeth. You might form stains or decay near the brackets that could cause long-term problems for your smile.
Make sure to use gentle movements when brushing so that you do not break the brackets or wires during your routine. Call your dentist right away if you do sustain damage to your orthodontic appliances at any point.
Consider Alternative Hygienic Tools
A traditional manual toothbrush and string floss will clean your smile in a thorough manner. But these tools might not always prove easy to move around the wires and brackets of braces. You can simplify your oral hygiene routine while enhancing your ability to clean your smile with alternative tools.
For instance, you might benefit from using angled brushes that you can slip between the braces wires and your teeth to clean these tricky spots. You can also try a water flosser or floss picks that you can more easily maneuver between the teeth and your oral appliances. Ask your dentist for more tips to maximize oral hygiene when you have braces.