How To Clean Your Teeth With Braces?

Teeth misalignments and overcrowding can be unsightly, cause challenges chewing and speaking, and pose a risk to your dental and oral health. Braces are an excellent way to straighten teeth and improve your smile and oral function. When wearing braces, excellent oral hygiene and care are essential to keep your braces in good condition and reduce your risk of oral infections like tooth decay and gum disease.

However, maintaining good oral hygiene can be challenging since braces are attached to your natural teeth throughout treatment. For instance, areas under the wires and brackets can trap food particles, plaque, and bacteria, which can be hard to remove, leading to bad breath, teeth yellowing, gum disease, and tooth decay. This article highlights tips on how to clean your teeth effectively when wearing braces.

Tips for Cleaning Teeth with Braces

Below are practical tips on brushing and flossing with braces:

Brushing with braces

You should brush your teeth at least twice daily with or without braces. It helps remove food debris and bacterial plaque from the teeth, wires, brackets, and tongue, lowering your risk of oral infections. Here are some practical tips for brushing with braces:

• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush. A hard brush can damage your teeth and braces and irritate the gums, leading to sensitivity and gum disease, potentially compromising your orthodontic treatment. Instead, use a soft-bristled toothbrush as it’s gentler on your teeth, gums, and braces.
• Brush gently in circular motions. Vigorous brushing can erode your teeth enamel and damage your braces, compromising your treatment. Always brush gently in circular motions.
• Brush at a 45-degree angle. Use your brush at a 45-degree angle to the brackets and move the brush up and down and side to side to ensure you clean all the surfaces of your teeth and braces.
• Brush for at least 2 minutes. Brushing for about two minutes ensures that you remove all the plaque and debris from your teeth, gums, tongue, and braces.
• Use an interdental brush. An interdental toothbrush can help clean hard-to-reach areas around the braces and teeth more effectively.
• Use fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride toothpaste helps remineralize and strengthen your teeth’ enamel, reducing your risk of sensitivity or decay during orthodontic treatment.

Flossing with Braces

While flossing is often overlooked, it’s essential to oral hygiene. It helps remove food debris and plaque trapped deep between your teeth and around your wires and brackets, reducing plaque and tartar buildup, which can lead to gum disease. Below are practical tips for flossing effectively using a floss threader:

• If possible, floss in front of a mirror to ensure you’re flossing properly
• Wrap the ends of your floss around the index fingers for easier flossing.
• Gently press the floss between two teeth. Slide the floss up and down along both sides of the teeth. Ensure you go up or down the side of each tooth to the gum line.
• Remove the floss gently to avoid damaging the wires and brackets, and move to the next pair of teeth until you finish all teeth.
• Floss at least once daily, especially before brushing.
• Consult your dentist or orthodontist about an orthodontic floss. It’s designed to clean around wires and brackets.

Additional Tips For Optimal Oral Health and Hygiene with Braces

In addition to brushing and flossing regularly, below are other ways to promote oral hygiene with braces:

• Oral Rinses. Use an antimicrobial or fluoride mouthwash to rinse your mouth, especially after meals, to reduce bacterial plaque, bad breath, and oral infections.
• Watch what you eat. Eat soft and nutrient-rich foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It helps promote strong teeth and gums and prevent damage to your braces. Avoid sticky, sugary, hard, or crunchy items, as they can damage or get trapped in the wires and brackets, leading to decay and cavities.
• Wear a mouthguard. Your dentist can create a custom-made mouth guard to protect your teeth and braces during contact sports or teeth grinding.
• Schedule regular dental check-ups. This appointment helps the dentist check your treatment progress, identify and address potential problems, and clean your mouth and braces to prevent any issues.
• Visit our Ohio dental treatment if you have untreated dental issues.

Are you interested in dental braces in Dublin?

Do you have orthodontic problems like misalignments, gaps, and overcrowding? Contact daily DENTAL & bracesbar for braces and other orthodontal solutions.